WESTFIELD – Joseph Maffia was on a mission.
Wednesday night marked the final time that Maffia and 12 of his senior teammates would compete in a high-school hockey game inside Amelia Park. And he wasn’t going to waste the opportunity, as Maffia secured a loose puck during the opening minutes of the third period and took off.
As the upperclassman neared the opposing net, he deked the lone defender and then located a backhanded wrister with 8:55 left in regulation. But Ludlow didn’t go down easy, as Tannar Severyn evened the score with 2:18 left in regulation.
It wasn’t enough, though, as Maffia ultimately countered with two of his career-high four goals in the final minutes of regulation to lead the No. 2 Westfield boys hockey team past No. 7 Ludlow by a final score of 7-5 on Wednesday.
Maffia also tied his career high with seven combined points (four goals and three assists), while Chase Liptak (two) and Brody Hollister (one) scored the other goals for the Bombers. Owen Colbath, meanwhile, stopped 14 of 19 shots faced in net.
“This was a wicked, exciting game,” Maffia said. “It was probably the most exciting game I’ve played in my high-school career. This was a great win to finish our last-ever home game.”
The Lions came hungry to score on Wednesday, and it showed as Ludlow scored on its opening shot attempts to begin the first period against Westfield.
After two minutes of scoreless action, the Lions recovered possession and embarked on a 2-on-2 breakaway attempt. As the Lions neared the opposing net, they attempted to keep Westfield’s defense guessing as they traded passes before the red faceoff circles.
But in the end, Evan Dias located Severyn coming down the middle alone for the opening breakaway goal. The fun wasn’t complete, though, as Ludlow recovered possession near the opposing crease. Moments later, Dias sent home a top-shelf wrister along the left wing to double the Lions’ cushion to 2-0 with 9:57 left in the frame.
“I thought Ludlow looked fantastic tonight,” Westfield coach Dominic Puntillo said. “I thought they were fast, physical, and moved the puck well. I think when you look at the state rankings as well, they are right in there alongside Longmeadow and East Longmeadow.
“This might be the first time in a while that we’ll have a lot of Western Massachusetts representation there. So wherever they finish, (the Lions) will be a tough out for sure.”
The Bombers weren’t denied, though, as the home team forced a turnover in the opposing zone and took off. Maffia then connected with Hollister ahead of the defense for Westfield’s own breakaway attempt.
And the Bombers seized the opportunity, as Hollister located a wrister over the right shoulder of Ludlow netminder Peter LeBorgne (game-high 18 saves) to cut their team’s deficit to 2-1 with 2:42 left in the first. Hollister is now second in scoring for Westfield with 14 goals, while Maffia leads the team with 25 goals and 33 assists for 58 combined points.
The Lions maintained that one-goal advantage through the opening intermission, while also outshooting the Bombers, 10-5.
The momentum was short-lived for Ludlow, as LeBorgne exited the crease as he attempted to clear the puck. Maffia said otherwise, though, as the senior intercepted the intended pass and sent it home to briefly even the score with 13:26 left in the second period.
That was just the beginning of something memorable, as Gavin Harrington countered with his first-season goal to move the Lions back ahead less than one minute later.
But once again, the excitement didn’t last since Liptak recorded back-to-back goals 34 seconds apart from each other to give the Bombers their first lead of 4-3 with 11:34 left in the second. That marked five combined goals in under two minutes.
“We have an older group this year,” Puntillo said. “As I always tell them, it’s their season. It’s nothing about the coaches, and it’s nothing we can say, so it’s up to them. So I think they know if they play to their certain strengths and style, that we can be successful.”
Coming into Wednesday’s game, three combined Super-7 selections were scheduled to compete against each other in Sean Kefalas and Severyn for Ludlow and then Maffia for Westfield. And halfway through the second period, those members proved their worthiness, as the Lions earned another breakaway attempt.
“I think Severyn is a great player,” Puntillo said. “I remember him from last year. And I told him in the line before the game that I had a feeling he was going to do something to us. But I’m glad he didn’t have a couple more minutes to score one more against us.”
This time, though, Kefalas joined the fun as he approached the opposing crease. In response, Colbath attempted to deflect the shot with his outstretched leg. But it wasn’t enough, as Kefalas scored his 10th-season goal on a wrister along the left post to help Ludlow even the score at 4-4 with 5:07 left in the second period of this back-and-forth battle.
Through 30 minutes of action, both teams remained in a stalemate despite Westfield now outshooting Ludlow, 15-13. The Bombers and Lions scored all five goals on their opening eight shot attempts during the second period.
But in the end, Maffia secured the comeback win for Westfield, as he recorded two of the game’s final three goals during the final two-plus minutes of regulation.
The Bombers improved to 11-6, 8-3 behind their fourth consecutive win to move ahead of East Longmeadow (10-6, 8-4) for first place in the Berry Standings.
Westfield now has one last regular-season league game scheduled against West Springfield on Thursday from Olympia Rink at 6:30 p.m. Ludlow, meanwhile, will also conclude its regular-season league schedule against No. 1 Longmeadow on the same date and location at 8:30 p.m.
“Every team in our league is so good,” Puntillo said. “And every game, no matter who you are playing, is going to be tight. Every team wants to win, obviously, so it’s hard to win games. But we don’t take anything for granted because we know every game will be a tough one.”
When I was younger, I always wanted to play in the Major Leagues. Right now, though, I have the next best job covering high school athletes who have a better shot at making that dream become a reality. https://www.masslive.com/staff/christopherberry/
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