BC High boys blitz CM to open season
BRAINTREE — If the events of the last week were any indication of what’s to come this winter, being able to complete a full hockey season will be anything but guaranteed.
It’s a point of emphasis that BC High hockey coach John Flaherty has been preaching to his players, and as of now it appears the younger athletes on his roster have taken it to heart. Playing in his first game with the Eagles, freshman forward James Marshall notched a pair of goals and dished out two assists, while sophomore defenseman Matt Cox found the net twice himself as BC High opened its season with a convincing 7-1 rout of Catholic Memorial Sunday.
“The fact that we’ve had pretty much a month to practice things helped us today,” Flaherty said. “But I also think (our players) wanted to play hockey. They were ready to play, they were dying to play hockey. We talk about it. We don’t know how many games we’re going to get this year. Let’s make the most of every single one of them.”
It didn’t take too long for the Eagles (1-0) to score their first goal of 2021. Just 1:05 into the contest, Aidan McDonnell’s eyes widened as the puck squirted loose to him in front of the Knights’ net. The junior forward quickly took advantage, finding twine to give BC High a 1-0 edge.
With 1:44 remaining in the first half, McDonnell took a slap shot on net from the point, missing his target. However, the puck would rebound to the feet of Cox at the doorstep of the goal. As he collided with Catholic Memorial’s Owen Watson, the sophomore slid the puck into the net, as the Eagles took a 2-0 lead into the break.
Once the second half started however, the floodgates opened. With 21:23 left in regulation, Marshall struck, as he hauled in a rebound, then connected on a wrist shot from just to the right of the Catholic Memorial net.
Two minutes later, sophomore Ryan Flaherty sniped a power play goal, and all of a sudden BC High had a commanding 4-0 lead.
After CM’s Michael Corbett buried a shot from distance to cut it to a 4-1 with 12:21 remaining, the Eagles put things away late. Brian Bulger, Marshall and Cox scored three consecutive goals for BC High in the final 4:38, two in a span of eight seconds.
In addition to his seasonopening goal, McDonnell added three assists for BC High.
Playing for a storied program like BC High can invite pressure, especially entering your first game. For Marshall however, the moment wasn’t too bright.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time,” said Marshall. “It definitely felt good to achieve that goal.”