Franklin boys hockey blanked by No. 2 Catholic Memorial, Watson
VIDEO: Franklin’s Anthony Lampasona hits the post against the Catholic memorial
VIDEO: Franklin’s Anthony Lampasona hits the post after a Daniel Daley pass in the first period against the Catholic Memorial
MetroWest Daily News
FRANKLIN – Paddle or Post?
Owen Watson’s sheepish grin didn’t hide the truth.
When the Catholic Memorial keeper slid across his crease to block Anthony Lampasona’s point-blank shot out of the slot, somehow the puck didn’t hit the net.
After making 24 saves in his team’s 3-0 hockey win against Franklin on Friday night, the Newton junior was asked if he got a piece of the puck with his stick paddle.
“I haven’t,” he said, barely hiding a grin. “But we can always say I did it.”
The game was one of many golden opportunities for the Panthers, who were ruled out for the second straight game. And Watson finally came in.
“It hit the bar,” he admitted.
Franklin was just a shot away from leveling the game before the Knights scored goals six seconds apart late in the final period.
“We pushed for two and a half periods and I thought something was going to break,” said Franklin coach Chris Spillane. “We had multiple opportunities – crossbar, post, breakaway. We felt that if we had scored just one goal, the floodgates would have opened.”
Franklin, ranked 12th on the MIAA Power rankings, was the better team for much of the game.
“I’m going to try night after night and if we do that, we’re going to have some success,” Spillane said.
What it means
Catholic Monument, No. 2 in MIAA power rankings, improved to 11-1. The Knights’ only loss is the No. 1 St. John’s Prep. Franklin fell to 10-3 after starting the month with seven straight wins.
key games
Watson stopped a breakaway in the first period while his team was on the power play. Franklin senior Ryan Sicchio stole the puck on his own blue line and ran the length of the ice before Watson stoned him.
“I stayed focused throughout the game; I didn’t let the crowd get to me,” said Watson. “They are a solid team. We didn’t expect that but they are a good team. They fought hard.”
The Knights ended the game in the third period with goals six seconds apart. Needham’s Connor Fryberger scored from Tyler Hamilton’s assist with 1:50 left before Joe Marchi made it 3-0 shortly after the subsequent faceoff.
“They scored two quick goals in the last two minutes,” said Spillane. “That kind of drained us.”
Based on the numbers
2: How many times Franklin hit the post or crossbar. The first happened in the opening stages when Daniel set up Daley Lampasona, but his backhand rattled off the post.
2: Number of assists by Tyler Hamilton in Framingham’s sophomore year.
Unsung Heroes
Franklin goalie Colby Wagner. The junior made 26 saves to keep the game tight.
Carmine Iannuzzi. Franklin’s senior defender made a sliding block of an attempted centering pass from CM while the game was still 1-0 late in the third period.
You said so
Spillane: “Thanks to your defensive team and goalkeeper. I felt like there would have been a lot of excitement on our bench if we had scored that one goal. Unfortunately we couldn’t achieve that.”
What’s next?
Franklin hosts another tough non-league opponent, Archbishop Williams (9-4) at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. CM plays BC High Saturday.
“We still have a few challenge games on our schedule,” Spillane said. “If we want to make it into the tournament, we want to play at the high level that you will see in the tournament. They are (CM) No. 2 in the state; We are playing the No 1 team (St John’s Prep) in the final game of the season (22nd February at the Essex Sports Centre). So these are the teams we need to play if you want to be in that upper league. We’re not there yet, but we’ll make our push.”
Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @TimDumas.
