Boston Latin overcomes penalties to win Dual County League-2 title over Wayland

Typically, most hockey coaches have a universally understood word of advice.

Do not commit penalties.

Boston Latin boys hockey coach Frank Woods witnessed his team commit multiple infractions Thursday, but rather than fold while down a man or two, the Wolfpack thrived under the pressure by scoring three shorthanded goals en route to a convincing 8-2 rout of Wayland in the Dual County League-2 championship at Murphy Rink.

“What we tried to tell our guys was that if we stayed five-on-five, we were going to be OK,” Woods said. “Of course, we start to take a couple of penalties, and they were legitimate calls. Just some plays that weren’t very smart on our part. But we have a couple of quick guys up front, (Colin) McAdams and (Tom) Butler. They’re tough when they get their feet moving, and they got a couple of breaks, made some great plays. They really did a good job.”

It was a day to remember for Boston Latin (3-5), as the Wolfpack captured multiple league titles, not only for boys hockey, but for both boys and girls basketball as well, all coming on the heels of the DCL-2 title won by the school’s girls hockey program on Wednesday evening.

At one point, Boston Latin found itself trailing Wayland, as senior Will Carr buried a power-play goal to make it a 1-0 contest with 5:19 remaining in the first period.

However, the Warriors would watch their lead evaporate almost instantly, as Boston Latin sophomore James Fitzgerald notched a goal for the Wolfpack 43 seconds later. Fitzgerald would tack on another goal with 2:08 left in the opening stanza, as his team took a 2-1 advantage at the break.

Shortly after scoring a goal to make it 3-1, Wolfpack sophomore Thomas Harnon was whistled for a high stick with 4:04 remaining in the second, providing Wayland a chance to close the gap.

However, Boston Latin responded. In fact, that’s when the floodgates opened. Amid a crowd of defenders, McAdams then took it upon himself to attack the Wayland net, sniping one shorthanded to make it 4-1.

Despite suffering two more penalty calls in the final minutes of the second, the Wolfpack just kept ramping up the pressure. Shane Sullivan would follow with a goal from long range, before Butler netted a tally on a breakaway. In the blink of an eye, Boston Latin was ahead 6-1, and the romp was on.

Matthew Carrara and Colm Vraibel would cap the scoring in the final period for the Wolfpack.

Wayland senior Max Brande finished with a power-play goal for the Warriors.

While the season was shorter than Woods had hoped, he was still proud to watch his players raise the championship plaque, especially his upperclassmen after the run they had experienced the past few seasons.

“Normally, you don’t have an opportunity to win your last game unless you’re winning the state championship,” said Woods. “There’s only a couple of teams that can get to do that. In this format, you get an opportunity to compete for a league championship. That’s great for our seniors, to end on a high note.”

from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3bnrNFe