By Paul Vozzella
Hometown Weekly Sports Reporter
Playoff intensity was at a high on Sunday night as Dover-Sherborn/Weston battled Northeast Metro to a 4-1 win to advance to the Round of Eight. Between the two teams, there were over fifteen penalties and three ejections after several fights broke out.
Just over two minutes into the third period, a controversial big hit led to Raiders players coming to their teammate’s defense. The brawl ended with four players going into the penalty box, but the fighting was far from over.
Several minutes later, there was another scrap. This time, there were less repercussions but both teams were giving a warning about continuing further. With 1:30 left in the game and its season already over, a Northeast Metro player skated full speed into the back of an unaware Raiders forward, causing the opponent to get ejected. After some retaliation, one player from each team followed suit.
“It's just the heat of the moment,” said head coach Alex Marlow. “It's high school hockey playoffs, things get escalated and it's just trying to keep those guys intact [and] keep people safe.”
Frustrations started early for Northeast Metro with a goal just 18 seconds into the game for the Raiders. Senior Sam Hinckley deflected a pass from junior Andrew Cahill for the lead. Junior Max Patenaude made it a two-goal lead at 11:14 with a breakaway goal.
“Honestly, our players just forecheck hard, get pucks deep [and get] shots on net,” said junior Ethan Fiore on the offense’s early success. “We did really well on that and it turned over some goals.”
Two penalties following the two scores did not pose a threat to the Raiders as they were able to kill both without facing any big shots on goal. However, for the second consecutive game, the team allowed a shorthanded score in the second period.
“We can’t be screwing around with the puck at the top of the blue line,” said Marlow. “If we’re in trouble, it’s gotta get down low… We can’t keep giving our goalie breakaways.”
Before Northeast Metro was able to execute on the turnover, senior Felix Giesen found the back of the net off an assist from senior Hunter Hourihan. Both teams had a 5-on-3 opportunity during the second period but no goals came from it. Dover-Sherborn/Weston took a 3-1 lead into second intermission.
Playing through the pandemonium that was the third period, Fiore put the icing on the cake with a goal to give his team a 4-1 advantage.
“I think we've been a little shaky on [power plays] and we worked a lot on it in practice,” said Fiore. “We were trying out some new things on the power play and it's working. So, we hope to net a few more in the upcoming games.”
Next up is a familiar foe and fellow Tri-Valley League member: Dedham. The Raiders are 1-4 in their last five games against the Marauders, but the one win came in last year’s playoff run to the state championship.
