Falmouth girls hockey ends Canton's run of state finals with double-OT win in Elite Eight

KINGSTON -- Tried and true signs that spring is just around the corner:

Discussions about March Madness bubble teams. NHL trade deadline intrigue. NFL free agency rumors.

And the Canton High girls hockey team steaming toward another state championship game.

Gotta scratch that last one off the list this year, though. Falmouth decided to rewrite that part of the script.

The second-seeded Clippers blew a two-goal lead in the third period Thursday night at The Bog Ice Arena but got their happy ending anyway.

With the teams skating 3-on-3 in the second eight-minute overtime period, Falmouth freshman defenseman Rylin Briggs broke free on a 2-on-1. Canton goalie Kate Budway made the initial save, but junior forward Riley Devlin swept in the rebound on her backhand to give the Clippers a 4-3 win in the Division 2 quarterfinals.

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The victory ruined Canton's plans for a fourth straight trip to the Div. 2 final at TD Garden and a sixth overall since 2017. The seventh-seeded Bulldogs (19-5-1) had been a regular on Causeway Street, since losing title games in 2017 and 2018. Canton shared the 2020 crown when the pandemic cancelled all the state finals. There were no playoffs in 2021, but the Bulldogs again made it all the way in 2022 (losing to Algonquin in OT) and in 2023 (losing to Duxbury).

There will be no return trip this year, in part because Falmouth freshman goalie Aspen Devlin (Riley's kid sister) stood on her head in the OT periods, the first one with both teams skating 4-on-4. Aspen Devlin made several tremendous saves, including one on a solo breakaway.

"It's heartbreaking, right?" Canton coach Nikki Petrich said of coming up short. "It's why they're all in there crying, because we had our chances – 4-on-4, 3-on-3. Even at the end of the third, after we tied it up. We clearly had momentum and we just could not put the puck in the net. You give all the respect and credit to their goaltender, who played phenomenal for them."

"It was crazy," Riley Devlin said of her sister's heroics. "She was making saves left and right. I lost my voice screaming [for her]."

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While Canton was devastated, there was nothing but joy for Falmouth, which will make its first semifinal appearance since 2020, when the Clippers lost to Wellesley, 6-0. Falmouth (22-2-1) will square off against No. 11 Marshfield (15-8) on Sunday (details TBA) for their own shot at Garden glory.

"It's like a dream," said Riley Devlin, who was in seventh grade the last time the Clippers made it this far. "We knew this season was going to be special. I'm just happy we made it there."

"The last time we were [in the semis], Wellesley handed our heads to us," said Falmouth coach Brian Ferreira, who has three daughters (senior defenseman Gabrielle, junior forward Hailey and freshman forward Reagan) on his team. "I think Wellesley would have beaten the Boston Pride that year. But it's great [to go back]. It's awesome. We've got 10 kids that are freshmen and younger, and we're going to the Final Four with that group. It's pretty good. It's pretty amazing."

Canton, too, is relatively young. Leading scorer Izzy Cusack, whose 24th goal of the season pulled the Bulldogs within 3-2 early in the third period, is just a sophomore, as is standout defenseman Kayleigh Koen (10 goals, 10 assists this season). Freshman Nora McLean (9 goals, 7 assists) is another building block for the future, along with Budway, who's a sophomore.

"There's always hope," Petrich said of the future. "It's a relentless group, a relentless town. We love hockey and that's what we do. We fell short of our goal this year, but absolutely we'll be ready to go next year, for sure."

After a scoreless first period, Falmouth grabbed a 2-1 lead in the second period as Maeve Turner and Hailey Ferreira sandwiched Clippers goals around one from Canton freshman defenseman Grace Donahue (No. 3 on the season for her).

When Turner struck again for a 3-1 lead 1:15 into the third, Canton appeared to be in real trouble. But the Bulldogs battled back, getting power-play goals from Cusack and senior captain Anna Lehan, the latter with 8:08 remaining to tie it at 3-3.

"We had been in that position during the regular season against King Philip for our league [title], against St. Mary's to win the Martha's Vineyard Tournament," Petrich said of her team rallying. "The team will never stop fighting. We will always work hard until the game is completely over."

Canton could never solve Aspen Devlin after that, though, even though the Bulldogs applied tons of pressure.

"We were running two lines and they have a bench of about 80 over there," Brian Ferreira said. "It showed at the end [of the third] and in overtime; we were dying. But Aspen Devlin stood on her head to keep us in it. I don't know how many breakaways they had, a handful. We only have 17 players, but they sucked it up. It was inspiring to watch them."

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Falmouth girls hockey beats Canton in double-OT in Div. 2 quarterfinal