Ed Burns Coffee Pot: Marshfield hangs on vs. No. 3 Arlington
Rams win 1-0
ARLINGTON >> The first day of the Ed Burns Coffee Pot Tournament had plenty of suspense in the higherseeded Doherty division, something the Marshfield boys hockey team navigated with poise to take down the reigning champs Sunday night.
Among three other firstround games between many of the state’s best publicschool teams, the sixthseeded Rams (12-2-1) used a high-energy performance to gut out a 1-0 win over No. 3 Arlington at Ed Burns Arena.
Sammy Holte’s goal with 5:07 to go paired with a 10save third period from Kevin Murphy (17 saves), capped as difficult a win as any that Marshfield has ground out.
Marshfield will play the winner of Tewksbury next weekend in the semifinals.
“I’m so proud of our kids,” said Rams head coach Dan Connolly. “Our kids really rose to occasion today, from Murphy on out. Murphy had to makes some big saves in the third period. … He didn’t face a ton in the first two, but in the third, he really stood out.”
Arlington head coach John Messuri wasn’t too happy with his team’s performance in the opening 30 minutes, as it seemed the Rams were banging on the door in the first with 12 shots on net. Defense tightened up in the second period to cut that shot count by more than half, but the Spy Ponders couldn’t get much of anything going themselves with only one shot on target in the period.
Ryan Martin (23 saves) was phenomenal in the meantime to keep Marshfield off the board. The Rams kept up the pressure in Arlington’s zone over long stretches, but the Spy Ponders’ defense made some big hustle plays to block shots or clear rebounds.
Once suspense cranked up a few notches in the third period, that’s when Marshfield delivered some of the game’s biggest plays.
Tommy Carroll got a puck on net with about 5:09 to go, and Sammy Holte was there for the rebound in front to break the shutout. Arlington’s offense opened up tremendously in response, but Murphy followed his defense’s lead with an array of high-caliber saves. That included staving off over a minute of 6-on-5 play from the Spy Ponders, but the Rams wouldn’t allow a neutralizer.
“Throughout the game, I just felt my team was owning the line,” Murphy said. “(In the final stand), I was just thinking about how gritty my team was working.”
Standout goalie play came in the game prior, too, and Reading wouldn’t waste it.
Despite getting more than doubled up in shots, the fifthseeded Rockets used a 35save afternoon from Chris Hanifan to stay within reach of a 2-1 comeback win over No. 4 Canton.
Cam Fahey’s game-winning goal with 3:26 to play was the second of two Reading goals off turnovers in the neutral zone.
“I’m very impressed with them, (Canton is) a good team,” said Rockets head coach Mark Doherty. “That was a good test and we’re just thrilled to leave with a victory. … We want to be one of the best public schools every year, as does every team that’s within this.”
There were several long stretches that Canton kept the puck in Reading’s zone, especially in a 20-shot second period. But Hanifan was nails and the defense worked well around him.
“Going in, I knew that they’d be pretty tough out front,” Hanifan said. “Coach taught us that they love to throw pucks on net, so I was kind of expecting that. I feel like the D did a good job … things just went well.”
Colin Blake finally got Canton on the board with 6:48 left in the second, finishing off a rebound. The 1-0 deficit wouldn’t last long, though, as Liam Hansen took a costly Bulldogs turnover during a penalty kill for a breakaway goal only two minutes later.
In-between periods, Hanifan gave Fahey a piece of advice should a scoring lane open up, and one did late in the third. He scooped a turnover in the neutral zone by the right wall, rushed through open space and got around goalie Connor Geoghan (12 saves). His shot got stuffed by the post, but was able to poke it in the crease.
Defenders rushing back had too much speed, crashed into Geoghan, and it pushed the puck in.
“I saw him come up pretty far, he didn’t give me much,” Fahey said. “(Hanifan) told me between periods to give him pump-fake and he’s going to drop right down. So I did that and went right around him. … (Winning this) just gives us confidence.”
Eighth-seeded Franklin used four straight scores to rally from an early two-goal deficit in the first game, overcoming top-seeded Hingham 6-4. The Panthers will play Reading in the other Doherty semifinal game.