Junior forward Andrew Scier (19) moves the puck through the neutral zone. Photos by Mike Flanagan.
By Mike Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
Two of the TVL's top dogs met on Monday afternoon at Blackstone Valley IcePlex in Hopedale as Medfield High boys varsity hockey traveled to face off against rival Medway.
Just 3:25 in, the Mustangs (7-1-1) struck. Medfield's Aidan Parker went off for a trip at 19:10 and Medway capitalized immediately. Pari Lykourinos tipped home a shot from the point by Kaveh Bahery just five seconds into the power play to give Medway a 1-0 lead. Just 4:56 later, Lykourinos found the back of the net again, smacking home the rebound of an initial shot from the slot by Cole Theodore to double the lead to 2-0.
With Medfield shorthanded following a boarding call on senior captain Sam Palmer midway through the period, James Davignon got the Warriors (4-2-1) right back in the game. Following a caused turnover at the blue line by senior forward Chris Lawson, senior captain and forward Phil Parker stole the puck and fed a pass to a wide-open Davignon in front of the Medway net. Davignon faked to his backhand before firing a wrist shot by the glove of Medway goalie Evan Monaghan for a shorthanded goal to cut the deficit to 2-1. Just 5:12 later, Kevin Arthur snapped a wrist shot home off a turnover in the high slot to tie the game at two with 14:14 remaining in the period.
With 1:25 to play in the period, Lykourinos flew in on a rush down the wing for Medway and fired a one-legged slap shot on net that was initially saved by Medfield goalie Matthew MacTavish, but sputtered up in the air. The puck landed on the goal line for an easy tap-in for a crashing Alex Infanger, giving the Mustangs a 3-2 lead at the intermission.
Still 3-2 late in the game, the Warriors were given an opportunity to tie things up on the power play when Medway's Nathan VanSaun went off for elbowing. With 1:47 to play, Arthur took a pass from Lawson at the right face-off dot and ripped home his second goal of the night to tie the game at three. With under 40 seconds to play, Arthur nearly completed the hat trick and gave the Warriors their first lead of the game, rifling a shot off the cross bar and out of play on a rush up ice. The clock hit zeros and the game ended in a 3-3 tie.
For funny and incisive sports analysis as well as video highlights of games, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter and Instagram handles @flano0.
