Weymouth, MA – MassNZ is back on the South Shore as we made the drive to Weymouth to watch the final home game of the season hosted by the Skippers of Cohasset/Hull as they would take on one of the top teams in D4: the Lions of St. John Paul II. This was our first time visiting Connell Rink and there is a great tradition in the building with NHL alumni jerseys hanging at the far end. We were also impressed that the Skippers had prepared a full booklet at the entry gate dedicated to the hockey team as part of Senior Day. Connell is very much an old school barn with minimal seating – just the way we like it. So, we found a perch atop the bleachers and got to work as the game got underway.
In the first period, it seemed as though both teams were working off their bus legs in the first few shifts. The pace was not blistering and both teams were calculated with what they did with the puck. There was a lot of activity in the neutral zone as both teams showed active sticks which created a bevy of turnovers. Neither team really had the advantage but over time the Skippers began to take control which built into a clear puck possession and shot advantage. It would take nine minutes before the first goal would go on the board and it came off the stick of a Skipper. Senior captain Matt Thomas found an open junior Tegan Bellew in front and he snapped it home to give his team the 1-0 lead. The secondary assist was credited to senior captain Taighe Dwyer, for his 100th career point. From that point on, the Lions began to push back and they picked up their skating game. From what we could tell, they were working with a short bench so perhaps this was a strategic move, but either way they soon overwhelmed Cohasset/Hull. Just three minutes later they would add the equalizer as junior defenseman Finn Shortt found fellow junior defender Sean Monaghan, who wired one bar and in far side to knot us up at 1-1. The Lions controlled the pace of play until the buzzer sounded and both teams went to the locker room with the score even.
In the second period, the pace was far different and it appeared as though JPII had been shot out of a cannon as their players were flying around the sheet creating havoc and winning races to loose pucks. They were moving the puck with greater efficiency as well, which led to more scoring chances. Ironically, one of their best chances offensively occurred on the penalty kill as junior forward Braden Shortt stole a puck at his defensive blue line and pushed it to space, winning the race at the red line and burying shorthanded on the breakaway to give the Lions the lead 2-1. They were feeding off the momentum and added another tally two minutes later as the Shortt brothers would combine on the third goal. Braden entered the zone and pulled up to wait for Finn, who reeled in a pass, walked into the slot and fired it home to make it 3-1 Lions. Upon taking the two-goal lead, the Lions looked to move the puck quickly and the Skippers spent very little time in the attacking zone. As a result, the middle period ended 3-1 Lions.
In the third period, the Lions were still playing with a quick pace, but the Skippers were beginning to make a push. They needed two goals and they understood the importance of getting shots on net. They were heavier on their sticks and worked the puck down low more effectively, making saves harder for the Lions’ goalie. Despite their hard work, JPII did a nice job of clearing pucks and keeping the Skippers at bay, but regardless, they kept pushing. It all culminated in a score just before the nine-minute mark. The Lions made life tougher on themselves with several penalties, giving Cohasset/Hull more chances to climb back into the game. Shortly after, Dwyer handed the puck to Skipper sophomore Brendan Hartwell at the faceoff dot and he ripped it home to make it a 3-2 game with six minutes left to play. It was clear that Cohasset/Hull was stacking momentum and they had a spring in their step now that one shot could tie things up. Three minutes later, another power play would lead to that equalizer. This time, an initial shot by Thomas was sitting in the crease for senior Jackson Stonehouse and he shoveled it home to make the game 3-3 with 3:36 left to play. Shortly after the goal was scored, the JPII coaching staff smartly called a timeout to rally the troops and discuss strategy to stop the bleeding. It worked well to their advantage as the team played a measured brand of hockey after that and created a couple of Grade A looks that could have been game winners. They were granted a power play with two minutes remaining, but Cohasset/Hull was able to kill it off, and the Skippers subsequently took their timeout to give their players a rest with 1:21 left to go. The remainder of the period was largely academic and we were heading to OT.
In the extra frame, it did not take long for Cohasset/Hull to go on the offensive. They quickly dumped the puck in and chased it down with the puck eventually going up top to sophomore defender Mason DelGallo who fired it on net, creating a juicy rebound. Bellew was all over it and took two whacks at it and the second one found the back of the net as he won his team’s Senior Day matinee by a final of 4-3.
Three Stars:
- F Tegan Bellew, Cohasset/Hull
- D Finn Shortt, John Paul II
- F Taighe Dwyer, Cohasset/Hull