SHARON, Mass. – On a wet and muddy Wednesday afternoon, the Holliston Panthers rode a standout performance in net and quarter ending fireworks to a 5-4 win over the Sharon Eagles.
Sharon entered the fourth quarter down for the second time in as many games, after coming back in the final minute of their overtime win over North Attleboro but this comeback effort would not have the same result.
Meanwhile, the Panthers found their offense at the end of each quarter, putting in four of their five goals in the final minute of frames.
It was a slow start to the game, as it took until roughly midway the first quarter to get the first tally, as Holliston jumped out to an early 1-0 lead. Zach Elkinson drew the first blood, firing a low line drive from just inside the offensive soon, moving through the zone untouched until it found twine.
The Eagles would respond quickly, tying the game on a shot by Josh Rotman in close. The goal came off a push violation on Holliston and Sharon would make them pay, scoring on the ensuing restart.
Holliston would take the lead once again as the first quarter came to a close as Jack Curry found room to work behind the goal, wrapping around and finding the back of the net, giving Holliston a 2-1 lead entering the second quarter.
They would expand their lead in the second quarter, scoring two consecutive goals to take a 4-1 lead.
The first again came near the middle of the period, as Holliston went on the man-advantage on a holding call just before the eight minute mark. The Panthers would capitalize at the end of the man advantage, as Rob Neia found the back of the net on a bounce shot from the left side of the zone.
The end of the second quarter saw even more fireworks than the end of the first, as Holliston’s Paul Bieloney cleaned up a scrum in front of the net, finding the way back of the net to take the three goal advantage with just 12 seconds left in the half.
Sharon would not let the Panthers get the last word of the half however, as Kevin Chen won the face-off following the goal and took it the length of the field, putting in a goal with just one second left to end the half trailing Holliston 4-2.
Both sides received boosts from their net-minders, as Sharon's Josh Ader collected seven of his nine saves in the first half, while Holliston's Jon Nash kept his team in the lead with five of his own.
The combined efforts of the rain and the defense kept the scorers at bay until the last minute of the third quarter. Holliston would once again get a great effort from Nash, who came up with three saves in the period to hold the Eagles at bay.
Holliston would again score in the last minute of the third quarter to take a 5-2 lead into the final intermission as Curry scored his second on a jump shot from the left hand side.
Rotman would finally find the net for the Eagles in the second, as he launched a laser shot from just inside the offensive zone, closing the deficit to 5-3 after just 20 seconds of fourth quarter play.
He would continue to provide the fire for the Eagles in the half, scoring his third goal of the game to draw the score to 5-4 with just under seven minutes remaining in the contest. The goal was his most highlight worthy mark yet, beating Nash on a turn around shot as he fell to the ground. It would be the last of the game however, as the Panthers would hold on for the 5-4 win.
After the game, Sharon head coach Patrick Kelley praised his teams' toughness in two consecutive comeback efforts
“We've got a group of guys here who are never ready to give up on something,” Kelly said. “They believe in themselves, they believe in each other...We'd obviously rather not be down in games but when we fall behind we don't shy away from it, we're confident we'll get the next goal and get ourselves back in the game.”
Holliston's Nash stopped five shots in the final frame, as the Eagles failed to find the tying mark, finishing with 14 saves on 17 shots. His opposition had high praise for his effort after the game as Kelly called him “The best goalie we will see all year. He had an absolutely great game.”
Sharon falls to 4-3 overall while maintaining a 4-2 record within the Hockomock League and is next in action on Friday, April 25 when they host Shepherd Hill Regional at 11:00 AM.
Brendan Murray can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @MurraySportTalk.