Marshfield rally stuns AP
SUPER EIGHT HOCKEY
BILLERICA — In its first-ever Super Eight appearance last night at Chelmsford Forum, Marshfield trailed Austin Prep by three goals midway through the second period.
The Rams weren’t about to let the opportunity slip away. They fought all the way back, and Aidan Connolly’s game-winner with 2:09 left in the game gave the Rams a stunning, 4-3 victory that thrust them into the Super Eight quarterfinals against defending-champion Malden Catholic.
“We showed a lot of heart,” Marshfield coach Dan Connolly said. “We talked between periods about keeping it simple . . . having three games in the third period: five minutes, five minutes, five minutes.”
Austin Prep (16-3-3), which will return to the Div. 1 North tournament, started fast. A power-play goal by Alex Maffeo gave the Cougars a 1-0 lead in the first, and another man-advantage strike by Louis Finocchiaro put them up 2-0 at 6:46 of the second period.
Just 1:10 later, Maffeo scored his second goal of the game. The Rams were in a 3-0 hole, forcing coach Dan Connolly to call his timeout.
“We just tried to simplify, not try to rush and get three right away,” Connolly said. “Just take one shift at a time and try to get momentum back.”
“I think we got a little complacent,” Austin Prep coach Lou Finocchiaro said. “I give them credit. They battled back. We got outworked in the second period and third period.”
Marshfield came out of the break with new life. Nick Hurley scored his 24th goal of the season less than a minute after the timeout, and a lateperiod surge gave the Rams momentum heading into the third.
Matt Smith banged a rebound past Austin Prep goalie Dylan Regan to cut the Rams’ deficit to 3-2 early in the third, and less than two minutes later, Andrew Fithian scored right on the doorstep to tie the game 3-3.
That set the stage for Aidan Connolly to collect a loose puck during a net-front scramble and fire the gamewinning goal past Regan.
Marshfield goalie Nick Young made a game-saving stop with his left pad in the final 10 seconds, and the shocking comeback was complete.
“Nick was immense,” Connolly said. “He made a save at the end of each period that defied the odds.”
Walpole 2, Catholic Memorial 1 — There was much debate as to whether unbeaten Walpole was worthy of an invite to the Super Eight for the first time in the program’s history.
Last night, the Rebels proved all doubters wrong, taking down No. 10 Catholic Memorial in overtime.
Tied 1-1 in the extra period, Rebels center Owen Hunter won an offensive zone draw to right winger Cam Martin, who wasted no time ripping the puck far-side past the glove of CM goalie Brendan Clancey (20 saves) and sending the Walpole bench into a frenzy.
“There was no hesitation,” Martin (goal, assist) said. “I saw the right side of the net was open, and I thought, ‘I’m just going to rip this as hard as I can. Hopefully it goes in.”
The seventh-seeded Rebels (22-01) never would have made it to overtime without the brilliant play of netminder James Corcoran (31 saves).
“I took it like it was any other game,” Corcoran said. “The atmosphere was different, big crowd, but it’s the same puck coming at you every time.”
Corcoran, who recorded 13 shutouts while surrendering just 11 goals in 22 regular-season games, was dialed in for Walpole, especially in the second and third periods when the Knights (14-4-2) outshot the Rebels 27-10.
Down 1-0 in the third, CM got its first power play of the night and capitalized when captain Harry Morrill drilled a point-blank one-timer through the wickets of Corcoran.
Walpole broke the ice earlier in the third period on a beautiful catch and-release snap shot off the stick of Hunter (goal, assist), who ripped it high to the short side after accepting a tape-to-tape feed from behind the net by Conor Foley.
“We thrive in tight games,” Corcoran said. “Whenever we’re called upon, we come out, do our jobs, and that’s how you’ve got to play to win, everyone contributing.”
Walpole coaches and players wanted to show they belonged in this tournament, so it’s fitting their first victory came against the winningest team in Super Eight history.
“For those who don’t believe,” coach Ron Dowd said, “I think we proved them wrong.”
The next hurdle for the Rebels will be second-seeded BC High in the Super Eight quarterfinals.