Canton, MA – Thanks to the folks at MyHockeyLive, we were able to catch a great Sunday afternoon tilt in the Ed Burns Coffee Pot Tournament between the Marshfield Rams and the Tewksbury Redmen.
Starting off in the first period we had a physical start with each team coming out with a couple big hits to set the tone early. Marshfield began to control after the first couple minutes with good offensive zone time and good puck control through their defensive zone to transition into offense. Tewksbury came out halfway through the period playing a lot of defense and managed to make it hard for Marshfield to really do anything up high on the points or down low below the goal line. With under two minutes to play Tewksbury was penalized and sent Marshfield to their first power play of the game. Marshfield was able to open the game up with 10 seconds remaining in the power play with sophomore forward Cam McGettrick making a great backhand sauce pass back to sophomore forward Will Doherty at the point and his quick shot beat the goalie on the right side of net to give Marshfield a 1-0 lead heading into the break.
The second period got underway featuring a similar start to the first. Physical play increased with most of the play going back and forth as each team battled for possession in the early stages of the period. Marshfield continued to win most of the battles in each zone and that helped them get more time in the offensive zone towards the mid-way point of the frame. This kickstarted the Marshfield offense with another goal from the point by junior defenseman Nate O’Brien who wristed one high glove side through a screen in front to put Marshfield up 2-0. Both sides would duke it out in the remaining minutes of the period but the score would ultimately stay 2-0 to end the period.
The last period of the game brought a whole new style of play with up and down action and shots coming from all angles in each offensive zone. Tewksbury was solid after the first couple minutes, with the defensemen moving the puck quickly and getting it to the red line with forwards pressing the Marshfield defensemen in deep. This led to a breakaway pass from sophomore forward Tyler Barnes to sophomore forward Matthew Cooke who would make a great move in the slot and go top shelf glove side to get Tewksbury on the board to make this game 2-1 Marshfield. Tewksbury would continue to keep the pressure on, earning a power play and capitalizing off a shot from the point that would hit the end wall and bounce in front of the net where Barnes would clean up the rebound to tie this game at 2-2. With a couple minutes to go in the third Marshfield was able to settle things down and play their style of game. Marshfield had earned a faceoff inside the offensive zone and once again forward Doherty was able to swing through the circle and cut across the goal with a forehand-backhand move and lift the puck past the goalie to give Marshfield a 3-2 lead. Tewksbury senior defenseman Caden Connors would lead his team back with a late push to try and tie things up with two good scoring opportunities but Marshfield goalie Brady Quackenbush would close the door in the final minute and give Marshfield a huge 3-2 win over Tewksbury. The Rams advance to the final weekend to face South Shore rival Hingham for the Ed Burns Coffee Pot Doherty Division.
Three Stars:
- F Will Doherty, Marshfield
- F Tyler Barnes, Tewksbury
- G Brady Quackenbush, Marshfield