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NORTH EASTON, Mass. -– Oliver Ames sent 10 hitters to the plate and scored six runs in the second inning against Franklin starter Brendon Kuzio, on the way to a 9-5 victory over the Panthers on Wednesday afternoon at Frothingham Park in Easton.

Andrew Mancini sparked the Tigers offense with three hits and three RBI, while Dave MacKinnon struck out six over five-plus innings in his first start of the season. The win improved the Oliver Ames record to 9-1 this year (all of them league games), a mark that head coach Leo Duggan, in his 27th season at the helm, was not expecting.

“If you had told me at the beginning of the year that we’d be 9-1...I don’t know...It’s great,” said Duggan. “The kids are great and they work hard.”

OA grabbed a lead in the second inning that it would not relinquish. After a leadoff walk, Brandon Gagliardi drove in Greg Cummings with a double to center. Mike Ferreira followed with an RBI single to make it 2-0. After a MacKinnon base hit, Mike McMillan drove in the third run. Andrew Mancini, the senior catcher, broke the game open with a triple to left-centerfield that scored two runs and made it 5-0.

The Tigers added one more on a double steal in the second and then tacked on a seventh run in the third on a MacKinnon sacrifice fly to right. Duggan called it the best offensive inning of the season for the Oliver Ames.

He added, “We’re usually behind people. Today was the first time that we’ve been out in front all year. We usually wait until the bottom of the fifth to start doing well. They had good swing, which we’ve been trying to stress.”

MacKinnon, who had struck out 14 of the 15 hitters he had faced in five previous relief appearances, was dominant early in the game. He struck out the side in the first inning on nine pitches, but as he got into the fifth inning he was clearly tiring and the Panthers (7-3, 6-3) started to take advantage.

Chris Roche led off the inning with a single down the leftfield line, which was followed by a base hit to center by Drew Inglesi. Catcher Stephen Shea stepped up with a run-scoring double to right center to make it 7-1 and Inglesi would come home on a wild pitch. With runners at second and third and no outs, MacKinnon was able to bear down and get the middle of the order on strikeout, a weak grounder to third, and a pop-up to the catcher.

Franklin head coach Dave Niro called that an important turning point in the game.

“We never give up, but the last couple of game we just haven’t gotten the big hit,” he noted. “We had second and third and the two, three, and four hitters coming up and got nothing out of it. We could have been right back in it.”

Despite not getting runs out of the situation, the Panthers were energized by getting on the board and in the top of the sixth went right back to work.

Andrew Dean, who replaced Neal Hart in leftfield in the fourth inning, smashed a leadoff triple to straightaway center that would have been a homerun on just about any field with a fence. Bryan Abbott, who moved from first to the mound, singled Dean home and Roche drew a walk that chased Mackinnon from the game.

“David’s the best player in the Hockomock, I don’t care what anyone says,” said Duggan. “He just got a little tired and they came back. Give Franklin credit. Most teams would have folded, but they came back.”

Brendan Welch came in to pitch and retired the next two hitters, but Santucci doubled over the head of the leftfielder to score both Abott and Roche. Both runs were charged to MacKinnon. Welch struck out pinch hitter Pat O’Reilly, but Franklin were back in the game at 7-5.

That would not last long.

MacKinnon reached on an error to start the bottom of the sixth. Two batters later, Mancini ripped a grounder down the first base line that was ruled to have just gone over the bag and made it 8-5. A wild pitch moved him to third. On a swinging third strike, Franklin’s catcher Shea thought it may have bounced and started up the first base line with the ball. It left home open and Mancini took advantage to score another insurance run.

“Physical mistakes we can handle but mental ones we can’t,” said Niro. “You know, a catcher vacating home plate, a little pop-up that we missed, a double-play ball and no one covers second base, it’s little things like that.”

Duggan was thrilled with the win and gave credit to his opponents for making it a tough game after a tough start.

“That’s still a good team; anytime you beat Franklin it’s great,” he explained. “I think the kids hit the ball pretty well today and we played pretty well. It was great that we got two runs in the bottom of the sixth. We knew we had it after that.”

