by john clark posted 03/08/2010 The DYH Bantam A team won the 2010 Massachusetts Tier II-L State Championship this past weekend in Springfield, MA.
After winning their bracket, the team moved into the semi-finals to face North Shore power Burlington. At the end of the first period, Duxbury led 1-0 on a Drew Hadley goal assisted by Matt Murphy. They doubled their lead by the end of the 2nd, with James Marcello potting the goal off a nice setup from Tanner Williams. With the game still very hotly contested, Nick Marrocco scored an unassisted goal with under 5 minutes left in the game to give the boys some breathing room. Scott Whear added a late powerplay goal off a great pass from Mike Doyle to cement the 4-0 win.
Next up for the Dragons was a tough team from Norwood, who had beaten Stoneham by a 3- 0 score in an earlier semi-final. The Duxbury defense and goaltending was the story of the game, with defensemen Tyler Powers, Shawn Errasti, Pat Buell and Whear playing tough and poised in their own end in front of goalie Chris Johnson, who made a number of highlight reel saves to send the game into the 3rd period scoreless.
Duxbury was finally able to solve the equally tough Norwood D when Murphy found Hadley busting down the right wing, and a hard low shot put the Dragons up 1-0 just 16 seconds into the 3rd period. Both teams continued to get chances on both ends, with Johnson holding down the fort for Duxbury, until Marrocco converted a perfect pass from Murphy with just under 2 minutes left to make the score 2-0. Powers, Errasti, Buell, Whear, and Johnson turned back a desperate Norwood offense with the Norwood goalie pulled to preserve the victory and give Duxbury a 2-0 win and a State Championship.
The team will now move onto the New England Sectionals at St. Anselms College to face the State Champions from Maine, Vermont, Conneticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire on the weekend of 3/19.
Congratulations!!
