BOSTON – Senior defenseman Caden Connors scored twice and added an assist as Tewksbury upended two-time defending champion Canton in the MIAA Division 2 State Championship on Sunday afternoon at the TD Garden.
The Redmen jumped out to a 2-0 lead on first period goals from Connors and Matthew Cooke. The score remained that way until Canton cut the deficit in half on a third period goal from A.J. Thomas. Connors’ second of the night with Canton’s goaltender pulled for the extra attacker sealed the victory for Tewksbury.
Besides Connors’ offensive flare from the blue line, the story of this game was the goaltending. Tewksbury junior Ben O’Keefe and Canton freshman Colin Davis both made a couple of big-time saves.
For a few of Tewksbury’s seniors, this game was a small bit of revenge as the Redmen fell to Canton in the 2019 MIAA Division 2 State Championship game. Tewksbury went 22-2 en route to the team’s state title while Canton finished its solid season at 21-3-1.
Scoring summary
THS 1-0: Matt Cooke swooped in to bury a rebound after Connors’ end-to-end rush.
THS 2-0: Connors recovered a puck in the neutral zone while the Redmen were skating on the power play. He weaved his way through three Canton defenders before sliding a shot into the net.
CHS 1-2: On zone entry, Eddie Gillis sent a pass to the middle for Thomas who quickly snapped a shot into the net.
THS 3-1: Connors was cherry-picking and the puck slid out to him. He skated down ice and sent the puck into an empty net.
Four prospects
Caden Connors
Tewksbury, 12/30/03, D, left shot, 6-2/190
Connors is gifted with the puck on his stick. He can stickhandle and maneuver around opposing players as he gets pucks up ice with ease at this level. He’ll have to improve on his habits and compete level away from the puck in order to make the transition to Tier 3 junior hockey or prep school as a postgraduate in 2022-23.
Ben O’Keefe
Tewksbury, 1/1/05, G, catches left, 6-2/170
One of the key plays in the game was O’Keefe’s monster glove save in the second period. It kept the Tewksbury lead at 2-0. There were a few other big saves the junior made in his team’s title-clinching victory. O’Keefe has good size and potential to play prep or Tier 3 in a year or two.
Colin Davis
Canton, 9/8/06, G, catches left, 6-1/154
While Davis was on the losing end of this one, the freshman had some clutch saves. He has good size and looks the part in net. With some refinement to his game, Davis could be a very good prep school goalie in a few years. He’s one of the better goaltending prospects in the MIAA this winter.
Matthew Cooke
Tewksbury, 1/1/06, LW, left shot, 5-11/150
Cooke has a nose for the net and can finish. His rebound goal was an example of that. He’s heavy on pucks and can shoot it with zip.
Tewksbury lines
Cooke - Lane - Barnes
Cooke - Stone - Connelly
Flynn - Cremin - Insogna
Connors - DiCioccio
Rooney - Robillard
O’Keefe
Canton lines
Valkanas - Tourgee - Kelly
Chaput - Carlino - DiGirolamo
Gillis - Phaneuf - Thomas
DeLello - Middleton - Drury
Doucette - Connolly
Pecararo - Kelleher
Owens - Young
Davis
