Foxboro, MA – The 5th annual four-team Junior Beanpot Tournament got underway on Friday night from Foxboro Sports Center in Foxboro. Participating teams this season are Bishop Feehan, Newton North, Brookline and Lexington. This tournament was founded by senior Jacob Gurdin and his family with all of the proceeds from the gate fees, 50/50 raffle and sales of Travis’ book at the rink going directly to the Travis Roy Foundation. In addition, local donations from the hockey community from the past two weeks which totaled nearly $4,400 will also be going to the Foundation. NOTE: There is still time to donate by going here!
Game 1: Newton North vs Bishop Feehan – In the first game, which started a few minutes late, both teams took a few minutes to figure each other out. There were a few missed connections and some battling in the neutral zone for possession, but as the period wore on, the Shamrocks took control of the action. As the shot totals began to pile up that’s when Bishop Feehan cashed in to open the scoring. Senior defenseman Shane Walsh grabbed the puck along the half-wall and fired a shot on net that the goalie blocked but the rebound sat precariously in the crease until junior forward Thomas Franzosa tapped it home: 1-0 Feehan. Following that goal, Newton North created a couple of chances near the crease but both were denied. After that Feehan began to take control of the possession once again and it remained as such until the period drew to a close: 1-0 after 1.
In the second period, Newton North came out playing a more physical game but it was Bishop Feehan who would strike first early in the frame. Just over two minutes in, junior defenseman Tyler Slack let loose a shot through a screen from the point and it found it’s way home: 2-0 Feehan. Nearly five minutes later, Newton North was able to cut the lead in half off the opening faceoff on a power play where senior Ian Russo won the draw back to point man William Eldredge, who threw the puck right to big sophomore Aiden Umina who whacked it home out of midair: it was now 2-1. The Tigers had a jump in their step after the goal but that momentum was short lived as three minutes later Walsh was streaking down the left wing and found senior forward Ryan Deveney at the netfront who snapped it home short side to give Feehan a 3-1 lead. That was our score after two.
In the final stanza, the penalties came early and often in the first half of the period. About five minutes into the period, the Shamrocks started buzzing and hit two posts in the span of a minute – but both were swept out of harm’s way and the score remained the same. Next goal was a big one in this game and eight minutes in, Bishop Feehan took control. Franzosa stole the puck at the point in the defensive zone and accelerated down the wing to pot his second of the game: 4-1 Shamrocks. The Tigers did fight back two minutes later as Eldredge picked off a pass in the neutral zone and handed to senior Griffin Bond who found big sophomore Hayden Willen in front of the net who slid it home: 4-2. The Tigers pulled their goalie with just over a minute left, but with 24 seconds left, Franzosa tacked on another tally into the empty net to complete the hat trick for Bishop Feehan: 5-2 final as the Shamrocks advance to tomorrow’s Championship Game.
Three Stars:
- F Thomas Franzosa, Bishop Feehan
- D Shane Walsh, Bishop Feehan
- D William Eldredge, Newton North
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Game 2: Brookline vs Lexington – After a truly heartfelt opening ceremony that included senior defensemen Jacob Gurdin, his mother and the Roy family all speaking to the generous donations of the hockey community in addition to a stirring National Anthem by Bruins anthem singer Todd Angilly, we were ready to start Game 2.
In the first period, it was about as evenly matched a period as we saw on the evening. Both teams had equal zone time, possession and even the shots on goal were split evenly at 7-7. As we saw in the prior tilt, both teams needed a few minutes to get adjusted to each other and get a feel for the game’s pace, which led to more than a few missed passes and overskated pucks. There was a goal in opening 15 however: Lexington freshman forward Colvin Callahan was able to snap home a rebound near the net off a kick pass from junior Russell LeBert just under three minutes in to make it 1-0 Minutemen. From there, Brookline began to buzz the net more often, but were unable to put one past the netminder. Our score after 1 was 1-0 Lexington.
In the middle frame, once again it was back and forth, back and forth between these two teams. Neither team was able to grab the upper hand in the early part of the period as there was a lot of battling in the neutral zone and a few one and done rushes that did not lead to scoring chances. The momentum scales finally tipped late in the period as Lexington took back-to-back penalties and left the door open for Brookline on the man advantage. With just over two minutes to go in the period, freshman forward Grady Ames was more than happy to walk through that door as senior defender Rohan Gervais fired a puck from the point through a sea of bodies that Ames was able to tip: 1-1, it was all tied up. (Note: the goal was announced as Gervais, but we are pretty sure Ames tipped it upon video review). A minute later Brookline took a penalty of their own but Lexington couldn’t capitalize – on we went to the decisive third period.
In the final stanza, the remainder of the penalty ticked away and we were back to 5-on-5. About a minute later, things began to heat up. Brookline’s junior forward Steve McDougall dumped the puck in behind the net and chased it down to feed senior forward Caleb Weldon at the left post to make it 2-1 Warriors. Lexington would respond just 57 seconds later when sophomore forward Andy Yang picked up a loose puck off the end boards and swung around past the right post and flipped one home short side: it was all tied up again at 2-2. From there the game’s physicality picked up and there was a battle going on in front of and behind the nets for possession at both ends. Both teams made a push before the final buzzer but we were headed to overtime.
In the 4-on-4 OT period, the momentum quickly swung Brookline’s way one minute in as Lexington took a penalty, meaning there was a great deal of open ice in a 4-on-3 situation. While the Warriors were unable to convert, they hemmed Lexington in and did not allow them to change. They kept the pressure on until a faceoff play with 1:55 remaining as Weldon turned the draw into a shot pass for big junior Emmett Teahan who raced to the back door at the right post and was stopped on his first shot but scored on the second chance: game over. Final: Brookline wins 3-2 in OT. Oh yeah, and we saw that Griddy Dance at the end Emmett – that’s some serious swag right there. Brookline will face Bishop Feehan tomorrow at 8pm in the Championship Game. Newton North and Lexington will play in the Consolation Game at 5:30.
Three Stars:
- F Emmett Teahan, Brookline
- F Caleb Weldon, Brookline
- F Russell LeBert, Lexington
