BOURNE, Mass. – The last time the Canton Bulldogs lost in regulation came the day after New Year's Day when Oliver Ames’ Jimmy Tierney stopped all 41 of their shots.
The sophomore goalie did it again, stoning all 37 of Canton shots as all Oliver Ames beat the Bulldogs 2-0 in the D2 South Semifinals.
"He’s probably one of the best goalies, not just in D2, but in the state,” Canton head coach Brian Shuman said. “He’s an outstanding goalie who had a great game. We had our chances and we didn’t bury them. These were two equal hockey teams and it was a great game.”
The game-winner for OA came 7:05 into the second on the power play, after Canton’s Justin Rudy was called for an interference penalty. Senior defenseman Andrew Romans took a feed from sophomore Tyler Provost and with Andrew Mancini screening in front, Romans’ shot through traffic found it’s way by Canton goalie Rich Nee.
It's only Romans’ second goal of the year and just the fourth power play goal the Tigers have scored all season.
“He’s our number one defenseman,” OA head coach Jim Sullivan said.
The two teams split the regular season series, as each team defended home ice. After Oliver Ames’ 1-0 win over the Bulldogs in January, Canton responded with a 3-1 win on their own home ice.
"It just makes it sweeter because it’s a Hock team,” Sullivan said. “It just shows how strong the Hockomock is.”
Tierney proved he was on in the early going stopping freshman John Femia’s bid just 1:13 into the game. Femia split two Tiger defenders but Tierney was able to stop the freshman's shot point blank.
“We just wanted to come out, play our game and forecheck hard,” Tierney said.
Before Romans’ goal, Tierney made two strong back to back sequences of saves. First, Tierney made a save to his right before making another while still on the ice. Just seconds later, Tierney made two in a row again, this time to his right.
DeDespite being outshot 37-24, and 12-6 in the third period, the Tigers weathered the Bulldog’s attack.
“The defense played great in front of me and kept all shots on the outside,” Tierney said. “I don’t think they got any in the slot in the third period.”
Senior Justin Davidner clinched the win with 48 seconds left, scoring on a back hander from just outside the Canton zone for an empty-net goal.
“Words can’t describe what I was feeling,” Tierney said when OA scored the empty netter.
The Tigers will now face the winner of Franklin and Mansfield in the D2 South Finals. The game is scheduled for Sunday at Gallo in Bourne.