Woburn, MA – The Burlington Red Devils had a short drive to the O’Brien Rink to face off against Middlesex League rivals the Tanners of Woburn HS.
Both teams came out with a quick pace right from the opening puck drop. Clean zone entries were hard to come by, but that didn’t slow the action as each side committed to a dump-and-chase game and aggressive forechecking. Burlington carried much of the early play and tested Woburn senior goalie Adam Gerry right away. Burlington nearly broke through on a prime scoring chance when a forward was left wide open on the back door, but Gerry exploded post-to-post to make a terrific save and keep the game scoreless. Burlington took the game’s first penalty at the 10:45 mark, giving Woburn its first power-play opportunity. They generated a few quality looks, but Burlington senior goalie Colin MacLeod was sharp throughout the kill, calmly turning aside everything that came his way. Play continued end-to-end with both teams defending tightly. With seven minutes remaining, a brief defensive breakdown left a Woburn forward alone in the slot, but MacLeod slid across and made a strong right pad save to preserve the 0–0 tie. Burlington went on the power play at the five-minute mark, though Woburn’s penalty kill stood firm, with Gerry once again making key saves. The final minutes were back and forth, with chances at both ends, before Woburn was whistled for an interference penalty late in the period. As a result, Burlington will begin the second period on the power play in a scoreless game
Opening the second period on the power play, Burlington immediately looked dangerous, threatening to take the lead. Gerry once again came up big, turning aside a prime chance with a terrific save to keep the game tied. Burlington eventually broke through as the power play was winding down. Freshman forward Matthew Ulmschneider jumped on a rebound off a shot from sophomore Jake Robitaille. Ulmschneider collected the puck and went to his backhand. beating Gerry to give Burlington a 1–0 lead. From there, the period was a special teams showdown as both teams spent plenty of time in the penalty box. Penalty killing units and goaltending stole the spotlight, with both goalies shining and making multiple key saves while shorthanded. With about nine minutes remaining, Burlington’s MacLeod made the save of the game while on the penalty kill. Woburn executed a give-and-go out of the corner and found space in the low slot for a one-timer, but MacLeod flashed the glove and snatched the puck out of mid-air. The spectacular stop kept Woburn off the scoreboard and preserved Burlington’s 1–0 advantage. The final minutes grew increasingly chippy, with matching penalties sending the teams to four-on-four play to close out the period. Despite the physical finish, Burlington maintained its lead and will once again go on the power play early in the third period.
The third period opened with 30 seconds of four-on-four play before Burlington went back to the power play. Woburn’s penalty kill was solid once again, keeping the deficit at one and allowing them to build momentum once the game returned to five-on-five. Woburn pushed the pace early, generating chances, but MacLeod stood tall, making multiple saves to protect Burlington’s 1–0 lead. As the period wore on, Burlington began to tilt the ice in its favor, applying heavy pressure on Woburn’s defensemen and forcing play deep in the offensive zone. Gerry remained composed and strong in his own end, making key saves to keep Woburn within striking distance. Around the halfway point, the intensity ramped up significantly, with both teams playing a physical brand of hockey and taking away time and space all over the ice. Burlington made things especially difficult on Woburn down the stretch, consistently getting pucks behind the defense and forcing the Tanners to go the full length of the ice to generate offense. Burlington had strong legs in the final three minutes, limiting Woburn’s ability to sustain any meaningful offensive pressure. With just over a minute remaining, Woburn called a timeout and pulled their goalie for a six-on-five advantage. Burlington defended well, and MacLeod came up with two game-saving stops, but Woburn finally broke through with 19 seconds left. Senior Dillon Scalesse picked up a loose puck from the scrum in front of MacLeod and passed it to sophomore defenseman Richard Cooke at the top of the circle. Cooke fired a shot that was blocked and bounced to Scalesse in the high slot, who then snapped a quick shot through a heavy scrum in front that beat MacLeod to tie the game 1–1 and force overtime.
Burlington controlled much of the play early in overtime, but Gerry was outstanding, making two big saves to keep the game alive. Both teams were disciplined defensively, making quality scoring chances hard to come by. Ultimately, Woburn would find the back of the net with 57 seconds remaining in overtime to seal the win. Junior Braedan Blake sent a cross-ice pass to senior defenseman Matt Hughes. Hughes made a great seam pass from the corner of the circle to senior Matt Defeo who was wide open in front of MacLeod. Defeo one-timed the puck into the back of the net, bringing the tightly contested game to an end. Woburn earned the hard-fought 2-1 win on home ice in extra time.
Three Stars:
- G Colin MacLeod, Burlington
- G Adam Gerry, Woburn
- D Matt Defeo, Woburn