Stoneham, MA – We came out to Stoneham Arena to catch a marquee matchup between the Hingham Harbormen and the Arlington Catholic Cougars with a spot in the Final Four on the line. Arlington Catholic’s student section was set up behind their own net and came prepared, holding large projections of players’ faces, and students were draped in American flags. Keeping with the patriotic theme, they sang the entire national anthem, with many parents from both teams joining in as well. Hingham’s student section was packed into the defensive-zone corner and rolled in deep with numbers. Needless to say, both student sections were HYPED and ready to rock. Arlington Catholic and Hingham also came into the matchup as two of the hottest teams in all of Division 1, making this one of the more exciting matchups you could ask for.
The first period was defined by both teams refusing to take unnecessary risks. The opening 10 seconds of the game were electric, starting with a Hingham defenseman delivering a crushing hit, followed immediately by an Arlington Catholic player toe-dragging through two defenders and nearly scoring. The hit and the toe drag sent both student sections into hysteria, and we still had more than 44 minutes of hockey left to play. The forechecking from both sides was calculated, and their defensive play was even more conservative, while the middle of the period was overshadowed by multiple icings. The first half of the period was fairly even, with both teams going up and down the ice and generating good chances, but nothing overly dramatic. AC went on the first power play of the game around the eight-minute mark but was unable to convert, giving Hingham the first momentum spike of the game. The Harbormen became more effective with the puck, hemming the Cougars into their own end and shutting down the neutral zone, which eventually led to multiple scoring opportunities and then power plays. Hingham went on a 23-second 5-on-3 power play with a little over a minute left in the first period. Colman Donohue found fellow senior Brian Murray between the tops of the circles, and after receiving the pass he shifted his weight into shooting position and buried one bar down glove side, giving Hingham a 1-0 lead. Although they scored, they were slightly unlucky in the sense that they were one second away from still having a 90-second 5-on-4 power play; however, because the penalty expired at the same moment they scored, the teams returned to 5-on-5. The first period ended 1-0 in favor of Hingham.
The second period started with AC controlling the first three minutes. They were all over Hingham, getting behind the defense and creating chaos in the offensive zone, but had limited shots and chances. The next three minutes flipped the script, with Hingham controlling the pace and moving the puck around the offensive zone while generating shots from the middle of the ice – something the Cougars were struggling to do. Just as it seemed like Hingham might add another goal, the Cougars came down the ice with numbers, made a few quick passes, and found a player with a wide-open net on the backdoor, but he just missed the net on the tap-in. After the missed tap-in, the momentum swung back in Hingham’s favor in full force, but the Cougars’ defensive-zone structure stood tall, with players taking away shooting lanes and blocking several big shots. Around halfway through the period, the Cougars caught a lucky bounce in the neutral zone and turned up ice on a 2-on-0, but they were about half an inch offside, sending the AC faithful into a full frenzy and visibly taking a little bit of life out of the bench. With five minutes left, junior forward Walter Dzavik got the puck and went down the ice on a 3-on-1 after an AC defender missed a hit while stepping up at the blue line. Dzavik walked into the offensive zone with loads of space and ripped a missile short side from inside the left circle to give Hingham a 2-0 lead. AC went back on the power play with about two minutes left, but was shut down despite generating a few Grade-A scoring chances. The period ended 2-0 in favor of Hingham.
The third period was controlled from start to finish by Hingham. They came out with purpose and refused to sit on their two-goal lead, zipping through the neutral zone and generating numerous odd-man rushes as well as two breakaways, while giving the Cougars virtually none. AC’s goalie Stephen Camara played well, and the Cougars were getting chances of their own, but they just didn’t have enough to beat senior goalie James Whitmore and the Harbormen defense. In the biggest period of their season, Hingham played arguably one of the best periods they’ve had all year. The Harbormen closed it out with an empty-net goal to win 3-0, ending Arlington Catholic’s stellar run. Hingham is set to face Pope Francis in the Final Four over the weekend.
Three Stars:
- G James Whitmore, Hingham
- F Walter Dzavik, Hingham
- F Brian Murray, Hingham