MacTavish, Warriors upend rival Raiders

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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor

Following a 2-2 tie back on December 29, the Medfield High and Dover-Sherborn Regional High School boys varsity hockey teams met for the second and final time in 2017-2018 on Wednesday night at Pirelli Veterans Arena in Franklin.

The Warriors (10-2-2, 9-2-2) entered Wednesday’s rubber match with the Raiders (6-7-2, 4-6-2) on the heels of a season-high five-game winning streak. DS held its own against the conference-leading Warriors for the majority of the first period, but Medfield’s forward core exploded and broke a 1-1 tie with six unanswered goals to prevail by a final of 7-1, extending their winning streak to six.

Just 1:51 into the game, junior forward Shawn MacTavish streaked in down the right wing and fired home his first varsity goal to draw first blood for the Warriors. Less than 30 seconds later, however, at 2:12, Cole Condon responded for DS as the senior captain took a pass in the neutral zone, flew up the ice and split a pair of defenders before depositing the puck home five-hole to tie the game at one.

With 9:55 to play in the period, Steven O’Leary gave Medfield back the lead when the junior forward took a pass in front of the net from senior forward Liam Gately down low in the corner and deposited the puck home past the far right pad of DS goalie Aidan Britt. Just over a minute later with 8:54 to play, senior forward Thomas Schofield extended the lead to 3-1 by knocking home the rebound on a net-mouth scramble. DS was awarded a power play opportunity late in the period with the chance to cut the deficit to one goal, but the Raiders were unable to convert, as Medfield took their two-goal lead into the first intermission.

At 5:32 of the second period, senior forward Dylan McNally extended Medfield’s lead to three on the power play by tapping home the rebound of a shot from the point, and Medfield took a commanding 4-1 lead. With 2:01 to play in the period, sophomore defenseman Jimmy Cosolito fed a pass up the wing to senior forward Mike Foley on the breakout. Foley dished a cross-ice feed to senior forward Tom Schofield, who deposited the puck home upstairs for his second goal of the game, extending Medfield’s lead to 5-1 at the second intermission.

Sophomore forward Mike Tyer extended the Medfield lead to 6-1 just seconds into the third period to all but seal the deal for the Warriors. Medfield added a seventh goal late and went on to prevail by a 7-1 final to take the season series against the Raiders. Cam Giunta (18 saves) recorded the victory in net for the Warriors.

At the time of print, Medfield will look to stick to its winning ways when the Warriors travel to face Holliston on February 7 before hosting rival Westwood on February 10. DS, meanwhile, will try and get back in the win column and make a push for the state tournament when the Raiders play back-to-back road games on February 7 at Medway and February 10 at Ashland.

For funny and incisive sports analysis, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter at @fLAno0, or read his blog at www.flannylive.wordpress.com.