Holliston 3, Middleboro 2: Comeback Kids March On

Panthers Nation just got a whole lot bigger.

As if heading on the road into enemy territory wasn't nervewracking enough, the Holliston hockey team fell behind quickly by two goals in the first period in front of a hostile Middleboro crowd Tuesday night.

But No. 24 Holliston (9-8-4) handled the situation quite flawlessly, fighting back to score a scintillating 3-2 victory over the ninth-seeded Sachems in a Division 3 South Preliminary Round game at Bridgewater Ice Arena.

Sophomore Max Turcotte and seniors Eric Witunski and John Georgallas scored in the comeback, which vaulted the Panthers into the first round matchup (time, site TBA) with No. 25 Ashland (10-9-2). Holliston split a pair of games with Ashland in Tri-Valley League play this season, on Dec. 22 before .

Turcotte opened the Panthers' scoring on a lengthy cross-ice pass from Witunski, which turned out to be the game's turning point.

"Our whole game plan was to keep the (puck) in small ice, get the puck up ice," said Holliston coach Rick LeBlanc. "(Witunski)'s got a good head on his shoulders and he's always looking to move that puck up."

In their first tournament game in six years, the Panthers showed remarkable poise while fashioning a program-building win. Holliston, a program nearly cut in the offseason due to the town's budget constraints, hardly looked like a team just two seasons removed from a 1-18-1 season.

Nevertheless, Middleboro came out the aggressor from the opening faceoff. Captain Zac MacAulay was all over the ice for 45 minutes and the senior center had his teammates involved early.

After both teams spent roughly 10 minutes feeling each other out, the Sachems lit the lamp with 5:27 remaining in the first period. Senior tri-captain Cody Langway got off a clean slap shot, which sophomore Brandon Lavelle deflected into the net past Panthers goalie Chris Lamont.

Middleboro almost had a chance to put the Panthers away after senior winger Dan Cashman scored on a rebound off a shot by MacAulay with 3:47 to go. Had it not been for some crucial saves late in the first period by Lamont, Holliston may have never been able to regroup.

But regroup they did.

The second period was all Holliston as the momentum changed hands almost immediately. As the play on both sides began getting more physical and tempers flared, the penalties began to mount.

Witunski's game-changing play came with 6:38 remaining in the second as he found Turcotte streaking up ice, leading the sophomore perfectly in alone on Middleboro netminder Patrick Nicholson.

"It felt great and this is my first state (tournament) game," said Witunski. "I've never experienced this before and the win is really nice. The whole team, everyone is celebrating."

Down 2-1, Holliston kept the pressure on, beginning to get to more loose pucks and assert themselves as the hungrier and more aggressive team. With just under three minutes left in the period, Witunski broke in alone on Nicholson and beat the junior goaltender high and wide as the Big Red faithful began to roar.

"We have a lot of seniors this year, 14 I think, and we really came out firing in that second period," said Witunski. "Once we play our system, we play really good."

It came down to the final period to determine who would advance to take on Ashland. And luckily for the team in red, the Panthers were able to carry the momentum they had built in the previous 15 minutes and sustain it to finish off the upset victory.

Late in the game, it was the Sachems who looked flat and the Panthers capitalized. With 9:24 left in the game, Georgallas beat Nicholson on a nifty backhand on a breakaway and Holliston had their first lead of the postseason, 3-2.

"I just told them before the game 'no win means no more playing' and the kids really stepped up," said LeBlanc. "I'm super proud. Our team has a lot of makeup and I told them beforehand every game we play is just a bonus game."

Middleboro tried to put a few rushes on Lamont late but the puck control and forechecking by the Panthers proved to be too much as the clock ran down and the Holliston bench emptied onto the ice in celebration.