WORCESTER, Mass. -- Earlier this week, Alison Butler was honored as ESPNBoston.com's Miss Hockey, an award that recognizes the top female high school hockey player in the state. On Saturday, the St. Mary's of Lynn star suited up for the final time as a high schooler, taking part in the inaugural Aleppo Shriners MSHCA High School All-Star Classic.

As she has done throughout her tenure at St. Mary's, which included a Division 1 MIAA state championship a couple of weeks back, Butler, yet again, put her pure offensive talents on display as she scored a pair of goals to help lead the North All-Stars to a 4-2 victory over the South All-Stars at the DCU Center.

"I hadn't skated in nearly two weeks so it took a couple of shifts to get my hockey legs back," said Butler, who now set her sights on playing for St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H. next season.

Butler scored the lone goal in the opening period _ a hard wrist shot from the low right slot that slipped underneath the catching glove of South goaltender Mimi Borkan (Medfield) coming with only seven seconds left. She would add her second tally during the final minute of the second period, tipping in a rebound past Braintree netminder Rachael Brazil which would stake the North squad out to a 3-1 advantage.

"It's kind of sad that (high school hockey) is over for me," said Butler. "I wish I could play another year because it has been a lot of fun but I also can't wait to go to St. Anselm. I'm excited the way things have gone for me (at St. Mary's). My hard worked has paid off."

It was looking as though the opening period would result in a scoreless standstill. But with time ticking down, Butler, with the puck on her stick, was left all alone coming down the right side. Seeing her opportunity, Butler ripped a shot past Borkan giving her squad the early lead.

"Alison is such a great player," said North head coach Amanda Ciarletta, who is also coaches the Lexington High girls team. "I don't have the privilege of coaching her over the season but she hustles all the time, is fast and makes smart plays. It was fun being able to coach her today."

Just 1:11 into the middle period Westford Academy's Kim Lizotte would extend the North advantage to two goals after gaining control of a loose puck inside the South crease and sticking it into the back of the net.

Throughout the early portion of this contest, the South team was having its fair share of difficulty trying to generate much offense. That would change, however, at 7:28 of the second period after Duxbury's Hannah Murphy flew down the right halfboard and
blasted a shot from 25 feet out that snuck underneath the cross bar making it a 2-1 game.

"This was a fun event for everyone," said South and Franklin High head coach Margie Burke. "A lot of these girls have played against one another in high school and club teams so it is great for them to comeback and play together on one team. It's an all-star game and it's all about having fun."

North was able to cling to its one-goal lead until Butler netted her second score seven minutes later.

The final period became an old-fashioned offensive shootout with each team getting quality chances on net. Falmouth High product Alexa Scribner managed to inch her club closer by putting back a rebound score coming at 4:07 which made it 3-2.

Hoping to sieze momentum off of that goal, South spent the remaining minutes of the period working feverishly in attempting to notch the equalizer. But such hopes were cast aside after Lexington's Sara Lehman broke into the South zone, skating past two defenseman and beating Duxbury netminder Rachel Myette with a pretty backhand goal at 8:12 which gave North back its two-goal cushion and the victory.

"That's a typical Sara Lehman goal," Ciarletta said. "She one of my players on my team at Lexington and it's always great to see her hands working and moving the puck. Today she got the goalie beat which was great. She practices those kinds of plays all the time in practice. I'm really happy she was able to get a goal for us, especially on a play like that."

For the third straight year, the three-time defending Super 8 champion Malden Catholic Lancers finished No. 1 in our MIAA boys' hockey Top 25 poll.

After hovering around .500 for the first half of the season, the Lancers turned it and rolled through the Super 8 en route to another celebration on the TD Garden ice.

We pulled Catholic Memorial into the No. 2 spot with the belief that whichever team won the Catholic Conference duel in the Super 8 semifinals had an inside track. However, don't be surprised if the 2013-14 rankings kick off with Super 8 runner-up Austin Prep in the pole position.

MIDDLESEX DOMINANCE
Moving past the Super 8 teams populating the Top 10, the Middlesex League provides a strong middle class to the final poll. Beginning with No. 8 Reading (Super 8 team), four straight Middlesex League teams represent, with back-to-back Division 2 state champion Wilmington and two-time defending Division 1 champion Burlington round out the Top 10. Division 1 North runner-up Winchester checks in at No. 11.

