Third Period Rally Costs Stoughton High Hockey Win

Entering Wednesday night’s game against non-league foe Middleboro, the Stoughton High boys’ hockey team was riding a four-game losing streak, outscored 30-4 in the process.

Stoughton did get a bit of good news with leading scorer, sophomore Phil Falkof returning to the lineup, but the injury-depleted Black Knights were still only able to dress nine forwards and four defensemen, even with players called up from the J.V. team.

The lack of depth cost the Black Knights, who held on to a 1-0 lead after two periods, only to see it vanish in the final period. Middleboro took advantage of Stoughton’s fatigue and defensive breakdowns to score three third period goals. Stoughton did get a late goal, but it wasn’t enough as the Sachems came away with a 3-2 victory, avenging Stoughton’s 5-3 victory over Middleboro in the season-opener.

Stoughton fell to 3-10-1 overall and remains 2-6-1 in the Hockomock League and 1-4-0 in the Davenport Division. The loss to Middleboro eliminated Stoughton from postseason contention.

Stoughton put together a great effort led by junior Larry Hixon, who had a goal and an assist, and Falkof, who added two assists.

Brian Ziegler, a senior, got his first goal of the season after Stoughton pulled its goalie in the final minute of the game, trailing by two. Ziegler’s goal cut the deficit to one score, but with only 16 seconds left, the Black Knights couldn’t add the equalizer.

Stoughton was still without the services of two key defensemen, with both junior Josh Potter and sophomore Chris Gill sidelined with injuries. Senior forward Ricky Connaughton, a first line winger, was also out.

Hixon scored the first goal of the contest, midway through the first period, on an assist by Falkof. Falkof now has 12 goals and 12 assists in 12 games played this season.

Stoughton outshot Middleboro 33-15 throughout the game, but Sachems’ goaltender Patrick Nicholson had an outstanding game, with 31 saves.

“I was pleased with our effort and character, and unlike our four previous games, we had a chance to win and played as hard as we could,” said Stoughton coach Dan Mark. “A lot of players stepped it up and filled in, and I’m proud of the team.”

Senior captain Jordan Ricci, a defenseman, played most of the game, logging a significant amount of ice time, contributing a tireless effort for the second consecutive game. Steve McNamara, a senior defenseman, and Cory Greenblatt, a sophomore defenseman, both played increased roles, as did sophomore Nick Bruttaniti, who was called up from the J.V. team, to take over as the fourth defenseman.

“It was good to see players that don’t usually play a lot of minutes fill in and do a great job,” said Mark. “It shows that we have a lot more depth and these players will be getting a lot of experience for next season.”

It was a big game for Middleboro, as it needed a victory to go over the .500 mark to qualify for the post-season tournament. The Sachems came out firing in the final period, after two lackluster periods where they only had seven total shots on net.

With just over two minutes gone in the third period, Tiggy Geary scored for the home team to knot the score, 1-1. The game remained tied with 4:52 left, when Josh Moquin scored an unassisted goal to give Middleboro its first lead of the game. Zac MacAulay scored what proved to be the winning goal, with only 2:38 left.

Stoughton has six games remaining and will next be in action on Saturday, hosting Hockomock League rival North Attleboro at the Asiaf Rink in Brockton at 2:30 p.m.

SCORING

1st period:

Stoughton-Larry Hixon from Phil Falkof at 8:49

2nd period:

NO SCORING

3rd period:

Middleboro-Tiggy Geary from Zac MacAulay and Dan Cashman at 2:09

Middleboro-Josh Moquin Unassisted at 10:08

Middleboro-Zac MacAulay from Cody Langway at 12:22

Stoughton-Brian Ziegler from Larry Hixon and Phil Falkof at 14:44