More semifinal heartache for Duxbury boys hockey as Dragons are denied by Boston Latin

BOURNE – Third time was not, in fact, the charm for the Duxbury High boys hockey team on Sunday. Instead, the Dragons' semifinal heartbreak continued.

Denied in this round in 2022 (by Tewksbury in double-OT) and again in 2023 (by Canton), Duxbury had hoped that this Division 2 playoff run would be the one that ended on the ice at TD Garden for the state final. Unfortunately, the Dragons could not solve Boston Latin sophomore goalie Oliver Murphy, who made 30 saves to backstop the Wolf Pack to a 2-0 win at Joe Gallo Ice Arena.

"He was clearly the difference in the game," said Boston Latin coach Frank Woods, whose team is headed back to the title game for the first time since beating Saugus in overtime in 2005. "He was excellent tonight."

Duxbury came in on a 7-2-1 hot streak, but Murphy cooled them off, especially over the first two periods when the Dragons (13-9-4) held a 20-6 edge in shots. Senior Boston Latin defenseman Robert Banks scored twice in the final 4:31 of the third period, including into an empty net with 69 seconds left, to deny Duxbury again.

Banks also had the winner in OT in a second-round victory over Billerica.

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The Dragons, meanwhile, could take some measure of solace in another deep playoff run, but ...

"I wish it was still going," Dragons coach Mike Flaherty said. "I'd say it's a great run. I think we're the only team in any division since they went to the statewide tournament to make three Final Fours. I told the kids to be proud of that. But this one hurts. This one hurts the most."

No. 11 Boston Latin (16-8) will play No. 1 Tewksbury (21-3) in the Division 2 final. The Wolf Pack, who are 9-1 in their last 10, are tied with Division 1 Winchester (also a No. 11) as the lowest-seeded team to make it to the Garden across the four boys divisions.

"I don't think too many people expected us to get there," Woods said. "But we play a really challenging schedule. We played Duxbury. We played Tewksbury twice. We played Concord-Carlisle twice. We go play a competitive non-league schedule. We feel like we can compete."

Duxbury beat Boston Latin, 3-2, at The Bog in Kingston on Dec. 23. Woods said Murphy hadn't hit his stride yet in the first meeting. "He's essentially still just coming off his freshman season (then)," Woods said. "He's a different player right now. His confidence has grown exponentially over the last five-six weeks. He's playing really, really good hockey."

So was Duxbury senior Brady Walsh, who came in with 15 goals on the season, five of them bunched into the Dragons' last two playoff games. Walsh had a hat trick in a 5-1 win over No. 26 Malden Catholic in the Round of 16 and then struck twice in a 3-1 win over No. 15 Masconomet in the quarterfinals.

"Brady picked the right time to play his best hockey," Flaherty said. "He's been good all year long, but all of a sudden when the state tournament came along, he ratcheted his game up to a whole new level. I thought he was good again today. I thought he was a force (with) his speed, his size. He's an agitator. He's the type of kid who gets under your skin. I just thought he had a great run for us."

This was Flaherty's third season behind the Duxbury bench after a long run as Rockland's coach. He said that gave him a special bond with the Dragons' 11-player senior class.

"A lot of these guys started playing varsity with me when I first came in," he said. "They're like my kids. I hurt for them. They gave me everything. And they did it every day. They still want to play. In a perfect world, maybe we still are playing, But it's not a perfect world."

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Duxbury boys hockey falls in Div. 2 semifinals for third straight year