The Middlesex League led all conferences with six representing teams in the final poll (including No. 19 Melrose and No. 20 Wakefield).

Wilmington (D2) was ranked ahead of Burlington (D1) on the strength of two regular-season conference wins. The Wildcats will join fellow Div. 2 finalist Franklin (No. 17) in the Div. 1 poll next year.

Scott Barboza and Bruce Lerch tie a bow on the 2012-13 MIAA hockey season in this piece produced by James Walsh and Greg Story.

We break down the six state championship games played at TD Garden, while taking a look ahead to next year and some potential break-out players:

Correspondent Greg Story produces these highlights from Wilmington's 4-0 win over Franklin in the Division 2 boys' championship game Sunday at TD Garden.

It was the Wilcats' second straight state crown, with both victories coming against the Panthers.

BOSTON -- Earlier this season, after a win over Winchester, Wilmington head coach Steve Scanlon spoke about junior Drew Foley being one of the best goalies that the program has ever had. Early in the first period of Sunday’s Division 2 state championship game at the TD Garden, Foley showed why he has earned such praise.

Franklin forward Aiden Isberg had two chances from point blank range, including one with the net gaping, but was robbed by Foley’s quick reflexes. It was a remarkable moment that left the fans stunned and kept zeroes on the scoreboard. That save, and several other stops in the opening period, gave the Wildcats the time to find their legs.

Once they got going, there was little that Franklin could do to stop them.

The Wildcats took control of the game, especially in the third period, and claimed the D2 state championship with a 4-0 victory. It was the second straight state championship for Wilmington and the second consecutive season that Franklin was beaten in the title game.

When he met reporters after the game, Foley, who made 15 saves to earn the shutout, was modest about his highlight reel save.

“It was actually kind of lucky. I saw the puck and moved over and waved my glove and luckily I got it,” he remarked. “I didn’t even know I got it until I shook my glove and it felt heavy.”

Foley made five saves in the opening 15 minutes, but all of them were on solid scoring chances for the Panthers. Scanlon praised his goalie’s performance in the first period, especially his save on Isberg.

The Wilmington coach noted, “I thought it was in, to be honest with you. Then he was waving it around like he had it the whole time. That was a big stop. He’s been a rock for us all season.”

The Wildcats opened the scoring with just 1:27 left in the first period. Junior forward Cody McGowan, who Scanlon referred to as “snakebitten” this season, was played into the Franklin zone by Dylan DiNatale and fired a wrister past Devon Maloof’s stick side.

“We’ve gotten in front in every game, but the Boston Latin game, and it’s huge. That just brings all the momentum with you,” said McGowan.

The second period was back-and-forth. Wilmington forward Jake Rogers smacked the crossbar and then Franklin had a tying goal taken off the board. Senior Mike Patjane slipped into the zone and scored past Foley, albeit with no effort on the goalie’s part to make the save as the whistle blew for offsides behind the play.

Franklin head coach Chris Spillane admitted after the game that the call was correct and credited Wilmington for taking control of the game and limiting the Panthers’ chances.

“We’re just a blue-collar team, hardworking, and we sort of ran into a team that was very strong offensively and met our match today,” said Spillane. “We held them in check for the first period and they sort of tired us out and, once they have space, it’s their advantage.”

The third period was dominated by the Wildcats as Franklin wore down. On the power play, senior forward Cam Owens fired a pass from the point to Brandon McDonough, who was wide open at the far post. The junior tapped into the open net to make it 2-0 and finally break the game open for Wilmington.

“I thought the power play opportunity was big,” explained Scanlon. “We moved Cam back to the point on that and moved the puck a little bit better. Once that went in, that hurt them I thought. We started to push them back and controlled it from there.”

With six minutes remaining, Rogers got redemption with the Wildcats’ third goal. He found himself alone in the circle while Maloof and the Franklin defense searched for the puck and he fired into the wide open goal. Inside the final two minutes, junior Luke Foley tacked on a fourth.

This is the third straight season that Franklin has advanced to the state title game, and the fourth time under Spillane, but the Panthers have yet to win at the Garden. It was a difficult road through the playoffs for Franklin and, regardless of the result, its coach was proud of the work that the team went through to get back to the finals.

