The Rams fell to Waltham, 4-1, in Sunday night's state championship game at TD Garden.
BOSTON -- The Marshfield High boys hockey team was not expected to be in state title contention in 2018.
The Rams lost a big senior class, and three of their top expected returners pursued other hockey opportunities.
But that doesn’t make Sunday night’s 4-1 loss to Waltham in the Division 1 state final at TD Garden hurt any less.
“Bottom line is they’re a great team and they deserved to get here,” Marshfield coach Dan Connolly said of his bunch. “It stinks to lose. There’s no easy words to say to these kids about losing, but I told them every single one should be proud. It was a great run, a great season, a great accomplishment to get here. Only one team can win. Unfortunately, it wasn’t us.”
Waltham (18-5-2) took a 3-0 lead 13 seconds into the third period. Marshfield senior goaltender Nevan Costello made a pair of saves before Declan Reynolds pushed one home. Costello made initial stops on a Gerard Jelloe bid from the blue line and a Reynolds rebound slam from in tight, but Reynolds finished off his own miss.
Marshfield (15-6-6) tried to muster some magic when Max Burum scored with 6:03 left in regulation to shave the deficit to 3-1. Burum made a hard net drive and put home the rebound from a James Kolar shot.
The Hawks killed any chance of a comeback when J.T. Logue punched in a rebound of Brian Pescatore’s shot with 3:25 remaining in regulation.
Despite holding a 34-21 shot advantage, Marshfield struggled to challenge Waltham goaltender Kyle Penton.
“He’s been great all year, but especially in the playoffs,” said Waltham coach John Maguire. “He doesn’t let a puck in in warmups, he’s that focused and that tuned in. You saw that tonight.”
Waltham got single goals in each of the first two periods -- from Chris Egan with 7:36 left in the first and from Andrew Miller with 9:14 remaining in the second -- to take a 2-0 lead.
“They went hard to the net and we made a couple of mistakes in coverage and they got to the back of the net,” said Connolly. “The kids played well, can’t diminish that. Our mistakes they capitalized (on), and I think that was the difference.”
Late in the second, Marshfield’s Tim Doyle sent a centering pass to Paul Rorke in the slot, but Penton stopped Rorke’s five-hole bid.
Marshfield also failed to convert on a power play in the second. The Rams’ best chance came when Chris Sullivan sent a shot from the blue line. Penton made the initial stop, and on the rebound, Rorke tried to slam it home with a backhand but couldn’t get much on the shot and Penton covered the puck.
With 3:11 remaining in the second, the Hawks had a 2-on-1 opportunity, but Costello made a glove save.
The win gives the Hawks their first crown since 2002 while Marshfield was bidding for its first championship since 2011.
"They were there for each other, had each other’s backs,” said Connolly. “It was probably the closest group of kids we’ve ever had. The seniors brought everyone together. They were together from day one."