STONEHAM — Coming off consecutive years shedding within the Div. 2 state boys hockey semifinals, Duxbury head coach Mike Flaherty didn’t know what to anticipate out of his crew this 12 months amid a tough begin.
Now that their headed again to a 3rd straight Final Four look after the No. 10 Dragons defeated No. 15 Masconomet, 3-1, in a state quarterfinal at Stoneham Arena on Thursday evening, he can’t assist however really feel the proudest out of all three journeys.
Cormac Weiler’s go-ahead objective late within the second was sandwiched by two from Brady Walsh, pairing with a standout defensive efficiency to step by step decelerate a high-speed Chieftains’ assault. Chris Sacco impressed in web for Masconomet, however the Dragons received greater than sufficient to face No. 11 Boston Latin for a visit to TD Garden.
“We made some adjustments and my guys just battled,” Flaherty mentioned. “I’m so proud of them. If you asked me in the beginning of the year if this team would get back to the state semis – I don’t know. … For us to get back to where we are this year is probably the most satisfying.”
The up-and-down motion of the primary interval was noticeably quick, one thing Duxbury studied prior however was nonetheless caught on its heels by. Within the primary 4 minutes, Miles Mireault put Masconomet up 1-0 on a breakaway objective.
It didn’t take lengthy for Duxbury to reply, although, with Walsh needing simply 4 seconds of energy play a pair minutes later to tie issues up at 1-1. The Dragons adjusted defensively by locking on the wings on faceoffs and went to an 1-2-2 forecheck, successfully slowing Masconomet down to only 11 mixed photographs on objective within the second and third.
Sacco (30 saves) held off a barrage of photographs from Duxbury within the meantime, however its third line potted the go-ahead objective with 2:28 left within the second when Weiler adopted a rebound for his third objective of the 12 months.
“Just going to the net for a rebound, ” Weiler mentioned. “I knew my linemate was going to put it on net right from the faceoff.”
“Our three lines are all pretty equal,” Flaherty added. “We’re a little bit harder to defend in that way. … I don’t consider them the third line at all.”
As Masconomet struggled to get many photographs on web with the sport slowed down within the third, Duxbury simply wanted another from Walsh with 4:51 left to place it away.
Michael Hussey and David Pittenger every had two assists, whereas Anthony Rabeni had 16 saves.
Now consideration is turned on higher fortune within the state semifinals.
Source: www.bostonherald.com