BOSTON — When Logan Poulin's goal was called off in the first minute of the third period, it looked like a bad trend was on the verge of continuing for Nauset.
Nauset went scoreless in its first championship appearance in 2004. The same was true last March. Through two periods on Sunday, they trailed and were held without a goal — again.
But Poulin, who entered Sunday with 83 points, finally broke that trend when he knocked a rebound past Medfield goalie Charlie Duggan. That awoke Nauset's offense, as it potted four more to win its first state title, 4-1.
With just under seven minutes to play, Nauset junior forward Jake Eldredge scored the eventual game-winning goal. He entered the offensive zone and used a defenseman as a screen, shooting it through him, off of Duggan's glove and in.
Nauset tacked on two empty-net goals. One was from senior forward Colin Ward, while the other was from Poulin.
Medfield looked like it had Nauset right where it wanted them for the first two periods.
After a scoreless first, Medfield senior forward Joseph Nee sniped a shot over Nauset senior goalie Zach Coelho's blocker to open the scoring.
BOYS BRACKETS:Â Division 1Â |Â Division 2Â |Â Division 3Â |Â Division 4
Let's dive into some takeaways.
1. Ultimately, this was the proper end to Poulin's high school career. He came out flying in the third period, scoring on a goal that was called off due to goalie interference. He didn't let that deter him, as he scored a real goal about five minutes later. It was a terrific play by his linemates. Eldredge took the shot and it was stopped by Duggan. But Ward got a piece of it and laid it there for Poulion to grab and backhand past the netminder. Poulin was always driving play and hard to handle in the cycle and off the rush.
2. Eldredge surely turned heads with his performance on Sunday. The '08 showcased great skating and put Medfield's defenders on their heels with his heels. He always had a shot-first mentality, as was evident on Poulin's first goal and his own. On his goal, the defender had to respect his speed so he stayed back and never really stepped up.
3. While defending a late lead, Coelho made a big blocker save on Medfield freshman forward Luke Dickson to keep Nauset in command. Coelho wasn't particularly busy, but he took care of the shots he did face. He was square to shooters and generally didn't give up many rebounds. When Medfield turned up the pressure in the offensive zone, Coelho was always there to bail out his teammates.
4. If there was ever a sign that this game was going in Nauset's direction, it was how Medfield managed the first few minutes of the third period. The Warriors were looking to chip and ice pucks rather than go for controlled breakouts. That's a hard way to play for 15 minutes against an offense like Nauset's.
BOYS CHAMPS: Catholic Memorial wins D1 | Billerica wins D2 | Winthrop wins D4Â
5. Medfield sophomore forward John Shaughnessy had a strong game. In the first period, he dangled a Nauset defender and put one off the crossbar. He was everywhere in the offensive zone, finding lanes to the net and winning puck battles. Late in the second period while defending a lead, he blocked a shot that was on net with Duggan down and out. He had Medfield's closest chance to a second goal when he put one off the post midway through the third.
