Marlborough, MA – In what was the season debut for both squads, MassNZ made the first regular-season road trip of the season out to New England Sports Center in Marlborough to watch the Canton Bulldogs take on the home team, the Warriors of Lincoln-Sudbury. This game was also the D1 debut for the Warriors who moved up from D2 after celebrating a co-championship in 2019-20…a title they split with the Bulldogs. Canton, of course, has been on a tear in recent memory, losing a grand total of 1 game in the last three seasons. Who beat them in that one game in February 2020? It was Lincoln/Sudbury. Suffice to say, this promised to be one of the early marquee matchups on the young season.
In the first, Canton made a statement and played with pace and passion, but the Warriors hung tough, looking to create turnovers and take play to them. After a feeling out stage, it only took about six minutes to break the seal as Canton junior big rig Jack Digirolamo muscled his way to the left dot and fired one home as sophomore forward Brendan Tourgee screened the goalie: 1-0 Bulldogs. About three minutes later, Canton added another as sophomore forward Pat Drury found Tourgee at the net for a tap in, 2-0 Bulldogs. Things would stay that way until the very end of the period when the Warriors made a late push. Junior forward Ryan Warzynski fired a puck from the left corner towards the net on the waiting stick of senior captain Brendan Quinn who slid it home right at the buzzer. 2-1 was our score after one and the Warriors had the momentum on their side heading into the room.
In the middle frame, Canton had some nice pushback only two minutes in as senior defender Ryan Doucette fired a puck to the netfront that was cleaned up by sophomore forward Colin Blake: 3-1 Bulldogs. Just four minutes later though, Lincoln/Sudbury had an answer as Captain Quinn drew a penalty and converted mere seconds later off an initial shot by junior D Drew Oblak: 3-2 Bulldogs. The Warriors fed off this momentum and fired another shot three minutes later as junior forward Frankie DeTraglia made a nice pass to the far side of the net and guess who was there to put it home? Brendan Quinn: hat trick for him within 24 minutes of play (that’s an average of one goal every eight minutes). The remainder of the period featured more pressure by the Warriors but we entered the last period tied at 3.
In the final stanza, Lincoln/Sudbury looked to put the game out of reach but Aidan French, senior goaltender for Canton made a big stop to stem the tide. With about 10 minutes elapsed in the period, Lincoln/Sudbury put themselves ahead with a shot from the point that French never saw; taken by forward Liam Mulcahy and tipped home by defender Thomas Kinzfogl. The score remained 4 to 3 deep into the third period and with just under two minutes to go Canton called a timeout and pulled their netminder for the extra skater. Only seconds later they were able to tie the game when defenseman Leo Owens threw a puck to the short side and it snuck under junior goaltender Logan Herguth’s pads. We were all knotted up at four apiece headed into overtime.
This season, the MIAA moved to four-on-four overtime and this was our first chance to see such a game in regular-season play. There were chances at both ends during the allotted five minutes, but it turns out the Warriors did not need all five. DeTraglia saw an opening and winged the puck up ice and johnny on the spot in this scenario was junior defenseman Sean Cullen who grabbed the puck at the blue line and coasted in on the breakaway firing the puck past French for the game-winner. 5-4 Lincoln/Sudbury final in OT.
Three Stars:
- D Sean Cullen, Lincoln/Sudbury
- F Brendan Quinn, Lincoln/Sudbury
- F Jack Digirolamo, Canton
NZ Notes:
This was our first game of the year to watch in person and what a way to start the year. Both teams played extremely hard and it meant something to both benches, even though we are a long way from the playoffs in March. We were impressed at both rosters and how they were able to handle the ebbs and flows of the game this early in the season. Both teams showed great maturity in tough circumstances: we would not be surprised if we hear from both of them again near the end of the season.
Despite the tough loss, Canton was difficult to play all game long because their tenacity did not waver. There were moments where I’m sure the coaching staff would like to have seen things go differently but throughout the balance of the game they were quick and hardnosed. On the other side, Lincoln/Sudbury was terrific in terms of blocked shots and that hurt the flow of offense for the Bulldogs. They were constantly stepping in lanes and finding ways to utilize their sticks in the defensive zone.
For Canton we were impressed with the Mack truck that is junior forward Jack Digirolamo. There were moments throughout the game where defenders attempted to knock him around but he simply used his leverage and they all fell down around him. We were also impressed with the goaltending of Aidan French, the senior in net. There were a couple of goals he would like to have back but he made some critical saves in the third period, especially early in the frame to lead Canton in their comeback, taking this thing into overtime.
For Lincoln/Sudbury we were very impressed with two forwards whose names we have mentioned much in the past. Senior captain Brendan Quinn notched a hat trick and he was dominant for most of this game with his ability to possess the puck and use his frame to protect it. His running mate was linemate Frankie DeTraglia a junior forward who has nifty hands and great feet which allow him to sneak around defenders and utilize his vision to set up his teammates.
Great to finally be back in the rinks watching regular-season MIAA hockey, on to the next one…