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By Douglas McCulloch
Hometown Weekly Staff
The Walpole High boys hockey team held onto its unbeaten title after tying with Bridgewater-Raynham on January 18 1-1.
The game began with Bridgewater-Raynham picking up an early 1-0 lead, and holding onto that lead throughout the rest of the first period.
But the Rebels were able to bounce back, as sophomore Ryan Birch picked up a goal with 8:47 remaining in the second period. The Trojans came close to securing a win with a goal in the third period, but the refs determined it was knocked in by a hand and took it off the board.
After the game, head coach Ron Dowd noted that there were some problems he noticed that prevented the Rebels from turning the tie into a win.
“[Bridgewater-Raynham] definitely controlled the game in the first period,” Dowd said. “[In the] second period I thought we came at them. In the third period we just couldn’t get a power play going, we couldn’t generate anything. That was a little disappointing.”
Dowd noted that the Trojans were a tough opponent to face.
“[Bridgewater-Raynham] are a good solid hockey team,” Dowd said. “They are one of the better programs around, they are deep.”
The season has been progressing well for the Rebels. After opening the season with a 0-0 tie to Natick, the team went on to win its next eight matches in a row before settling for a tie against Milton. After picking up two more wins, the team faced its third tie of the season against Bridgewater-Raynham.
“We feel like we left some points out there but we’re happy to be where we are, we’re not complaining,” Dowd said.
After the game, the Rebels are just one win away from qualifying for the postseason. Dowd had hoped to secure a postseason run earlier, and expressed concern with the next few games.
“I said that we got to get this over sooner rather than later, then you start pressing,” Dowd said. “I know we have some good teams coming up. We have some work to do.”
The Rebels took to the ice against Natick and ended their winning streak with a 1-0 loss on Wednesday.
See more photos from the game at
https://hometownweekly.smugmug.com/Walpole/Walpole-School-Sports/Boys-hockey-vs-Bridgewater.
