FRANKLIN, Mass. - After three straight Division 2 South sectional titles, Franklin hockey is making the jump into D1 this postseason and the Panthers entered Wednesday night’s first round game feeling like there has been a lack of respect from other programs in the bracket. Franklin does not get to play the underdog very often, but it is a role that it put to good use against Weymouth.
In front of a raucous home crowd at a packed Pirelli Veterans Memorial Arena, Franklin proved some doubters wrong with a dominating 7-2 victory over the Wildcats. Mason Saunders scored just 32 seconds into the game and senior defenseman Kyle Powers has two goals as the Panthers rolled into the quarterfinals.
“I would say that it’s the most complete game,” said Franklin coach Chris Spillane. “We still had some breakdowns, some penalties at the end of the game and got a little sloppy, but for the most part it was pretty much the most complete game [of the season].”
Powers added, “I think that was huge getting that first one under our belts coming into D1. Everyone is kind of looking at us as the underdog where years before they looked at us as a powerhouse. Coming into D1, we knew it was going to be rough, but it was good to get that first win.”
Saunders got the Panthers off to a great start when his low drive from the point went through a crowd and eluded Weymouth starting goalie Kurt Gutting to make it 1-0 within the opening minute. It could have been tied four minutes in as a shot was chipped over the top of Panthers goalie Devon Maloof, who was well out of his net to cut down the angle, but the senior was able to reach back over his head and tip it away with his glove.
With 8:38 left in the first, Joe Bourque doubled the lead after great work by Alec Borkowski to control the puck in the corner and find space to make the pass into the slot. Three minutes later, leading scorer Ryan Spillane made it 3-0 as he skated into the zone and beat Gutting with a low blast. That would be the end of Gutting’s night as Weymouth went to sophomore Brendan Burns.
Franklin nearly tacked on more as it finished the period with a flurry. Just before Spillane’s goal, Troy Donahue had a breakaway saved by the stick of Gutting and then in the closing minute he smashed a face-off onto the pipe.
Coach Spillane explained, “We used our legs tonight and if we’re going to be successful we need to be the fastest team out there and it was very evident that tonight we were. I told my kids we have to set the pace. They’re a big physical team and if slow the pace down then they’ll beat us up and they did a good job. We had some good passing and some good goals.”
“The first goal -- Mason Saunder’s goal -- was huge,” said Powers. “It got the crowd going, it gave us so much confidence and then we get the second and we were just rolling after that.”
The second period was understandably subdued after the energetic start, but both teams started to creat chances as it reached the midway point and Franklin would tack on a pair of power play goals.
The first was a great tip by senior Vince Geromini, who redirected a shot from Saunders and it bounced in front of Burns and over his blocker to make it 4-0. The fifth came on a two-man advantage that the Panthers worked to perfection. Constant puck movement opened the space and Borkowski hit Powers through the middle of the zone for a one-time rocket that found the back of the net.
Weymouth got on the board two minutes into the third period on a goal by Chris Munichello, but DJ Shea responded just 35 seconds later to end any Wildcats momentum. After another goal made it 6-2 on a five on three, Powers came right back with a shorthanded goal into the top corner to cap off the game.
He said, “We needed some closure and I was there to give it to us so that was good.”
The victory should earn Franklin a little bit more respect from the other teams in D1, but Spillane understands that there is still a lot that teams do not know about the Panthers -- and vice versa.
“We’re coming up from Division 2 and everybody’s not giving us a whole lot of credit, but it’s understandable,” he said. “We don’t know any of our opponents. It’s exciting but it’s challenging. It’s a good start and, you know, no one expected us to do much so, it’s a good start and it’s a steppingstone.”
The Panthers will advance to the next round to face another Bay State Conference opponent in Framingham, which knocked off Marshfield. That game will be ay Gallo Arena in Bourne on Saturday and Powers for one is looking forward to the test.
“We’re so excited. We think Framingham is a winnable game -- we just need to go out and play like we did today and we can beat anyone.”
Josh Perry can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @Josh_Perry10.