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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
The Medfield and Westwood High School boys varsity hockey teams took to the ice on Wednesday evening at Canton Ice House for their second of two TVL matches this season. The Warriors (7-7-1) took down the Wolverines (11-3-1) 2-0 back on January 24, but it was a different story this time around for Medfield, as Westwood goaltender Justin Anderson was phenomenal between the pipes, saving 22 of 23 shots and propelling Westwood to a 2-1 victory.
Scoring chances were limited during the first period of play thanks to incredible defensive play on both ends, all while Anderson and Medfield goaltender Mike Mangiafico turned away anything that got through to them.
The Wolverines drew first blood midway through the second period off of a wrist shot from the hash marks by forward Thomas Keith that beat Mangiafico to the blocker side, putting Westwood ahead 1-0. However, the Warriors continued to press in search of the tying goal and put together a slew of tremendous scoring opportunities, only to be robbed by sprawling saves by Anderson. Thanks to Anderson’s efforts, the Wolverines entered the third period still up a goal.
With just under eight minutes left in the third period, Westwood extended the lead to two thanks to a rebound goal by forward Aaron Janfaza. Medfield cut the deficit back to one with a little over three minutes to play thanks to a goal by Tom Schofield off of a net-mouth scramble. Medfield yanked the goaltender with about 1:20 left in regulation in search of the tying goal, but Anderson again stood strong for Westwood despite a flurry of pucks heading his way during the 6-on-5 advantage for the Warriors. With 12 seconds to play, Medfield won a faceoff in the Westwood end and got the puck to sophomore forward Brian Abely, who ripped a shot on net that was turned aside by the pad of Anderson and cleared out of the zone by senior forward Trevor Fahey, preserving the 2-1 victory for Westwood.
The Warriors will look to get back on a winning note when they take on Masconomet on February 15 before playing in the John Quinn Memorial Tournament on February 21 and 23 in Raynham to close out the regular season.
