The other day I mentioned the many cliches that sports forces us to say or hear and conjure up in describing the action or analyzing the game. Here’s another — “on paper” — as in, on paper these two teams seem pretty evenly matched. Paper has a way of deceiving at times, so one should never rely on paper to determine the outcome of a game. What we did know entering yesterday’s game was that on paper Watertown/Wayland and Lexington were both in need of a win. Watertown/Wayland was 1-12 and Lexington 3-11.
The Raiders are a young team playing in a difficult league. Lexington, on the other hand, opted out of the Middlesex League for hockey and are playing as an independent. All that said, both teams needed to look past each-other’s record and bring their best game to the ice on a Wednesday afternoon in pursuit of a win. And, luckily for those who watched, both teams took nothing for granted, and indeed played hard. It was an entertaining high school hockey game in which Watertown/Wayland prevailed by the slightest of margins, pulling out a 2-1 win.
The first period was a pretty clean one played at a steady pace with few whistles. Each team was penalized once, but neither power play unit could muster much. The first goal of the game belonged to Watertown/Wayland, thanks to a sweet assist from Watertown junior Luke Egan to Wayland senior and fellow first-liner Griffin Wood. Wood’s goal gave Watertown/Wayland something they hadn’t had the luxury of often this season – a lead!
The second period started off rocky for Watertown/Wayland as Watertown junior Isaac Maillis was uncharacteristically loose with the puck in his own zone, and in trying to regain possession he tripped a Minuteman player and went to the penalty box seventeen seconds into the period. Not the start the Watertown/Wayland coaching staff had in mind, up a goal. The Minutemen couldn’t convert, though, and a minute after getting back to full strength, the Wood and Egan show took over once again. This time, a nifty Wood pass from behind the Lexington net fed Egan in the slot, and Egan potted it to give Watertown/Wayland a 2-0 lead. And now a warning — cliche-time!
“Too much of a good thing” — we’ve all heard of that one, right?! Well, three minutes after going up two goals, the Raiders were awarded a power play. Great. Right? Wrong. Less than a minute later Egan turned the puck over and Lexington converted a two-on-one to score a shorthanded goal and make it 2-1. And then a minute later, Lexington was whistled for a crosschecking penalty. Good — right? Wrong. Why? Because something not so funny happened on the way to the power play — pushing and shoving pursued, and Egan was nabbed for a five minute roughing penalty. So, to review… Watertown/Wayland goes up 2-0, then goes on the power play and gives up a shorthanded goal, and then after seemingly being awarded a power play again, squanders it before it even begins and gives Lexington a three-minute power play instead.
Look, leading and winning hasn’t been a regular occurrence, and ultimately you can’t blame Watertown/Wayland for perhaps getting a little ahead of themselves. It’s all part of the learning experience. Discipline is an important piece of the learning-pie, and in this instance, Egan needed to show more, but he’ll learn. Watertown/Wayland killed the three minute Minuteman power play, though, and after two periods held a 2-1 lead!
The third period found both teams creating scoring chances, and both goalies, Watertown junior Finnley MacDonald and Lexington junior Timothy Rinaldi, turning those scoring chances aside. So let’s skip to the final two minutes, because a close and entertaining hockey game came down to a HUGE call that determined the outcome of the game.
With their goalie pulled for an extra skater, Lexington was able to get the puck into the Watertown/Wayland zone and put pressure on MacDonald. And with just 1:24 left in regulation, it looked like Lexington tied the game at two. BUT, one of the officials had his arm up prior to the Lexington goal, and after the puck went in the net he immediately — without a moment’s hesitation — waved off the goal. Why? Because a delayed penalty on Lexington for interference was waiting on the touch of the puck by the Minuteman, and that touch happened to be the shot that would have tied the game. Talk about the slimmest of margins in terms of holding onto a 2-1 lead.
What looked like overtime was instead Lexington with a player in the penalty box and having to try and regain possession so that they could pull Rinaldi again, and try again to score the equalizer. They did pull the goalie, but they were not able to put anymore shots on MacDonald in the final minute, and Watertown/Wayland earned a much-needed and much-deserved “W” 2-1. Watertown moves to 2-12, Lexington 3-12.
1 2 3 – F
Lexington 0 1 0 – 1
Watertown/Wayland 1 1 0 – 2
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Scoring Summary
1st Period
Watertown/Wayland 1 Lexington 0… Wood from Egan @ 6:57
2nd Period
Watertown/Wayland 2 Lexington 0… Egan from Wood @ 3:09
Watertown/Wayland 2 Lexington 1… Jenness from O’Leary @ 6:32, Shorthanded Goal
3rd Period
NO SCORING
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Upcoming Schedule
Saturday January 31 versus Burlington at John A.Ryan Arena, 4:20 pm
Wednesday February 4 versus Wilmington at John A.Ryan Arena, 5:45 pm
Saturday February 7 @ Stoneham, 4 pm
Wednesday February 11 vs. Wakefield @ 7:45 pm
Saturday February 14 @ Melrose, 7:30 pm
Wednesday February 18 vs Dover-Sherborn @ 5:45