By Tina Labadini and Nancy Carter
Concord-Carlisle boys hockey enjoyed a decisive win last Saturday versus Newton South, and with Jason Swaim in net, it was a whole team effort that led to the 9-1 victory.
Newton South brought strong defense and held the Patriots scoreless for the first ten minutes. Manchuso started the scoring trend with a one-timer on an assist from Jay Carter.
CC’s defense was strong all day. Chris Sim and Will Steffens led an exciting penalty kill late in the first. Jay Carter made a short-handed steal and fed Manchuso, who got his second of the game — immediately followed by another short-handed goal by Cam Daley. After losing in overtime via a short-handed goal last week, these two were particularly sweet. CC ended the first up 3-0 and on a power play.
Joe Grasso started the second with a quick goal assisted by Jay Carter. On defense, Ollie Erston and Ben Ohanian shut down Newton South repeatedly and stepped up to contribute to the scoring when Ohanian, who had two assists on the game, shot a one-timer from the blue line to make it 5-0. Derek Labadini got the sixth goal and Manchuso got a hat trick with the seventh goal of the game. In mid-second period, Newton South got one hard-earned goal. Cam Doull got the eighth and ninth goals. Jason Swaim and Sam Griswold combined for 15 saves.
The victory was a great way for the team to get ready for their last two regular-season games, both at home, against Bedford and Medfield.
February 7 v. Boston Latin
For the first time all season, the CC boys hockey team skated to a tie in regulation, forcing an overtime period, and oh, what a heartbreaker it was! Boston Latin came out on top 4-3 at the Edge in Bedford last Wednesday.
CJ Bailey was in net for the afternoon tilt, and he was kept busy in the first period, facing lots of shots and activity in front of him. With some chances at both ends, Latin scored first, with five minutes remaining in the period. The Patriots went on the power play soon after, and as the advantage ticked away, Manchuso scored, tucking the puck in from close range after receiving a pass from Carter. The period ended in a 1-1 tie.
The second period was back and forth for about eight minutes, but CC got on the board again when Carter scored the team’s second goal, invigorating the team and heightening the play.
CC’s defensemen were under constant pressure, but they played smart, consistently cleared pucks away from theirr net, and kept the play moving up the ice. Latin evened it up at 2-2, but following that, Bailey had a huge breakaway save, shutting it down with poise.
CC kept plugging away in the final minutes, and the grit paid off: At the buzzer, Carter and Manchuso connected for the go-ahead 3-2 goal, and the teams went to the locker room for the second intermission break.
While the score remained tied at three apiece, it was not a quiet third period by any means.
D-men Chris Sim, Chris Bono, Kal Lonergan, Henry Sullivan, Oliver Erston and Ben Ohanian were constantly breaking up plays and making physical plays in the corners and along the boards. Owen Moynihan and Cam Daley fought battles at every face-off, and wingers Cam Doull, Tyler Kamionek, Grasso, Stoddard Healey, Derek Labadini, and Alex Fivek collected pucks along the side walls and made passes to breaking linemates.
The regulation time expired, and the boys lined up for a 4-on-4 overtime period. Bailey stood tall once again, stopping a huge Latin breakaway and allowing Manchuso to corral the puck and head up the ice, only to be tripped on his way into the zone.
The Patriots’ power play made it a 4-on-3 man advantage, but it was short-lived as Latin snuck in the winning goal off a rebound.