Spillane said, “We definitely didn’t take the easy road. Am I proud of my kids? Yeah. They never stopped playing. Even tonight, right down to the last whistle, they didn’t stop playing.”

When asked if he liked playing at the Garden, Spillane joked, “I wish they’d move this down to Bourne, we seem to play better there.”

With back-to-back titles, Wilmington certainly enjoys playing at the TD Garden. Scanlon believes that there is the chance that the Wildcats could be right back in the title game again next season.

“We should be good again, you know. We don’t have as electric a player as Owens can be, but McDonough is right there behind him. We’ve got a good goalie, that’s half the fight,” said Scanlon.

According to the star goalie, there is no secret to the success that Wilmington has had in the past two years.

He reflected, “Just stay true to your system. We get the puck in deep and we cycle and get shots to the net. There’s nothing really secret about it, just play your system.”

BOYS' HOCKEY
Division 1A - Super 8
Malden Catholic 3, Austin Prep 2
Recap | Highlights

Division 1
Burlington 4, Marshfield 2
Recap | Highlights

Division 2
Wilmington 4, Franklin 0
Recap | Highlights

Division 3
Westfield 4, Swampscott 1
Recap | Highlights

GIRLS' HOCKEY
Division 1
St. Mary's (Lynn) 2, Arlington Catholic 1
Recap |Highlights

Division 2
Duxbury 1, Falmouth 0
Recap |Highlights

GIRLS’ DIVISION 2
No. 1 Duxbury (21-1-2) vs. No. 2 Falmouth (19-1-2), 11 a.m., TD Garden

Players to watch: Duxbury – F Hannah Murphy, F Marissa Fichter, F Jane Dudley, F Meredith Wright, F Julia Nolan, D Ally Hammel, D Payton Donato, G Rachel Myette; Falmouth – F Alexa Scribner, F Rachel Moore, F Madison Haberl, F Kelly Ferreira, D Hannah Ghelfi, D Alexx Good, G Madison Scavotto.

Breakdown: It is perhaps the most predictable of all of Sunday’s matchups and the most anticipated. The Dragons and Clippers renew a burgeoning rivalry, intensified by last year’s duel at the Garden and invigorated by the fact that either team’s lone loss of the season was handed to them by the other. Duxbury has been playing lockdown defense throughout the playoffs and haven’t allowed a goal in more than six games, including the regular season. The Clippers’ young corps will look to get over the hump, building on a bittersweet experience on the Bruins’ home ice sheet one year ago.

X-factor: Scavotto. As dominant as Duxbury’s defense has been in front of and including Myette, the Clippers are capable of the same. And their sophomore netminder is a big reason why. She could steal one.

Pick: Duxbury, 1-0.

GIRLS’ DIVISION 1
No. 4 St. Mary’s of Lynn (18-3-4) vs. No. 7 Arlington Catholic (17-4-2), 9 a.m., TD Garden

Players to watch: St. Mary’s – F Alison Butler, F Kaleigh Finigan, F Gabby Crugnale, F Madison Molea, D Tatiana Doucette, D Amanda Donahoe, G Lauren Skinnion; AC – F Adrieanna Rossini, F Jess Piracini, F Duggan Delano, F Hayle Rudin, D Melissa Richard, G Megan Messuri.

Breakdown: The Catholic Central rivals meet for the second straight year on championship Sunday and, like their Div. 2 counterparts, also split their season series at a game apiece. Behind the benches, both the Spatans’ Frank Pagliuca and the Cougars’ Maggie Taverna have done work worthy of Coach of the Year honors. St. Mary’s has the feel of a team of destiny, neither a short bench nor nagging injuries all season long have kept the Spartans from returning to the biggest stage, all while dispatching No. 1 Woburn in the process.

X-factor: Rossini. You’d be hard pressed to find a young player in recent memory who has scored more clutch playoff goals than the AC sophomore.

Pick: St. Mary’s, 3-2.

BOYS’ DIVISION 3
Swampscott (19-5-0) vs. Westfield (18-3-2), 3:30 p.m., TD Garden

Players to watch: Swampscott – F Corey Carmody, F Noah Maercklein, F Nunzio Morretti, D Chris Carman, D Trevor Massey; Westfield – F Sean Spohr, F Mike Santinello, F Anthony Cagliostro, F Adam Collier, F Neil Parrow, D Nate Barnes.

