By Avonlea Cummings
Hometown Weekly Sports Reporter
Fans anxiously occupied the edges of their seats during a riveting competition as the Dover-Sherborn/Weston High School boys' ice hockey team confronted Dedham High, resulting in a hard-fought 2-1 loss in their inaugural league match of the season.
Commencing with the initial puck drop, Dedham established dominance early in the first period, securing a lead within the opening minutes and maintaining it throughout the first and second periods. Nevertheless, the Dover-Sherborn/Weston boys displayed unwavering intensity on the ice, refusing to yield to the Dedham Marauders. The second period unfolded as a defensive struggle, with the Dover-Sherborn/Weston boys demonstrating resilience and skill. Goaltender Andrew Goldstein executed pivotal saves, thwarting scoring opportunities from Dedham and preserving a close score.
As the third period commenced, Dedham capitalized on a second goal, claiming a 2-0 lead. Despite this setback, the Dover-Sherborn/Weston boys collaboratively exerted considerable effort to narrow the gap. Their persistence bore fruit when, executing a penalty play, they found the back of the net with 12 seconds remaining, reducing the score to 2-1. The boys relentlessly fired shots until the competition's final second, aiming to equalize the game. However, time proved to be their primary adversary as the clock expired, signaling the end of the arduous match.
Head coach Alex Marlow offered his assessment of the team's performance and provided insights into the senior captains for the season.
“Obviously it’s frustrating. I feel like we carried shots over them 38-24, and I think we carried time of possession for most of the game in their zone, and of course our power-play goal, at the end of the game we were really trying to push the puck back into the net. I give them credit because it came down to those 12 seconds and they were still trying, but it was just one of those games and it happens sometimes. We definitely forechecked aggressively which is how we like to play, we are a very fast team. Andrew Goldstein (senior captain) has been a rock for us he has started all of our games since coming in as a freshman. He’s been a leader all the way. It starts with him, and we have a tandem of defensemen, Sawyer Garzone and Calvin Roman are both senior captains as well they are just two giants out there, very vocal, and lead by example. Andrew Marden is also a senior captain he works his butt off every shift and the rest of the team can see him out there working that hard,” explained Marlow.
Coach Marlow reflected on how he has been able to see the growth of players from Dover Sherborn High and Weston High come together and play as one team, building the team’s chemistry to the strongest it has ever been.
“It’s been awesome to see and talk about as a coach, I’ve been here since the very beginning. I was a player on Weston High’s team, the first team they made, I came back to coach one year before the merge of both teams, and then I was an assistant coach for the first two years after the merge. Even the parents and players can say it wasn’t smooth at first, it was challenging, there was questioning whether one could trust another on the ice with passing, and even parents had their own traditions, so it was tough to merge at first. As a coaching staff now, our seniors today were our first freshmen, and it has been really awesome to see the last three years and this year, that they are so close, they are best friends. They don’t see each other all day but they talk all day, they see each other outside of school and outside of the rink. It’s been really cool to see, you never know how a co-op is going to go, but it’s something I never worry about anymore because they are all so close. They are all there for each other which has made the team chemistry that much easier,” said Marlow.
The Dover-Sherborn/Weston High School boys' ice hockey team now looks ahead to their next match against Watertown Saturday, December 30th, The puck is set to drop at 3:00 pm.
