Canton
icemen fall to Franklin 4-1
By Jay Turner
Citizen Staff
It seems hard to
fathom considering the Bulldogs’ hot start, but after falling to
undefeated Franklin 4-1 last week in what head coach Brian
Shuman described as a “winnable game,” the CHS boys’ varsity
hockey team suddenly finds itself in fourth place and in
must-win mode heading into the halfway mark of the season.
While it is hardly
time to panic just yet —
the Bulldogs went into the game fresh off a convincing win over
second-place Oliver Ames —
Shuman said Saturday’s uncharacteristic loss should at least
serve as a reminder that there is little to no margin for error
in the league this season.
To their credit,
the Bulldogs played well enough to win, outshooting their rivals
39-17 while dominating vast stretches of the second and third
periods. The Panthers, by contrast, struggled to generate
scoring chances but still made the most of their limited
opportunities, scoring twice in the first to go up 2-1 and then
twice more in the third to put the game out of reach.
Kevin Rooney had
the only goal for the visitors
—
a shorthanded strike early in the first period that tied the
game at one —
while linemate Frank Eckler registered the team’s only assist.
In his final
analysis, Shuman gave much of the credit to Franklin’s
goaltender, calling him the “best we’ve faced all year,” but he
stopped well short of making any excuses for the final score.
“The lesson here is
that we can play well and outshoot the other team, but we still
have to find a way to win,” he said.
The week wasn’t all
bad, however, as the Bulldogs managed to score a decisive home
win over OA on Wednesday despite trailing 1-0 after one period.
The Tigers had gone
into the game with a slightly better record at 3-0-1, but the
Bulldogs proved to be the better team over the final two
periods, scoring four unanswered goals, including three on the
power play.
The first came
about midway through the second period, when Joey DiPillo found
Kyle Leavitt, who fired a wrist shot past the goalie for the
game-tying score. Then, with only a minute left in the period,
freshman Nick O’Connor scored to make it 2-1, assisted by Rooney
and Matt Buckley.
The final two goals
came on the power play early in the third
—
Rooney to Eckler on a 5-on-3 and then Rooney unassisted on a
5-on-4 less than a minute later.
Besides making the
Tigers pay for their penalties, Shuman said he was pleased that
his team once again played with tremendous discipline. “We’re
playing clean, but playing hard and tough at the same time,” he
said.
The Bulldogs (4-1;
6-2 overall) will need every bit of that toughness over the next
few weeks as they continue their Hockomock title defense,
beginning with a crucial league showdown against second-place
Mansfield last night. (See results next week.) The team then
travels to Foxboro Saturday night to take on the Warriors,
followed by games next week against North Attleboro at home on
January 27 and at Stoughton on January 30.
January 21, 2010
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