Road to the Garden: Sailors Shock Canton

In arguably one of the best games of the MIAA Division II South Boy’s Hockey tournament, Scituate defeated the Canton Bulldogs in a stunning comeback victory. After falling into a 2-0 hole, the Sailors came back to win in the Sectional Semifinals 4-2.

After a rather quiet beginning to the first period, Canton drew blood first with a goal in the last 20 seconds of play. Captain Bob Mullaney capitalized on a Scituate turnover in their own zone to make the game 1-0.

The second period followed a similar pattern as neither team was able to score for most of the 15 minute period. With less than a minute left, Mullaney added to his goal total for the night after he netted a rebound that senior captain and goalie David Sheehan had initially been able to deflect. It was evident that the last Canton goal had deflated not just the Scituate team but its fans, too. The fan section fell unusually quiet, and many of the players were hanging their heads. The game seemed to be slipping out of reach. Before despair could completely take over, though, junior Jake McCarthy made a beautiful pass across the crease to sophomore Ryan Harrigan, who managed to tip it in. The Scituate fans and bench erupted. Any sorrow that had been felt just seconds before was replaced with instant joy. The second period closed with the score 2-1 Canton.

Despite a good close to the second period, the game wasn’t over yet. A strong push at the beginning of the third period finally paid off for the Sailors as junior Mike Norton’s shot was saved — only to be deflected off McCarthy’s skates and into the net. The momentum of the game shifted instantly: Scituate went from being on the ropes to coming back with an offensive of their own. With under a minute left of play, the tension was palpable: “Let’s go Scituate” could be heard throughout the stadium. Great saves by Sheehan kept the Sailors in the game up to this point. Scituate earned a faceoff in the opposing zone. After losing the faceoff, the Sailors were able to regain control of the puck. McCarthy set Harrigan up for an impressive one-timer, which beat Canton’s goalie to give Scituate a 3-2 lead with just over 30 seconds left in regulation. McCarthy would seal the victory about 15 seconds later with an empty-net goal.
The victory marks tenth-seeded Scituate’s third upset of the tournament, as Canton joins Medway and Bishop Feehan as casualties of the Sailors’ spectacular run in the tournament so far. Scituate will play top-seeded Medfield on Sunday, March 13th, at 1:30 p.m., in the Boy’s South Division Hockey Finals at Gallo Arena in Buzzards Bay, MA, for a chance to compete for a state championship at TD Garden