Breakdown: The Big Blue took down defending D3 finalist and South sectional champion Medway (thanks to an OT goal from Maercklein) to advance to the program’s first title game appearance. Westfield returns to the Garden ice after a one-year hiatus after taking a scorched-earth policy to Western Mass. competition, while averaging more than 5.5 goals per game.

X-factor: Swampscott freshman goaltender Tristan Bradley. The first-year backstop has been a key element to the Big Blue’s success, maintaining a 91.5 save percentage through the season.

Pick: Swampscott, 5-4.

BOYS’ DIVISION 2
Wilmington (20-3-2) vs. Franklin (17-7-2), 1:30 p.m., TD Garden

Players to watch: Wilmington – F Cam Owens, F Brendan McDonough, F Jake Rogers, F Dylan DiNatale, D Brian Pickett, D Cam Collins, G Drew Foley; Franklin – F Cam Curley, F Dennis Pisani, F Aidan Isberg, F Troy Donahue, D Kyle Powers, D Kyle Filbert, G Devon Maloof.

Breakdown: The third of six rematches on the day, after the Wildcats claimed a 3-2 victory over Franklin a year ago on championship Sunday, propelled by a hat trick from Owens. The Panthers will be looking to avoid their third straight fruitless trip to the Garden, having dropped title tilts with Wilmington and Tewksbury. The Wildcats, who had Super 8 aspirations until late in the season, are eying their second straight title.

X-factor: McDonough. He’s been the break-out performer of the tournament and provides a great complement to Owens on Wilmington’s top line.

Pick: Wilmington, 3-2.

BOYS’ DIVISION 1
Burlington (13-6-5) vs. Marshfield (20-6-0), 8:15 p.m., TD Garden

Players to watch: Burlington – F C.J. Grinnell, F Joe Berardi, F Joey Scali, D Adam Crowley, D Sean Costa, G Derek DeCastro; Marshfield – F Mike Carbone, F Pat Burchill, F Joe Admirand, F Pat Shea, D Matt Burchill, D Trevor Salmon.

Breakdown: While this isn’t another rematch, these teams are no strangers to this stage, with the Red Devils and Rams representing as the last two Div. 1 state champions. Both teams were near .500 squads through the first month of the season, and closed their regular-season slates with momentum they’ve carried over into the playoffs. Both these teams can skate with the best of them, but they also pay attention to the little things in the defensive zone as well.

X-factor: Crowley. I’d expect a defensive struggle in this one and so I’m going with the Red Devils’ blue-liner who always makes his presence felt.

Pick: Burlington, 3-1.

BOYS’ DIVISION 1A – SUPER 8
No. 4 Austin Prep (16-1-6) vs. No. 7 Malden Catholic (15-6-3), 6 p.m., TD Garden

Players to watch: AP – F Nolan Vesey, F Bobby Carpenter, F Frankie Candelino, F George Sennott, F Eric MacAdams, D Andrew Cross, D J.J. Layton, G Elijah Harris; MC – F Ara Nazarian, F Mike Iovanna, F Tyler Sifferlen, F Pat Wrenn, F Austin Goldstein, D Casey Fitzgerald, D Nick Rolli, G Connor Maloney.

Breakdown: AP, while short on years, is not short on talent. I think we all knew coming into this season that they were capable of reaching this stage, but it might have been a question of when. The Cougars earned their way to Sunday after dispatching town rival Reading and then No. 1 seed St. John’s Prep in Wednesday’s semifinal. It seems like years ago since there was a time when the Lancers were in jeopardy of missing the tournament all together, but they’ve played the best hockey in the state during the last month.

X-factor: Nazarian. It’s his tournament, the rest of us are just living in it.

Pick: Malden Catholic, 4-2.

BOURNE, Mass. – The storylines from Tuesday’s sectional final at the Gallo Ice Arena will sound very familiar to anyone that has followed Division 2 hockey for the past few years.

For the third straight season, the Franklin Panthers took home the sectional title and, for the fourth straight season, Oliver Ames’ season ended against Franklin. The Panthers scored the game’s first three goals and held Oliver Ames to just 17 shots to claim a 3-1 victory and return trip to the TD Garden.

