KINGSTON– In its first test of the postseason, No. 10 Marshfield cruised to a 4-0 boys hockey victory over No. 23 Needham.
It was the first game for the Rams since a 5-5 tie against No. 4 Xaverian in the regular season finale. Head coach Dan Connolly applauded Needham for a valiant performance and said it was a great test for his team.
“They outplayed us at certain parts of the game,” Connolly said. “I thought our structure wasn’t good in the first two periods and a lot of that was due to the forecheck they played. They didn’t give us much in the beginning.”
The opening period saw the Rams control the overall play but also featured some physicality from both teams. Marshfield scored the frame’s lone goal when Tommy Carroll fed Stephen Faria in the slot and the senior utilized a flip to squeak past Rockets goaltender Connor Espinola.
“Tommy’s speed helped on the first goal,” Connolly said. “With Faria going to the net, we broke through.”
The second period saw a spirited effort from the Rockets, but the offense still struggled to get any excellent chances on Rams goalie Kevin Murphy. On the other end, Espinola made numerous great saves to curb the potent Marshfield attack.
That effort couldn’t stop everything, however, as Carroll forced a turnover near the slot and deked out Espinola before firing it into the back of the net to put the Rams up 2-0.
“When you’re in the playoffs, you always have got to step up to another level,” Carroll said. “I thought we needed to take it to another gear to set the tone. We popped two in the first two and that guided us.”
The Rockets started hot in the third period and peppered Murphy but the senior, who was starting his first career playoff game, was up to the task.
“My teammates and the man upstairs helped me,” Murphy said. “We got it done.”
That’s when the Rams would really take control and two Teddy Devoe tallies put the game out of reach.
“I started a little slow,” Devoe said. “I was just angry, and I wanted to score really bad. It fueled me.”
The win advances Marshfield to the second round for the third consecutive season and will have it face either Reading or Bishop Feehan in that round. Carroll said that regardless of who the next opponent is, the team is ready to play its own style.
“We really pride ourselves on getting pucks deep and getting it out of our zone,” Carroll said. “They came at us but we weathered the storm the entire way.”