The brackets are out and the postseason gets underway on Monday night. The Hockomock League is sending nine of its 11 hockey programs into the playoffs and HockomockSports.com has your preview of the state tournament action.
1. Welcome to the Hockomock Invititational
Last season, the final four teams in Division 2 South were all from the Hockomock and this year the league has added two new participants with King Philip and Milford joining the party. This has been a sectional dominated by the Hock, with the last four champions all coming from the league (two for Canton and the last two for Franklin) and it could have been five but for a shootout loss by the Panthers against Sandwich.
With seven of the 15 teams in D2 South, it was inevitable that several Hock teams will square off in the opening round: KP versus Mansfield and Milton versus North Attleboro. The winner of the Milford/North game will then face top seeded Canton in another league showdown. While no. 2 seed Martha’s Vineyard is universally described as overrated, there are still serious challengers for the title primarily Coyle & Cassidy and Sandwich. With Mansfield, Franklin, and KP all moving to D1 next season, every team will have added motivation to make one last run at the D2 title.
2. 2010 champs back on top
The Canton Bulldogs have not lost a game since they were beaten 1-0 by Oliver Ames on January 2nd (Canton lost in overtime to Coyle in the Quinn Memorial Tournament but for MIAA purposes it was a 2-2 tie). As the best offensive and defensive team in the Hockomock, Canton has clearly been the league’s top team boasting the talented scoring of Brian Brooks and Pat Ward and the strong defensive leadership of Kurt Leavitt and Stephen Mullaney.
While Canton is the league’s most complete team, it is not a foregone conclusion that they will be taking home the title. The Bulldogs have struggled to close out games notably against D2 playoff teams Newburyport and Coyle, which they may face in the semifinals. Another possible threat in the semis is Oliver Ames, which is a big physical team that has given Canton problems in the past. They may be the best and deepest team and the top seed, but there is still plenty of work to do for the 2010 state champions.
3. Franklin takes on underdog role
It is hard to think of a team that has been to the past two state championship games as an underdog, but that is exactly the mantle that coach Chris Spillane has given to the Panthers this year. Ironically, Franklin dropping to the no. 7 seed may have been the best thing for the team. If Franklin can get by Plymouth South, it will face a winnable game against the Vineyard and a potential matchup with Mansfield or Sandwich in the semifinals.
This is not the prolific Franklin teams of the past. The Panthers need to scrap for goals, do the dirty work in front of net, and battle in the corners. With forwards Troy Donahue, Cam Curley, Mike Patjane, et al, Franklin has scoring punch, but it has struggled to get the puck on net and it has gone through large stretches of games on the back foot. This adds to the pressure on goalie Devon Maloof, who is capable of remarkable saves and the occasional mistake. Led by junior Kyle Powers, the defense is strong and Franklin knows how to win when not at its best, as Mansfield and Canton can attest, but the offense needs to step up for the Panthers to make another title run.
4. Hornets trying to find the scoring touch
At the halfway point of the season, Mansfield was on top of the Kelley-Rex division and Brendan Murphy was being touted as the league’s MVP. Then, suddenly, the confidence in front of net seemed to disappear for the Hornets and losses to North Attleboro and Franklin handed the league title to the Panthers. The Franklin game was a perfect example, as Murphy had a golden opportunity to tie the game in the dying seconds but was unable to hit the net.
The Hornets have played better since that midseason bobble, with wins over North, Westfield, and Nauset and a tight loss to Winchester, which was on the Super 8 watchlist. The top line of Murphy, Adam Blackman, and Kevin Flynn is as good as any in the tournament and goalie Rich Shipman will take a lot to be beaten. The Hornets are a strong candidate to return to the sectional finals, but they better not overlook their first round opponents.
5. KP back in tournament
It was not an easy path, but the Warriors will be returning to the tournament for the first time since 2008. KP needed to go down to the next to last game of the season against Foxboro before finally clinching its spot and coach Mark Homer has watched injuries take their toll on his squad. The bright spot for KP is that Gavin Macintyre and Nick D’Amico skated in Saturday’s Hockomock All-Star game and should be back for the game against Mansfield.
