BOSTON — The No. 5 Kent Lions took down No. 3 Dexter Southfield, 3-2, for the boys NEPSAC Large School title. A scoreless second period set the stage for an exciting finish. With under a minute remaining in regulation and an overtime looming, alternate captain and Cornell commit forward Gio DiGuilian (South Burlington, Vt.) broke...
BOSTON — The No. 5 Kent Lions took down No. 3 Dexter Southfield, 3-2, for the boys NEPSAC Large School title.
A scoreless second period set the stage for an exciting finish.
With under a minute remaining in regulation and an overtime looming, alternate captain and Cornell commit forward Gio DiGuilian (South Burlington, Vt.) broke the 2-2 tie with the go-ahead goal to give the Lions the late lead. It was a lead the Lions hung onto despite Dexter Southfield's 6v5 chances as the final horn sounded.
The title game was tight all game long. The first period played out much like a boxing match, with both sides feeling one another out. Dexter-Southfield and Kent traded possessions and played a penalty-free period, waiting for one another to make a mistake. Eight minutes in, Dexter Southfield made the first mistake.
A miscue during a line change by Dexter Southfield allowed DiGuilian to break away and bury the first goal of the game for Kent.
But Dexter Southfield was quick to respond. A deflection by sophomore defender Matt Hines found the back of the net only 30 seconds later to knot the game at one apiece.
In the third period, after an absence of scoring in the second, Kent and Dexter Southfield exchanged goals again.
First, it was Kent senior Owen Mahar finishing a chance from fellow senior Jack Roberts. Then, moments later, Dexter sophomore Joe Marchi (Foxboro, Mass.) sniped in a goal to tie the game with just over five minutes to play in the period.
But the true star of the afternoon was Kent netminder Aiden Hopewell. The Trinity College commit turned away shot after shot as Dexter Southfield peppered him. Maintaining his composure during the chaos, the senior's performance was the driving factor for the Lions in their championship-winning effort. In the final minute, as bodies crashed the net, Hopewell stood strong and defended his keep.
