Luciano lucky and good
Foxboro girls star pots OT winner for South
SHRINERS HOCKEY
CANTON — The situation hadn’t come up much, if at all over her high school career, so Foxboro’s Catherine Luciano was unsure of how to play in a 3-on-3 overtime.
But the talented senior forward picked it up quickly.
Just 53 seconds into the extra session in yesterday’s MSHCA Aleppo Shriners Hockey Classic, Luciano tipped in a shot from Needham’s Rose Evans to lift the South over the North, 3-2, at the Canton Ice House.
“That’s the best part of the game, playing overtime,” said Luciano, the Holy Cross commit who was named the game’s MVP. “I was excited to be on the first line, the first shift to be able to score that goal.”
The North forced overtime late in the third period.
With the goalie pulled, Austin Prep’s Kendra Currier dished a pass off to Shrewsbury’s Delaney Couture, who blasted in the tying goal with 1:23 left in regulation.
That set the stage for Luciano, who positioned herself in front of the net to tip in Evans’ shot from the point.
“The game was awesome,” said South coach John Findley. “It’s the best high school game I’ve been to all year.”
The South jumped in front, 2-1, at 4:43 of the third period when Milton’s Julia Scannell, who was denied on a few scoring chances in the first period, put home a rebound.
“It’s just so exciting. It’s a fun game,” said Scannell, who will play at Saint Anselm next year. “Once a year you get to play it and it’s a blast.”
After Hingham’s Leah White and Watertown’s Jonna Kennedy kept things scoreless in the first period, Plymouth’s Jordan Colbert and Woburn’s Marissa Gregory exchanged goals in the second.
Boys blowout
It took a full season to get back after a rout loss against the South, but the North got its revenge in the ninth annual Shriners Classic.
The North had six goals by four different scorers in the second period to go up 8-1 en route to 10-1 victory.
“I wasn’t involved last year, but I told the kids even though it’s an exhibition game if they are keeping score that it’s better to win it than lose,” said North coach Tom Curran. “I told them to play hard and play like it’s a regular game, and they did.”
It was BC High’s Danny O’Connell who won the game’s MVP after he notched two goals and two assists. His first made it 1-0 with 2:27 left in the first period, and his second made it 4-0 with just a few minutes gone in the second.
“It is great to play for a cause like that,” said O’Connell, “and the crowd they had here was awesome. It was a great atmosphere.”
O’Connell also assisted on a goal by Shrewsbury’s Liam Quinlivan (goal, assist) that made it 2-0 with 27.8 seconds left in the first. His other assist came on the seventh tally of the game as Lowell Catholic’s Mikas Kulbis-Marino netted one.
“(Mikas) has always been that kid that wins the faceoff and blocks a shot,” Curran said about seeing his own player get in on the scoring barrage. “It was great to see him score too.”
Shrewsbury’s Anthony Quinlivan scored twice in the second, Malden Catholic’s Colin Nestor also scored twice in the frame and Belmont’s Connor Dacey finished with three assists. In the third period, Masconomet’s Dylan Campbell netted another for the North.
For the South, WhitmanHanson’s Alex Uva netted the lone score with 44.5 seconds left in the second.