CANTON – If how Cole Sweet carried out between the pipes for Archbishop Williams although an amazing second interval was a blessing, what adopted Wednesday night time was a miracle.
Despite falling behind in a giant manner as visiting Canton dominated with three targets and a 24-5 shot benefit within the second body alone, the Archies (7-4) in some way stormed again for a signature 5-3 nonleague win at Canton Sportsplex. Casey Kelly’s objective early within the third interval was the primary of three that Archbishop Williams scored inside a 3-minute, six-second stretch, and Ben Sylvester’s go-ahead objective on the tail finish of the run was one in every of 4 within the body total.
It all began with Sweet, although, who stood on his head in that second body to choose up 21 of his 33 saves on the night time regardless of permitting three targets. The Bulldogs (9-2-1) couldn’t soar out in entrance greater than two scores, and the Archies made them pay for it.
After an up-and-down begin to the season, this was a serious victory for Archbishop Williams.
“We’ve been working on this all year, is dealing with adversity,” mentioned head coach Chris Cunningham. “We responded well in the third better than my expectations. Scoring four goals in the period is not something you want to rely on every game, but unbelievable the way they came together. … (Canton) is such a good program, I told these guys, ‘This is a statement game. You can kind of make some noise with a big W tonight.’ We’ve been looking for it all year.”
When Archbishop Williams lastly received one previous Canton goalie Colin Davis (16 saves) within the first body for an early lead, it did in order a part of a 7-4 shot benefit that produced way more strain than the Bulldogs have been in a position to muster. Canton had a couple of possibilities, however the Archies’ blue line shortly defused each rush.
The second interval instructed a far totally different story, although.
The Bulldogs flipped momentum proper out of the primary faceoff, needing simply 22 seconds to tie the rating when Colin Blake completed off a rebound after Sweet stopped Brian Middleton’s shot on the breakaway. Canton introduced all of the strain on the planet from there, utilizing its forecheck to maintain the puck within the offensive zone for the gross majority of the interval. Sweet saved pictures from each angle, making a pair diving stops to maintain the rating tied earlier than a Bulldogs energy play delivered an AJ Thomas objective for the 2-1 lead.
Even that took six pictures on internet in the course of the man-advantage to lastly break via. Canton’s Michael Thomas tallied one other one for an insurance coverage objective simply 30 seconds later, however the injury of a two-goal deficit heading into the ultimate interval paled compared to what it very properly might have been.
“Cole played great,” Cunningham mentioned. “His game tonight, he really saved us. Kept us in it until the offense came alive.”
Came alive, it did.
Shortly after Canton killed a penalty that leaked over from the second interval, Archbishop Williams reduce the deficit in half a couple of minute into the third when Kelly buried a Sylvester rebound. Much just like the Bulldogs did to them, the Archies then tied it 31 seconds later off a robust wrister from Matthew Keenan on the prime of the faceoff circle.
The Bulldogs charged again with a couple of high quality bids, however to no avail in opposition to a locked-in Sweet. They then continued their struggles to clear rebounds on their very own defensive finish, and Sylvester took full benefit from the excessive slot to leap out in entrance, 4-3, with 10:55 to play.
“We just really wanted it more, we played like a family in the third period – had each other’s backs, came with a different intensity,” Sweet mentioned. “I owe it to my team to come back from a two-goal deficit. Really, overall, a good team effort. … Canton is a powerhouse team, they can compete with the best of them. It was really huge.”
Back-and-forth play ensued, and Canton even received one other energy play late for the possibility to make a run. But that got here after Sean Murphy’s breakaway objective prolonged the result in two, a bonus Archbishop Williams wouldn’t give up the remainder of the night time.
Source: www.bostonherald.com