HIGH SCHOOL BOYS HOCKEY: Former Rockland coach Mike Flaherty scores a big win with Duxbury

KINGSTON – Mike Flaherty said, "I think it was time."

Time for a new gig, he meant. And, now, time for a signature win.

Flaherty spent 13 seasons behind the bench at Rockland High, coaching a steady stream of hockey-playing Bulldogs, including his son Michael for four years and his daughter Erin for one. (She played her freshman season on the boys team.)

This winter, he's relocated to Duxbury High, and of the eight wins the Dragons have scored so far under his tutelage, this one stands out the most.

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Connor O'Connell's highlight-reel goal early in the third period on Monday lifted Duxbury to a rare 2-1 conquest of Patriot League rival Hanover at The Bog. The Dragons' Twitter account announced it was Duxbury's first win over the Hawks in 12 years, although Flaherty could not immediately confirm that.

"Depending on who you talk to it's nine, 10, 11, 12 years," he said with a laugh. "No matter what, it's been a while."

"Hanover is one of those programs that's always at the top, no matter what division they're in," Flaherty added. "I had some great battles with them when I was at Rockland. So for me, it's always nice to beat those guys because I use them as a measuring stick for where we are. Year in and year out they're at the top of the league, the top of the state. To beat those guys, it's a very good accomplishment for us, no matter how many years it's been."

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After giving up a goal just 45 seconds into the game, Duxbury (8-4-2) knotted the score by the first intermission – courtesy of a sizzling Wyatt Glass one-timer in the slot – and eventually turned the tide in the second period for a breakthrough win over the Hawks (9-4-1).

"It's great," O'Connell said of the victory, the Dragons' third straight after back-to-back overtime losses. "Everybody in the locker room was talking about how long it's been since we had beaten (Hanover). Beating them today, it's just amazing."

It was not an amazing start for Duxbury, though, as Hanover doubled up the hosts in shots, 12-6, in the first period and probably were unlucky not to have taken a lead into the first intermission. Michael Munroe scored his team-leading ninth goal of the season in the opening minute, converting a backhander at the left post, but Wyatt Glass answered at the 4:12 mark, converting a feed from his older brother Brady, who was stationed below the goal line.

"I was the third guy high and I saw Brady in the corner," said Wyatt, a junior center. "I saw him pick up his head and I was right in front of the net. I just had to finish."

It was Wyatt's sixth goal of the season and Brady's ninth assist. They form two-thirds of Duxbury's No. 1 line with senior winger Tyler Walser.

"Massive," Flaherty said of the brothers' contribution to his new team. "Brady is just a warrior. He's coming back from a torn ACL last year. He's a great leader. He competes, he battles, he sets the tone for us. And Wyatt's just so calm, cool and collected. I don't think anything really fazes him. He's skilled and he's scored some big goals. Those two guys together have been fantastic."

Hanover shook off the tying goal and kept plugging away, building a 17-6 edge in shots on goal before Duxbury began turning the tide by taking nine of the last 10 shots in the second period.

"We went through a lull there in the second half of the second period," Hanover coach Jon Abban said.

"Right about halfway through the second we found our legs a little bit and we started to realize that we could do some things," Flaherty said. "After the second period, we had a good talk in the locker room. We used the motivation that we hadn't beaten them in quite a while. I thought we really had our legs going in the third."

O'Connell wasted little time, notching the winner just 2:14 into the third period. Reilly Murray fed him in the low slot and O'Connell calmly drew Hanover goaltender Liam Monahan out of his net and tucked the puck around him inside the right post for just his third goal of the season.

"It was a great forecheck by Cormac (Weiler)," O'Connell said. "He got the puck to Reilly and he gave me the puck in the slot. He gave me a chance to make a play."

"Great goal," Flaherty said. "He's got it in him. He's got more skill than I think he thinks he does sometimes. He was really cool under pressure with that one. Nice move."

Hanover made a strong bid for the tying goal late but never again could crack Duxbury junior goalie Sam Mazanec (25 saves). Flaherty admitted he wanted no part of OT as the Dragons are 0-3 in extra periods this year. The losses were all against top-notch competition – Silver Lake (11-3 record), Marshfield (10-3-1) and Xaverian (12-1-1).

"I feel like we're better than our record indicates," Flaherty said "but again, as people down in Foxboro say, you are what you are, right?"

Hanover had been on a 6-1-1 hot streak since losing back-to-back games to Scituate and Canton in December, but the Hawks' lack of a veteran scoring presence – Abban estimates this is the first time in a decade his team doesn't boast at least one player with 100 career points – caught up with them.

"The effort was there for three periods," Abban said, "but we gotta get hungry around the net. That was the difference. Plenty of shots but now it's quality shots we need. ... It's a matter of converting."

For Dragons it's a matter of savoring this win and then plotting their next big moment in Year 1 of the Flaherty Era. Duxbury was 6-7-2 last winter, but the Dragons have been to the top of the mountain recently, winning the 2019 Division 1 state title. (They will compete in Division 2 in the new MIAA statewide playoff system this winter; at last check they were No. 6 in the power rankings.)

The promise of big days like this was part of the reason that Flaherty, 53, made the switch. He still lives in Rockland but is quickly warming up to his new hockey home.

"We had done a lot of great things at Rockland," he said. "I'm incredibly proud of being an alum and playing there myself and then coaching there, having my two kids play there. This was a good challenge for me to get up to this level. As a competitor you always want to take that next step. To me this was the next step. It's been a great ride and I'm glad I'm here."

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Duxbury boys hockey topples Hanover for first time in over a decade