DEDHAM, Mass. — It didn't matter that Nobles forward Billy MacAusland's (Westwood, Mass.) shot was blocked. Ethan Cox (Westboro, Mass.) was there to deliver.
Just 51 seconds into the five-minute overtime, Cox corralled the puck in the slot and fired it through Tabor goalie Brayden Bennett's (New Bedford, Mass.) legs, giving Nobles a thrilling, 5-4 win.
It was a game that never stopped going back and forth.
The scoring started in the first period when Nobles forward Kyle O'Leary (Medfield, Mass.) finished a great passing play off the rush from linemates Dennis Davidson (Newton, Mass.) and Teddy MacAusland (Westwood, Mass.), beating Bennett with just 57.5 seconds to play.
With roughly 12 minutes to go in the second period, Nobles took a penalty. Tabor capitalized immediately on the man-advantage when forward Tommy Sheehan (Warwick, R.I.) smacked in the rebound off defenseman Cole Estey's (Barnstable, Mass.) shot to tie the game, 1-1.
So began the back-and-forth nature of the second period.
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Cox scored his first goal of the game under two minutes later when he scored on the rebound, making it 2-1. Tabor replied soon after when Adam Quinn (Franklin, Mass.) rifled a shot past Nobles goalie Tyler Bloomfield (Hudson, Mass.) from the top of the circle to make it 2-2.
Just over a minute later, Teddy MacAusland ripped a shot from a similar spot, but in Tabor's end. It beat Bennett, giving Nobles a 3-2 lead. But, once again, it was short-lived after Seawolves forward Will Doherty (Marshfield, Mass.) scored the prettiest goal in the game, which we'll get to in the takeaways, to tie it up.
Before the period could end, Tabor took its first lead of the game when Doherty blocked Nobles defenseman Kris Soja's (Ludlow, Mass.) shot and took it the other way, cashing in on the breakaway.
It didn't stop when the third period began because just 27 seconds into the frame, Davidson cashed in a rebound.
Let's dive into some takeaways from this one.
1. Nobles' top line of Davidson, MacAusland and O'Leary was dominant. Davidson brought a high compete and was dominant driving play and on the forecheck. On Nobles' third goal, Teddy MacAusland scored and O'Leary passed it to him, but it was Davidson who started the play with a strong check behind the net to free the puck. Teddy MacAusland's vision is outstanding, which pairs great with Davidson and O'Leary's ability to get open.
They will be up there among the best lines in the region.
As for the rest of the Nobles forwards, head coach Brian Day seemed to use the Teddy MacAusland line and a line of Matthew Welch (Boxboro, Mass.), Ben Nakata (West Barnstable, Mass.) and Amir Jamal (Boston, Mass.) quite a bit in the early going. Towards the back half of the game, Billy MacAusland and Cox were used most on a line with Jamal.
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2. Nobles' defense entered this season as a question mark. In Wednesday's game, it was fine. There were some mistakes for sure. But that's expected early in a season with players in elevated roles. Nobles' best defensemen was junior Lou Munger (Dedham, Mass.). The 6-foot-4, 200-pound, right-shot defender played a very smart game, utilizing good gap control off the rush and showcasing a lot of physicality. He has all the traits of a strong, shutdown defender.
An area where that intelligence showed was off offensive zone faceoffs. On one in the second period, he gathered the puck and faked the shot. In one motion, he found Teddy MacAusland wide open next to the net for a scoring chance.
As for the Nobles defensemen with the highest potential...
3. ...That would be Soja, a freshman. The '08 is sent onto the ice a lot by Day. He's a great skater who shows no hesitation in rushing the puck and breaking the puck out by himself. He is not short on confidence. He has poise in spades. But, he's a freshman — mistakes happen. He had a few bad decisions in shooting pucks from the point, most notably the one that led to Doherty's second goal. After that happened, Soja was better at making decisions from the point. He has an incredibly bright future in prep — and beyond — if that continues.
4. The ISL Keller is stacked and because I had questions about Tabor this season, I figured it might struggle. The Seawolves lost a lot of key cogs from last season's team. I know it's just one game, but on Wednesday, they played similarly to how they were last year — physical and with a high compete level. Lots of credit to Tabor bench boss Gerry Dineen and his staff for that.
5. Tabor's top six is strong. Doherty was the best all-around player on Wednesday, as he played with a high level of skill and speed. His first goal was gorgeous, as he fended off two defenders draped over him, dangled another and then went high blocker over Bloomfield. He had another dangle midway through the third period, but Bloomfield robbed him. Doherty was also strong at winning puck battles.
But he's not alone in the top six. Quinn, a junior, had a really strong night, often hemming Nobles in its own end. Senior captains Cam Gaffney (East Greenwich, R.I.) and Kai Roberto (Topsfield, Mass.), who is only 5-foot-7, were vital on the forecheck and in setting the tone.
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6. Estey and Axel Vaillancourt are strong, reliable seniors on Tabor's blue line. But the player who caught my eye the most was sophomore Owen Carter (Warwick, R.I.), an '07. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound, right-shot defenseman was outstanding with the puck on his stick. He's a smooth, elusive skater who consistently made smart decisions with the puck. There was one time he had the puck behind his own net and with the forechecker bearing down on him, he faked to his right, stopped and skated up the middle of his own zone, leaving the Nobles forward far behind him. Intelligent decisions on breakouts was a constant for Carter.
7. There was one Hockey East school in attendance. Both teams have a couple of interesting, uncommitted prospects who might be fits. I know, I know — you want me to speculate. That's for another day.