Macintyre, in particular, will be a welcome returnee as the captain had been on a scoring tear before injuring his knee against Attleboro. KP will be thinking upset in its first round matchup with Mansfield. A month ago, the Hornets nicked KP 4-3 in an exciting and very competitive game. With players coming back into the lineup and goalie Dylan Unger playing at a high level, the Warriors will be confident heading into the tournament.
6. Tigers enter tournament on a roll
Oliver Ames is a big, physical, team that puts an emphasis on defending and on hitting. The Tigers also boast arguably the league’s best goalie in sophomore Jimmy Tierney. Early in the season, there were question marks over the team’s goalscoring and whether or not it could hit the back of the net often enough to challenge in D2. During the season ending nine game unbeaten streak, the Tigers seem to have answered those doubts. In fact, the Tigers may be the Hock team playing the best as the tournament begins.
Wins over Franklin, KP, North Attleboro and Whitman-Hanson and a 2-2 tie with Sandwich have proven how competitive that OA can be against the teams in the sectional. The Tigers are a team that most will want to avoid, especially since Tierney is the type of goalie that can catch fire and lead a team to a title. The biggest concern for OA is probably the draw. The Tigers would have to get through two of the favorites, Coyle and Canton, just to get to the finals. They will definitely be a team to watch.
7. New league, no problem
Milford, as outlined in this article by Jim Clark of the Boston Herald, has come a long way in a very short time. Two seasons ago, the Hawks were in Division 4 and finished the season 0-20. Now, Milford has moved to the Hockomock League and up to D2 and has qualified for the playoffs for the first time in the program’s history after posting a best ever 10-8-2 record. It would be ok if the Hawks were content with just getting to the tournament, but after drawing North in the opening round, Milford will believe that it can get at least one playoff win.
The Hawks confidence stems from the star power up front. Juniors Jared Balzarini and playmaker Brad White are both near the top of the league’s scoring charts. Milford has also been very competitive with North in its two games this season, a 3-2 loss in the opener and a 2-2 tie early in February. It has been a very impressive debut season in the Hockomock League, but can the Hawks add to that success with the upset of the Rocketeers?
8. Unlucky draw for Big Red
North Attleboro is another relatively young program that has made great strides in the past two seasons. Last year, North won its first playoff game and this year the Rocketeers earned the program’s first ever win over Mansfield. Behind a pair of sophomore scorers, Sean Young and Marshall Blackman, Big Red jumped out to a great start to the season, but things have been tougher in recent weeks forcing coach Steve Snizek to adjust the lines in order to find a better balance.
North is still the favorite in its first round game against Milford, but not by much. If North does get by the Hawks, it will have to face-off against the league’s top team Canton, which beat the Rocketeers 8-0 in their only meeting this season. It would have been interesting to see how North stands up against some of the other D2 programs, but this is an important game as the program continues to grow because North will want to assert itself as a legitimate threat in the league.
9. League MVP leads Attleboro into postseason
There has been plenty of debate on the site about Zach Dragun winning the league’s MVP award as voted on by the coaches. While there are plenty of strong candidates and it is always to argue, there can be little doubt that Dragun is the reason that the Bombardiers are 9-7-4 and heading back to the D3 playoffs. He is the top scorer, top assist man, plays on both the power play and penalty kill, and is the main target for opposing defenses.
Attleboro has played well this season against some of the top teams in the Hockomock, but they have done it without creating lots of scoring chances. Dragun’s finishing ability means that he does not need many shots to punish a defense, which will be crucial in the postseason. The Bombardiers are slightly unlucky in their draw, facing a trip to Bourne to take on Pembroke and a possible game with top seed and highly rated Medfield in the first round. There will be even more pressure heaped on the league’s MVP as he tried to end his career with at least one more tournament victory.
10. Warriors need confidence heading into tourney
Foxboro has drawn Silver Lake in the first round of the tournament. The Warriors have played Silver Lake twice this season and neither result will inspire much confidence in an upset on Monday night, but Foxboro needs to remember that upsets happen in hockey all the time. A strong defensive effort from Scott McDonald, one or two chances taken by Kyle Sperzel, and a great game from goalie Melissa Almeida could be enough to get the Warriors through.
The most important for Foxboro to remember heading into the playoffs is that it has nothing to lose. A team with no expectations is a dangerous team and if the Warriors can get through the first period with a lead or even down by only one goal, the pressure will be on Silver Lake and Foxboro could take advantage. Stranger things have happened.