BRIDGEWATER — A strong third period led Bishop Stang to a 4-2 victory over Middleborough/Carver/Wareham on Thursday morning at the Bridgewater Ice Arena.
Bishop Stang (14-3-3) came into this match after going winless in its last two games, with a tie against Tri-County on Tuesday and an overtime loss against Boston Latin on Saturday. Middleboro (14-5-1) earned a bounce-back victory over Taunton on Wednesday after losing to the Tigers in the Battle of Bristol on Monday.
“We played really well in the first period, we really outskated them, and then in the second we stopped skating,” Stang coach Ken Gouveia said. “I told them to get back to what we did in the first period, move your feet and get the pace of the game up, and we’ll work our way back, and that’s what we did.”
Stang shifted into high gear in the third period when trailing by a goal. William Sanders scored both the tying and game-winning goals. The game-winner was on a 2-on-1 with Cory Vieira and Sanders, as Vieira waited patiently to pass over to Sanders, who finished the play off with a tally. Middleboro threatened to send it to overtime in the final minute, but after two key stops from Stang Tanner Trahan (23 saves), Vieira scored an empty netter to seal the victory.
Vieira was involved in all four goals for Stang, having the empty-netter and three assists. With that, Sanders tied Brendan Vane with the most goals on the team, with each having 14. Vieira ended the regular season with 30 total points.
“If you’re watching that game, Sanders scored the goals, but Vieira is just making all the plays,” Gouveia said. “He’s my best guy on the ice, smallest guy, and he’s doing all the work, doing all the forechecking, making the plays, and setting up the goals.”
Forty seconds into the contest, Vieira had a wrister ricochet off Middleboro goaltender Greg Mason (15 saves), but the puck found Vane at the other side of the net, and he took advantage of the open side and scored the opening goal for Stang.
In the second period, Middleboro tied the game when Wyatt Goyette scored his 21st of the season after finding an open lane left by the Stang defense. Levon Mulready then gave the Sachems the lead as he scored from the left faceoff circle and got it past Spartans netminder Tanner Trahan for his 13th goal of the season.
The Bishop Stang team had been battling with sickness and an injury to one of their senior captains all week, according to Gouveia.
“We’ve had a lot of guys that have been out sick all week, including the goaltender (Trahan), so this was a pleasant surprise this morning overall,” Gouveia said.
Both teams are in a strong position in the Div. 3 tournament, with Middleboro likely hosting a first-round game. The bracket is set to release Saturday morning.
