BROCKTON, Mass. – For a second, even without some of their best players in uniform, it looked like the #10 Mansfield Hornets were going to deliver an upset win against the #7 Norwood Mustangs in the first round of the MIAA Division 1 South hockey tournament. Going into the final period, star Mustang forward Jack Sheehan was neutralized and a one-goal lead was in the Hornets’ possession.
But 81 seconds and two Norwood goals changed everything and it was the Mustangs spoiling the Hornets’ Division 1 South tournament debut with a 4-3 win at Asiaf Arena in Brockton.
“I though in light of everything that we’ve been though at the end of this year, we showed a lot of character, a lot of grit. The kids set out to play a certain style based on what we had for position players and I thought they did a hell of a job,” Mansfield head coach Rick Anastos said.
After a scoreless first period, John Galvin broke the deadlock for Norwood, easily scoring a wraparound goal into an open Mansfield net with 10:27 left in the period.
Mansfield would respond less than two minutes later with a goal from the top of the slot by Billy Grant.
With the goal and a power play with 5:43 left in the second period, the Hornets appeared to gain momentum after spending a good portion of the periods playing defense in their own zone. A confident, speedy, and just as fast shooting power play from the Hornets earned them the lead on a snip from Jared Collins from the left circle.
The Hornets’ power play would come up big again late in the second period with Mansfield only needing two shots to score on the man advantage. This time, it was Kyle Hurley in front of the net, redirecting a shot from Grant with 49.7 second remaining in the period.
Norwood however, quickly avoided ending the period with a two-goal deficit after Dan Farrell raced down the ice for a late score with 19.8 seconds left in the period.
Quiet for most of the evening in part due to the Mansfield defense, Norwood’s Jack Sheehan almost tied the game on a shorthanded breakaway with 9:38 left in the game. Based on the result of the last two Mansfield power plays, the Stallions received some relief in the form of a penalty on Grant for hooking, turning a Mansfield power play into a 4-on-4.
Norwood would tie the game on a Sheehan goal from the top of the left faceoff circle to the top right corner of the net with 8:33 left in the game.
Only 1:21 later, a loose puck in front of the Mansfield net resulted in a Matt Hajjar goal and a Norwood lead.
With Mansfield goalie Dan Moyer pulled and less than 47 seconds to play, Mansfield’s best chance with six men on the ice came from a shot by Evan Kershaw that whistled wide. Norwood spent the remainder of the final moments keeping the puck on the boards with a pair of Mansfield penalties giving the Stallions a two-man advantage for the final nine seconds.
Mansfield finishes the season with a record of 10-8-3.
Dan Libon can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @DLibon.