The Panthers started quickly with a goal inside the opening 30 seconds of the first period.

Aiden Isberg flipped the puck in front of the net to fellow senior Cam Curley and Franklin’s leading scorer in the postseason threw the puck on net. Somehow, through traffic, the puck slipped past Oliver Ames star goaltender Jimmy Tierney and stunned the huge OA crowd stationed behind the net.

Curley remarked, while sporting a freshly broken tooth, that getting in front on the scoreboard was a priority for the Panthers. He also commented that he did not even know that the puck had gotten through.

“I got as much on it as I could and I knew that if I put it on net, good things would happen. I had no idea that it went in until Dennis Pisani started yelling,” he noted.

Curley added, “Me and my linemates talked about getting that first one. We got to the net, we put it on net and it went in. And it made it easier for us to play.”

Franklin head coach Chris Spillane also spoke about the importance of getting an early goal past Tierney, who has been one of the stars of the sectional to that point. He credited a change in style for the Panthers’ strong defensive performance.

“We changed up our forecheck and trapped them,”Spillane said. “They struggled to get the puck out of the zone. I think that was a huge part of our success, not letting the big kids stretch their legs through neutral ice.”

Franklin doubled its advantage with just less than three minutes to go in the first period. Eight seconds into the game’s first power play, Tierney robbed Franklin with a great kick save only to have the rebound go directly to senior forward Pat Slason, who buried his shot over the sprawling goalie.

The Panthers made it 3-0 midway through the second period on a well-worked goal from the third line. Nick Downie and Alec Borkowski combined at the blue line before defenseman Kyle Powers drove at the net. Powers sent the puck through the crease where Borkowski was on hand to tap home his second goal in as many games.

“That’s the way we have been the last couple of years; three or four lines,” said Spillane. “You never know when your number is going to get called and you better be ready when we call it.”

Oliver Ames scored a consolation goal in the game’s final minute. Kyle Hayes scored an unassisted goal with a rocket of a shot over the shoulder of Franklin goalie Devon Maloof. Maloof was not tested frequently, but was solid in net for the Panthers.

Oliver Ames head coach Jim Sullivan was proud of his team despite the loss and was proud of the Tigers’ deep run in the tournament.

“We still had the potential to come back,” said Sullivan. “The only way I look at it is someone had to win, someone had to lose. You know, we went all the way and gave it all that we had, can’t be down.”

He added a positive not about the OA program, “We’re moving one step at a time - maybe next year.”

Franklin will now look to a rematch of last year’s D2 final against Wilmington at the TD Garden. Both coach and senior captain are hoping that the third time is the charm.

“We’ve been there three years in a row and been bridesmaids two years in a row,” Spillane reflected. “I just told these kids that I will not be the Marv Levy of high school hockey.”

Curley related, “This is great right here, but I want that big one. Three years in a row I’ve been there and haven’t won one. Especially with them taking it from us last year, we want it bad.”

This has not been the perfect season and Franklin has not been the dominant team of years past, but regardless of how they got there, in their final season before a move to D1, once again the Panthers are the last team standing in D2 South.

BOURNE, Mass. – During two regular season meetings, only a single goal separated Hockomock League rivals Mansfield and Franklin. So, it was no surprise that Sunday’s Division 2 South semifinal would come right down to the wire.

A third-period goal by sophomore Alec Borkowski was the difference for Franklin, as the Panthers pulled out a 4-3 victory at Gallo Ice Arena and the two-time defending D2 South champions clinched a spot in their third straight sectional final.

Borkowski, who also assisted on the Panthers’ first goal, has been one of Franklin’s best forwards in recent weeks and head coach Chris Spillane called him the player of the game.

“He just demands ice time,” said Spillane. “He’s one of those kids that, in practice, he gets it done and you put him out in the game and he gets it done. As a coach, you just say, alright I’ll give you a little more and a little more and he’s delivering.”

The winning goal came with 8:24 remaining in the game. Borkowski combined with fellow sophomore Nick Downie and, after a great save by Mansfield goalie Rich Shipman, he was on hand to flick home the rebound to make it 4-3.

