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By Dave Henry • HNIB News
The game pitted the veteran squad of 12 seniors who had something to prove after not making the state tournament last season against the relatively unknown, youthful upstarts from the Cape with a chip on their shoulder from a lack of respect.
In the end, the youngsters seemed to have a little more depth and a little more endurance. And, it was only fitting that a freshman and sophomore were the heroes of the game. Freshman goalie Pat Farrington stopped all 16 shots he faced, while sophomore forward Craig Brubaker pounced on a loose puck and fired home the game's lone goal to lead Sandwich to its first Division 2 state title with a 1-0 victory over Wilmington.
"It feels satisfying," said Sandwich skipper Derackk Curtis, who also added the Atlantic Coast League title to his resume in his fourth year behind the bench. "It's been a long time for Sandwich to be in a position like this. We played a good game and I'm happy for the kids, the school, the town and the program.
"Pat's been consistent. After the Duxbury game we knew we had something special and we started to get more confidence with him in net. He's a freshman, but he certainly hasn't acted like it."
Since the Duxbury game, the Blue Knights (20-2-3) ripped off a 15-game win streak en route to the crown, outscoring foes, 62-15 (103-40 for the season). Farrington turned in his second straight shutout of the tournament and allowed only four goals during the Blue Knights' four-game run to the title. In those two outings, Farrington faced a combined 30 shots. Farrington was flawless and his defense was spectacular.
"I didn't expect a state championship in my freshman year of high school," Farrington said. "No one respected us in the beginning of the year and we're glad to prove people wrong. It's incredible."
Sophomore John O'Brien, juniors Sean Gallagher and Connor LaRocco and senior Darryl Lawrie blocked shots, back-checked and boxed-out with tenacity all game for the Knights. If a Wildcats' shot made it through the defense, there weren't any second chances to be had. Farrington didn't allow many rebounds, and when he did the defense was quick to clear the puck.
"We played hard and have nothing to be ashamed of," said Wilmington senior captain Ernie Mello, who entered the game with 29 goals. "Their defense played well. They boxed us out well and kept us off rebounds. We had our chances, but we couldn't finish."
Not many would have predicted a shutout either, as the Cape Ann League champs averaged nearly four goals a game and were only blanked once all year - a 0-0 tie with Lynnfield. The Wildcats (17-3-4) scored nine goals in the previous three tourney games, including three against a tough Tewksbury team.
Both teams came out fired up in the first period. Wilmington junior Kevin Flanagan leveled two Sandwich skaters on his first shift. Sandwich's Jon O'Brien was then denied by Wilmington goalie Mike Cabral (18 saves) at point-blank range and the game was on. However, the Blue Knights started ratcheting up the physical play themselves and wouldn't allow a Wildcats' shot on goal until 40 seconds remained in the period, holding a 6-1 shot advantage.
Wilmington did have its chances, but the Wildcats couldn't seem to get a shot on target. Early in the second period, Sandwich senior Bryan Bolton knocked down the puck at the blue line to keep play in the Wilmington zone. Bolton sent a pass to sophomore Connor Hayes, who skated toward the crease but lost the puck in the slot with a defender draped over him. The puck just sat there. No one seemed to notice. Cabral turned with Hayes as he skated into the corner without noticing that he lost the puck. Brubaker noticed. His eyes must have popped out of his skull as he raced into the slot uncontested and slipped the rubber through Cabral's legs for the game winner at the 4:28 mark.
"The puck was sitting there and nobody was on me, so I turned and saw the five-hole open and shot the puck," Brubaker said. "It's amazing. We worked hard all year and to have it pay off is unbelievable."
The Wildcats couldn't convert on any of numerous opportunities. Mello was stopped on a 2-on-1 midway through the second period. Less than 30 seconds later, Farrington turned back 19-goal scorer Eric Siegel. With the second period winding down, Mello couldn't lift the puck over a sprawling Farrington and Siegel went wide after being left open in the slot. On the other end, Cabral kept the game within reach, stopping junior Casey Helms on a partial breakaway.
"I thought we got better as the game went on," Wilmington coach Steve Scanlon said. "We took it to them in the third period, but they do a good job cleaning up. They limited our second chance opportunities and we didn't have much puck luck either. You have to credit their defense and goalie."
In the third period, as Wilmington turned up the heat, the Wildcats' legs seemed to get a bit weary, while the Blue Knights stayed strong and cycled through line after line. While Wilmington outshot Sandwich, 10-5, in the period, most of the shots on net were from the perimeter. Any real opportunity ended up sailing high or wide of the net, even at close range.
Meanwhile, Cabral denied sophomore Matt Cassista, the hero of the shootout against Franklin in the South sectional final, on a clean breakaway with 7:46 remaining. Lawrie, sophomore Ryan Colombo, junior Andrew George and LaRocco helped kill a Wilmington man-advantage with 6:16 left and the Sandwich defense also held after the Wildcats pulled Cabral for an extra skater with 45 ticks on the clock.
Lost in the shuffle of losing in the state final was the spectacular postseason play of Cabral, who carried the Wildcats through the postseason, especially in the North final against Tewksbury. Despite the loss, the veteran goalie and perennial all-leaguer was able to put things into perspective.
"This hurts right now, but after everything we've accomplished we still have a lot of positive memories that we'll never forget," Cabral said. "We have 12 seniors and we didn't want (not making the tournament last season) to happen again. We wanted to prove how good we were. We'll never forget winning the league and playing in the Garden. These guys are my family and it's just been a great season."
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