Late goal against Hopkinton lifts Marlborough hockey to 8th Daily News Cup title
MARLBOROUGH – Chauncey Guenard kept his eye on the goal and his skates pointed toward the same.
Marlborough's senior defenseman gave the puck up to center Thomas Massalski as the Panthers crossed the blue line two minutes into the third period of a scoreless game against Hopkinton on Saturday at the New England Sports Center. Massalski slid a low shot into the crease, and it popped away from the Hillers goalie. Guenard corralled the puck, then maneuvered it away from both the defender on his back and the netminder scrambling to break the deadlock with 13 minutes, 18 seconds remaining in the 23rd Daily News Cup final.
"The five-hole was open, I just slapped it in," Guenard said. "It was relieving, but a 1-0 lead isn't a good lead to have. We needed to put them away after that."
Collin Glynn gave the Panthers a better lead twice over. Marlborough faced a desperate situation with its one-goal lead late. The referees sent a Panther to the box for cross checking with 3:28 left, then a teammate joined him after a hook with 1:31 on the clock. Hopkinton called a timeout as it prepared for an all-consuming final power play.
"We needed more traffic in front of the goaltender. He had a view of most shots, and he was able to track them," Hopkinton coach Scott Hayes said. "I wanted our guys to be in front of him moving to take his line of sight away."
Marlborough's Roman Belli kept clear eyes. He didn't let the Hillers through, as Collin Glynn potted two empty net shorthanded goals to send the Panthers to a 3-0 victory.
"It was chaotic just trying to stay calm even though there was a lot going on," said Belli, the tournament's Wes Tuttle MVP after a shutout in the final. "I stayed in the same spot the whole game and tried to not get too excited or too down on myself."
Belli relishes a tight game, and Marlborough and Hopkinton gave him one through all three periods. Neither team found much of an opening in the first period, but they felt each other out better in the second.
First liners: The top 18 boys hockey players to watch from MetroWest for the 2023-24 season
"We've been incomplete. We've had a couple good periods then not a great period," Marlborough coach Mike O'Brien said. "We wouldn't be able to have any lapses, we were going to have to stay focused for all three periods. (Saturday) was our most complete game."
Glynn broke through on a stretch pass late in the second and deked around a diving Hopkinton defender. He put one more move on the Hopkinton goalie but couldn't squeeze the puck past a shoulder.
"I was pretty (mad) after that, but it definitely got the fire going," Glynn said.
Marlborough's goal began with a fiery play. Senior Anthony Skillings chased down a Hopkinton player and separated the puck from the Hiller with a folding hit. Guenard picked it up and started Marlborough's move toward its first goal.
It was Marlborough's first shutout of the season and second straight win after a three-game losing streak.
"This is the new normal for us," Belli said. "We've got to keep going like this and not slow down."
Wyatt Iantosca was named Hopkinton's MVP after a strong two-way efford.
Algonquin 5, Hudson 2
The Titans displayed their powers early and often in the early consolation game. Nathan Meschisen weaved through four defenders in the opening 30 seconds then potted a goal just 34 seconds after the opening horn.
"That gets the ball rolling. It's always nice to have a cushion," Nate Gulachenski said." Once we got that lead, we never gave it away."
Nate Gulachenski added two assists and was named Algonquin's MVP for the tournament.
Five Algonquin players found the net: Meschisen, Luke Palma (assist), Jared Walsh, Dylan Berrard and Jack Gulachenski.
Banners hang forever: Natick's 1951 state championship hockey team finally gets banner at Chase Arena
"Having the balanced lines, having everyone out there always at 100, we never let them breathe," Nate Gulachenski said.
Hudson captain Joe Lozoraitis cut the lead in half with a power play goal with 6:31 left in the second. Christian Stevens shaved the Hawks deficit to 5-2 with 39.4 seconds left after pouncing on a loose puck.
Riley O'Sullivan was named Hudson's MVP.
Contact Kyle Grabowski at kgrabowski@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @kylegrbwsk.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Marlborough hockey beats Hopkinton with late goal for Daily News Cup