“I was forechecking near the net, got it off the half boards, Nicky Downie took the shot and I got the rebound,” said Borkowski. “It feels really good, especially being an underclassman and first time being in the playoffs.”

It was the Hornets (14-6-3) that scored first. Senior forward Brendan Murphy took a pass from classmate and linemate Kevin Flynn, shifted the puck onto the backhand, and beat Franklin goalie Devon Maloof on the short side. It was a great goal for the forward, who had been struggling to find the net in the playoffs.

The lead did not last long, however. Franklin got back into the game thanks to Borkowski. He shook off two Mansfield defensemen with a great spin move and laid the puck on a platter for junior forward Randy Gilbert to tap home and make it 1-1.

Within a minute, Franklin (16-6-2) was in the lead. Senior Aiden Isberg, the hero of Franklin’s overtime win against Martha’s Vineyard in the quarterfinals, wristed a shot over the shoulder of Shipman and made it 2-1. It was a stunning turnaround for the Panthers.

Despite the goals, Mansfield kept the energy high in the second period and stormed right back.

With 10:35 left in the second and Mansfield on the power play, Murphy laid a pass into the path of sophomore Will Kelleher and the defenseman buried the shot to make it 2-2. Just 35 seconds later, Kyle Hurley’s shot hit the post and caromed to another sophomore, Jared Collins, and the forward finished into the open net to make it 3-2.

As the second period was winding down, the Hornets got another power play opportunity, but it was Franklin that took advantage. A loose pass was broken up at the blue line and Isberg stretched to tip the puck into the path of senior sniper Cam Curley, who raced clear and rifled a shot under the crossbar to make it 3-3 heading to the third.

Spillane credited the shorthanded goal as being a turning point for the Panthers.

“Huge, huge…their power play was setting up and they had a couple of beautiful opportunities,” remarked the Franklin coach about the importance of the goal. “Cam is our speedster, so anytime that you can get him in the open ice… and he’s a finisher.”

The third period was filled with chances for both teams. Shipman robbed Dennis Pisani after a behind the back pass from Curley set the senior forward clear in the slot and Maloof stopped a great chance from Murphy on the doorstep.

In the end, Spillane pointed to his team’s finishing as what separated the two teams.

“I thought we capitalized on our offensive opportunities,” he explained. “We didn’t have many of them, but every time that we had that quality opportunity – we scored.”

Mansfield head coach Rick Anastos was visibly disappointed after the game.

He said, “This is exactly what we expected, but we expected to win. Unfortunately, we didn’t. You couldn’t ask for a better game and I think we were that evenly matched.”

Anastos also commented that this was a great advertisement for the Hockomock League and the depth of talent within the conference. He was most disappointed for the seniors that had led the Hornets to the sectional finals and semifinals in back to back seasons.

“They’ve meant a lot to the program. We’ve got a really great group of kids, a really tight group of kids,” said Anastos.

Franklin will now prepare for its third consecutive sectional final. It will be the team’s last in D2 as next year the Panthers (along with Mansfield and King Philip) are slated to move into Division 1. The Panthers are confident that they have a good chance at a third straight trip to the TD Garden when they take on another league rival, Oliver Ames.

“If we move the puck, then it neutralizes the physical game and it comes down to who can put the puck in the net,” said Spillane. “I think we have the scorers that can get it done.”

The final will be played on Tuesday night at 5:15 p.m. at Gallo.

MANSFIELD, Mass. –- One of the greatest rivalries in the Hockomock League added another chapter on Saturday, with Mansfield getting the better of Franklin 57-48 in overtime in the MIAA Division 1 quarterfinals.

Mansfield head coach Mike Vaughan and Franklin head coach Dean O’Connor have been on the same staff and both work at the Mass Premier Courts. The program’s familiarity with each other is apparent. They split the season series with each team winning at home and it’s the second straight year the teams have met in the playoffs.

Both sides had answers for one another throughout the game, but in overtime, Mansfield took over.

The Hornets outscored the Panthers 11-2 in the extra period, behind 5 points from point guard Rocky DeAndrade. With Mansfield up 51-48 in the overtime, DeAndrade took an inbounds pass and calmly drained a three to extend their lead to 6.

