By Max Clifford
Hometown Weekly Reporter
The Dover-Sherborn-Weston co-operative boys’ hockey team bounced back in a big way last week, redeeming a Monday night loss to Dedham with a dramatic comeback to defeat Medway and claim the TVL small title on Saturday night.
D-S-Weston had a rare opportunity to avenge a loss suffered in the second game of the season against Dedham on Monday night. A 2-1 loss at the hands of the Marauders on December 2 was one of just three losses suffered by the co-op team entering Monday night.
With redemption in mind, Dover-Sherborn’s Max Niit got the scoring started in the first period with the help of Max Patenaude and Matthias Sarnblad on the assists. With Andrew Goldstein holding down the goal, D-S-Weston held the 1-0 lead heading into the first intermission.
Dedham continued to blitz Goldstein in the second period, sneaking the tying goal into the net in the opening minutes of the period. D-S-Weston dominated the shot margin following the Dedham goal. They had several opportunities to retake the lead, including a puck that came to a rest inside the crease before being slapped away by a Dedham defenseman. At the end of the second period, the score remained knotted at one.
After killing a penalty to open the third, the Marauders found their second goal of the evening to pull out in front, 2-1. Goldstein kept Dedham out of the net for the rest of the game, but the D-S-Weston attack could not finish off an opportunity for the tying goal.
With a season sweep at the hands of Dedham in the rearview, D-S-Weston took to the road on Saturday in search of their second victory over Medway and a league title. Similar to the Dedham series, the first game between the two teams was decided by a single goal and looked to be a tight rematch.
Facing a tough Medway attack, Goldstein was once again unflappable in goal, holding the Mustangs scoreless through the first two periods. Unfortunately for D-S-Weston, the Medway goal was just as tough to reach. Heading into the second intermission, the two teams were deadlocked at 0-0.
In the opening seconds of the third period, Medway’s Jason Drake slipped a puck into the net to grab a 1-0 advantage.
D-S-Weston wasted no time at all with their response. Not two full minutes after falling behind, Dover-Sherborn’s Patrick Benson used assists from Andrew Marden and Ethan Fiore to knot the game at one goal apiece.
Intent on keeping the comeback alive, Niit took a pass from Sam Hinckley and converted on his second goal of the week, giving D-S-Weston their first lead just minutes after falling behind.
After the final horn sounded, the D-S-Weston bench raced to embrace Goldstein who had shut down 28 of the 29 shots he faced to help his team secure the TVL small title.
