KINGSTON — Ever since he first took over Marshfield’s boys hockey program in 1999, Dan Connolly has loved numerous accomplishments in his tenure.
As of Saturday, he can proudly name himself a member of the illustrious 400-win membership. Sophomores Teddie Holte and Jake Goodyear netted two targets apiece, delivering Connolly his newest milestone with a convincing 9-1 romp of Patriot League rival Plymouth South.
“We got here into this sport understanding coach had 399 wins,” Holte stated. “We wanted to get that four-hundredth. No stop all evening. That was our gameplan going into this.”
Marshfield (7-2-1) took the ice motivated to observe via. The Rams seized management of the momentum shortly after puck drop, as they started to pepper the Panthers’ internet. It didn’t precisely take too lengthy for them to capitalize, as Goodyear potted a purpose off of a unfastened rebound simply 2:38 into play to supply his group a fast 1-0 edge.
Moments later, Brendan McLaughlin discovered the web similarly as he collected a rebound of his personal, sniping his seventh purpose of the season to make it 2-0 with 7:09 remaining within the opening interval.
The development continued within the second stanza for Marshfield, as Brendan Kiziuk notched a purpose to push the result in 3-0. The Rams have been removed from carried out within the body, as they might rattle off 4 extra targets earlier than the stanza concluded. Holte struck for 2 consecutive tallies, making it 5-0 with 4:04 left within the second. Goodyear adopted issues up together with his second purpose 29 seconds later, because the lead ballooned to 6-0.
“It feels nice, particularly understanding that it was coach’s four-hundredth profession win,” Goodyear stated. “I feel everybody actually got here collectively…We had a superb week of follow, and we got here out and confirmed them.”
After Plymouth South (1-8-2) lower issues to 6-1 off a shot from Colin McDermott, Marshfield closed the interval with another tally for good measure. Jonathan Sullivan fired dwelling a missile with 1.1 ticks remaining within the second, because the Rams took a cushty 7-1 lead into the ultimate stanza.
With an opportunity for enjoying time late, Bobby Rotondo and Jack Giannetti every added their names to the field rating to assist ice a dominant and historic win for Marshfield. The Rams remained good in Patriot League play (5-0-0) with their efficiency.
When the sport concluded, a quick ceremony was held for Connolly on the ice, together with his group and the Marshfield trustworthy cheering him on.
“It’s robust to place into phrases,” Connolly stated. “It’s been numerous years teaching, as you stated, 27 years. You by no means need to say that one victory means greater than one other one. But it surely’s good to get this, with the group of men who we have now in there who work laborious. From the first-year group we had till now. I’ve been fortunate sufficient to educate a ton of nice youngsters, on the ice and off the ice. Simply every part they do. We ask numerous the youngsters in this system yearly, and these youngsters all reply. I’m happy with them, from the primary class till proper now.”
Connolly is a Marshfield Excessive graduate himself (1988). He has been standing behind the bench for practically three a long time, main the Rams to a number of Tremendous Eight appearances (2017, 2019) and two Div. 1 state titles (2006, 2011). He turns into the newest highschool hockey coach in Massachusetts to perform the feat, becoming a member of shut allies corresponding to John Messuri of Arlington and John Maguire of Waltham.
“Simply to be talked about in that firm with these guys, with Johnny Maguire at Waltham and Johnny Messuri, these two current guys, it’s fairly particular,” Connolly stated.
