By Paul Vozzella
Hometown Weekly Sports Reporter
The Raiders did more than hold their own on Tuesday night, but ultimately, could not do enough to hand Medfield their first loss of the season. The 2-1 final drops Dover-Sherborn/Weston to 6-7-2 on the year.
The team found themselves in an early deficit, letting up a goal thirteen seconds into action. Following that, the Raiders were in a back-and-forth contest with a lot of offensive opportunities.
“I’m very proud of [the team],” said head coach Alex Marlow. “They were given a game plan and they really followed through with it. We certainly had our opportunities left and right and [William Goldstein] stood on his head in net to keep it close for us.”
The second period saw several opportunities for Medfield’s offense but were put to an end quickly due to Goldstein and company clearing the puck out of the zone. The Raiders spent the vast majority of time on the attacking end of the ice, getting a lot of shots on goal. Unfortunately, all but one got through.
“Honestly, some games you just bury [goals], some games you don't,” said captain Sam Hinckley. “I mean, it's just kind of how hockey works. Some games you find the net, sometimes you run into a hot goalie like we did tonight. It just is what it is; all you can do is keep shooting.”
Dover-Sherborn/Weston found themselves in a prime opportunity after Medfield committed two penalties within an 18 second span, leaving the Raiders with a 5-on-3 advantage. No goals came from the opportunity, but they skated off the ice for the second intermission still down 1-0.
“There were a lot of power plays in that period,” said Marlow. “I think we're just getting a little too cute, instead of kind of moving the puck fast and [shooting]. Or we’re just kind of slowly looking around and allowing [Medfield] to get set up. Otherwise, I just think we're working hard in the offensive zone.”
Medfield was able to score again just over two minutes into the third frame but forward Tommy Lamb was able to keep things close with a goal of his own under a minute later. The Raiders struggled to gain offensive possession to pull their goalie at the end. By the time Goldstein skated off, there was not enough time to mount any great shots on goal to tie the game.
“That's definitely a good Medfield team,” said Hinckley. “We had two big wins before this, and we were just trying to carry the momentum and [to keep] it at a 2-1 game – we got a lot of good opportunities and easily could have won that game – so I think we carried the momentum through.”
Dover-Sherborn/Weston has at least five games remaining (a win against Martha’s Vineyard grants them another game). Before the four team tournament, the Raiders take on Norton and Medway. They must finish with more wins than losses or within the top 32 teams to qualify for playoffs.
