Bourne Hockey Falls In First Round

By: Dan Crowley
Published: 02/26/10

With 2:08 remaining in the second period Westwood fired a shot at Bourne freshman goalie Josh Eddy from the right side. Eddy made the save, but the rebound deflected off another player and fluttered into the air and past the BHS goalie’s diving reach to give the Wolverines a 3-2 lead at the end of two periods of play Tuesday night. Eddy stopped 14 more Westwood shots in the third period to keep his team in the game, but the BHS offense came up empty mustering just five third-period shots. An empty net goal by Westwood with 24 seconds to play gave the Wolverines a 4-2 first round MIAA Division 3 South victory.

Seventh-seeded Bourne (12-6) opened with two quick shots that Westwood junior goalie Chris Treon stopped. Two minutes into the opener the 10th-seeded Wolverines turned on Eddy forcing the Bourne goalie to make the first of his 10 first-period saves.

The Canalmen had an early power play, but during the minute and a half advantage were unable to muster a shot. Justin Desharnais made a scoring bid midway through the period racing in across the blue line on the left side, but was denied by Treon. A minute later Tyler Hunt chased a loose puck into the Westwood zone, but was caught by the Wolverine defense before he could get off a shot.

With 5:36 to play Joe English lined up a shot from the point that blew past Treon high and to the left, giving Bourne a 1-0 lead. Westwood wasted little time in responding as, 1:16 later, Kevin Gavin fired a shot from the point to the right of Eddy that was deflected to knot the score at 1-1 at the end of the first period.

Westwood finished in fifth place in the Tri-Valley League with a regular season record of 12-6-2. They entered Tuesday night’s matchup ranked 13th in Division 3 South and had scored 91 goals to that point. The Canalmen, ranked 10th in Division 3 South, swept the South Coast Conference, winning all 10 games. They entered the first round with a record of 12-5, with their two non-conference wins coming against Mashpee/UCT and Blue Hills. Bourne scored 94 goals over the course of the regular season. Westwood defeated Bourne twice during the regular season by scores of 4-1 and 6-2.

Westwood controlled the puck for most of the second stanza, outshooting the Canalmen 13-6. Will Humfryes tested Treon in the opening face-off, but then another BHS power play came up empty.

The Wolverines kept the action hot for Eddy, who was up to the challenge as he withstood two minutes of multiple-shot play beginning three minutes into the period. With 7:42 remaining the Canalmen found themselves in the penalty box. Just over a minute into their man advantage, Dan Malone capitalized for Westwood on a redirect of a shot by Gavin for a 2-1 Wolverine lead.

Great glovework by Eddy held the score at 2-1 until with 3:37 remaining in the period Desharnais took a pass from Humfryes out front and drilled it past Treon for the equalizer. A minute and 29 seconds later the Wolverines scored what turned out to be the game’s crucial goal, to take a 3-2 lead into the locker room after two periods of play.

The Westwood defense came up big in the final period. The Wolverines did a nice job holding the blue line, but were unable to counter the speed of Desharnais. Three times in the final five minutes, the BHS senior captain broke across the blue line and twice took cracks at Treon. Desharnais reached the 100-point milestone in his high school hockey career earlier in the season.

Westwood moved the puck well, with accurate passing throughout the game. They played a physical defense that spoiled several BHS opportunities in the final period. Eddy continued to play outstandingly throughout the final 15 minutes. Down the stretch demonstrating superior glovework, he twice pulled Westwood shots out of the air. The Canalmen pulled Eddy for an extra skater with 1:11 to play and had a couple of scoring chances; however, twice, offside calls stopped them.

Freshman Justin Bustard entered the game in goal for Bourne after the fourth Westwood goal with 24 seconds to play.

The Canalmen had four players named to the SCC All-Star team. Senior captains Justin Desharnais, Tyler Hunt, and Devon Pauley were named, along with junior Devin Welch. Senior captain Eric Anderson was named an SCC All-Star Honorable Mention, as was junior Matt Crowley. Senior captain Jeff Baranowski received the Sportsmanship Award.

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