BUZZARDS BAY, Mass. – The final two minutes of Monday night’s Div. 2 state semifinal at the Gallo Ice Arena felt like an eternity.
Natick pulled its goalie and, with the extra attacker, seemed to have the puck confined to the Canton zone. Shot after shot was thrown towards the front of the net, most finding the way blocked by a green jersey or a well-positioned stick or skate. A few found their way through but ended up hitting a pad or finding their way into Carolyn Durand’s glove.
With less than 10 seconds remaining, senior Payton McDonough leaned over one last defensive zone face-off. She was able to tie up the puck, eating precious seconds off the clock. When it finally got kicked loose a wild shot sent the puck behind the net long enough for the horn to sound and send the Bulldogs racing off the bench.
Canton’s defense of its Div. 2 state title will continue to the final day of the winter season, as the Bulldogs held on for a 2-1 win over the Redhawks and a return to the TD Garden for an opportunity that the pandemic denied them in 2020.
“I’m just really excited for these girls,” said Canton coach Dennis Aldrich. “Two years ago these seniors were on a team that didn’t get to go to the Garden and we didn’t know if it was going to be in the cards again. You just don’t sell these kids short.”
McDonough said of the final sequence, “Eight seconds is a long time, so it was just pure determination. We’ve come this far, we’re not going to end it here. We were locking onto the girls, just trying to protect Carolyn, make sure she could see the puck.
“I think it’s really awesome what we did two years ago, but it didn’t really seem tangible. We never got to experience it. We really used that as motivation to hold on for that whole third period.”
The game didn’t start well for the Bulldogs, as Natick controlled play for much of the opening period. Tess Khoury, who scored twice in the quarterfinal win over Duxbury, got Canton’s first shot on goal three minutes in but the Bulldogs couldn’t build momentum as they were forced to kill off almost six minutes of Natick power play time.
After the kill, Canton got a boost of energy and went to work on the forecheck. Ellie Bohane and Audrey Koen pinned Natick behind its own net and then forced a turnover. The loose puck fell to Koen, who patiently moved into the slot before firing a shot past the shoulder of Natick goalie Elli Beigel.
It was a goal against the run of play and the Redhawks went right back onto the front foot. A spinning shot from leading scorer Colleen Quirk forced Durand into a pad save and then Bohane raced out to block a slap shot from Hadley Green. In the final minute of the period, Caroline Gates pinched in from the blue line and fired a shot that smacked the outside of the post.
Natick’s momentum carried over into the second and, only a minute into the period, Quirk got loose in the slot and placed a wrist shot high to the blocker side to tie the game.
The goal seemed to wake the Bulldogs up. After being outshot 9-5 in the first, Canton would outshoot Natick 13-3 in the second, creating chance after chance and keeping the Redhawks locked inside their defensive zone.
“It was definitely a wake-up call,” junior defenseman Maya Battista explained. “Natick is a great, aggressive team and we realized that if we didn’t play to our best then we were going to get beat and we came out flying after that and now we’re here.”
Battista was especially active in the attack, moving the puck well and getting shot after shot on target. A rebound from a Battista shot fell to Khoury, who flicked a shot high to the glove side. Beigel made the stop but the puck got loose behind her and Gates had to come through and clear it off the line. McDonough also had a good chance from the edge of the crease that Beigel kicked aside.
Midway through the period, Canton’s pressure turned into the go-ahead goal. Battista again created the opening with a shot from the left point. Anna Lehan was left all alone on the edge of the crease and she pounced on the rebound and buried the close-range chance.
“Something like that happens, they don’t go into a shell,” Aldrich said about his team’s reaction to the game being tied. “They tighten their belts and just go to work. Kids are doing everything they can.”
Canton had a power play and created a flurry of chances but couldn’t extend the lead. That continued into the third, as Bohane forced another turnover in the attacking zone and put a low shot on goal from the left wing circle, but Beigel got a pad to it. Quirk nearly pulled her team level with a great hustle play, racing all the way into her zone on the back check and then carrying the puck the length of the ice before forcing Durand (17 saves) into a good stop.
The Bulldogs nearly put the game away with three minutes to go. Bohane won the puck in the corner and played it out to the point. Devan Spinale angled a shot towards the far post where Lila Spinelli was stationed. Spinelli got a piece of the shot to direct it on goal but Beigel did very well to get a pad across in time to make the save.
“Coach calls us a blue collar team,” said McDonough. “We’re not really flashy, scoring a lot of goals, we’re just making sure we’re all doing our jobs, getting the puck out of the zone, getting the puck in deep, and hopefully getting some shots on net.”
A one-goal lead meant a test of Canton’s nerves over the final few minutes.
Durand snagged a blast from Gates and kept her calm in the tumultuous final seconds. Every player on the ice was throwing themselves in front of shots and even standing a few feet from the play it was difficult at times to see what direction the puck was headed. In the end, it was enough to secure the win and to book a place in the state final.
Aldrich said, “We asked them, what will you do to come out on top? You kind of saw it. Even when we didn’t get the blocks, I was proud of them because we didn’t want it going on net and for the most part it didn’t. I was really proud of how they stuck together.”
“This team is a family and everything we do is centered around being together and playing our best together,” Battista remarked. “It’s a great opportunity to do what we never got to do freshman year. I’m just happy to be back going to the Garden. It’s an exciting time.”
Canton (18-6-0) will take on No. 10 seed Algonquin, which beat No. 11 Medfield in overtime, at the TD Garden on Sunday at a time to be determined.