Icemen cruise into postseason
By Jay Turner
Citizen Staff
After blowing
a two-goal lead against non-league Hanover and being forced to
settle for a draw, the CHS boys’ varsity ice hockey team
rebounded with a pair of solid wins last week to close out the
regular season — 4-1 over North Quincy and 2-0 over North
Attleboro.
The victories
gave the Bulldogs 15 for the season to go along with two ties
and just three losses — good enough for second place in the
Hockomock League behind undefeated Franklin. They also grabbed
the #3 seed and a first-round bye in the Division 2 south
sectional tournament, where they will look to repeat as
champions beginning with a round-two matchup with Mansfield this
week (see coverage next Thursday).
Last Monday’s
meeting with Hanover proved to be a nice test for the Bulldogs
heading into the postseason as the Indians are also D2 tourney
bound; in fact, they too were a second-place team and are seeded
right behind Canton in the south at #4.
The game
initially belonged to the Bulldogs, with freshman Nick O’Connor
giving the home team a 2-0 cushion, but the Indians came back
with two of their own, including one in the final period, while
Canton failed to capitalize when it had the chance late in the
game.
Nevertheless,
head coach Brian Shuman said he was encouraged by his team’s
overall performance, and he was even more pleased with how they
responded on Wednesday — with an easy win over North Quincy,
another Patriot League team.
O’Connor had
another big day for the Bulldogs, finishing with two more goals
and an assist. Recently named Hock MVP Kevin Rooney also had a
goal in the win, as did senior Joey DiPillo, who scored for the
second time in three games.
Canton then
wrapped up its regular season the following day with a
defensive-minded win over NA. Seniors Billy Duggan and Kyle
Leavitt accounted for the offense while a pair of sophomores —
Nick Naples and Kyle Baker — combined for the shutout in net.
Once again,
Shuman liked what he saw on the ice, giving him plenty of reason
to be hopeful as the playoffs get underway.
“The guys are
playing well heading into the tournament,” he said earlier this
week. “Tournament play is a whole different experience, and I am
looking forward to seeing how we respond.”
February 25, 2010
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