“He’s been so steady all year just making big plays,” Vaughan said. “The last two games, he’s carried this team just making big baskets. Probably a bigger basket than the three was the pull up he had when we were down 3.”

DeAndrade was key in keeping Mansfield alive in the fourth, chipping in six of his game-high 21 in the fourth quarter. After Franklin point guard Sam Bohmiller hit three foul shots to give the Panthers a 45-42 lead, DeAndrade responded with a pull up jumper to bring the Hornets within one with just over a minute remaining.

“That doesn’t go, they get the ball and now you’re done three with a minute and a half,” Vaughan said. “He makes it, now we’re down one and you live another possession defensively you can stay aggressive.”

It worked as Mansfield came up with a stop. DeAndrade took it to the hoop himself and used a Rajon Rondo-esq fake before laying it in for an easy two to give Mansfield a 46-45 lead with 50.6 seconds to go.

“Rocky was the MVP of that game,” O’Connor said. “He made every big shot and that was the difference.”

Franklin had a chance to end the game in regulation, but their shot from the field missed. Panther junior Pat O’Reilly came up with the offensive board and was fouled doing so. With 6.1 seconds left on the clock, O’Reilly missed the first attempt but banked home the second to tie the game at 46.

Mansfield gave the ball to Brendan Hill, but the sophomore’s jumper was short and the fourth quarter ended in deadlock.

“They defend as good as anyone we’ll ever play,” Vaughan said. “They’re one of the special defensive teams in our division. Every basket is a grind, they don’t give up a lot of second chance points. Our guys stayed with it and battled through it.”

Mansfield took an 11-9 lead after the first quarter after Hornet sophomore Michael Boen came up with an offensive rebound and put back before the buzzer. Franklin’s Chris Rodgers' drive and layup tied the game at 22 just before the halftime break. Mansfield regained the lead after three in similar style they did in the first. Kevin Conner came up with an offensive board and laid it back in before the buzzer to give Mansfield 36-34 edge after three.

But after another nail biter of a fourth quarter, Mansfield persevered in overtime and advanced to the next round.

“We felt like they haven’t been in a lot of close games so if we could be in it late, we could have a good chance,” O’Connor said. “We had a couple of chances to increase the lead to four with some open looks at three. We went cold.”

The Panthers didn’t score a field goal in the overtime and added just two free throws.

“I can’t be mad,” O’Connor added. “We played a hell of a game. I think they have a little more talent than us and we just wanted to out-will them.”

Mansfield will now advance to Tuesday's D1 South Semifinals, at UMass-Boston's Clark Athletic Center, where they will face Brookline.

BITTERSWEET END FOR A STAR
For four years, Sam Bohmiller has been an outstanding player for Franklin High School. The senior point guard comes up short of 1,000 career points and a state title, but his career has been nothing short of tremendous.

Bohmiller scored a team-high 19 points in the loss to Mansfield, despite constant defensive pressure and double-teams.

“We’ve had a lot of good players and Sam is right up there with any of them,” O’Connor said. “He’ just a great kid. I’m going to miss just having him around, never mind basketball. He played his heart out. He doesn’t come out and that was pretty much the whole season, he’s an iron man. He had a hell of a career.”

Opposing coaches won’t miss having to come up with defensive game plans to contain Bohmiller, but know just how important he was to this Franklin team.

“Talk about a special player for four years,” Vaughan said. “A unique player for this league, someone who was fun to watch. He did it without a lot of the game and a lot of the talk. He had to unfortunately follow in the shoes of Jake Layman and Aaron Calixte, but what an outstanding player he is.”

BARNSTABLE, Mass. –- This has never been in doubt with Franklin’s Sam Bohmiller: When the Panthers’ senior guard is called upon to take crucial shots down the stretch, he has almost always delivered throughout his high school career.

Tonight, before a capacity crowd at Barnstable High in an MIAA Division 1 South first round matchup at Barnstable High, he put another notch on the belt. The 5-foot-9 Bohmiller scored 13 of his game-high 30 points in the final quarter of play, as the Panthers fought off a hard-charging second-half Barnstable rally.

Franklin never lost control, or the lead, never letting the Red Raiders come within five points over the final 13 minutes, as they cruised to a 71-61 victory, to set up a rubber match with archrival and district No. 1 seed Mansfield on Saturday.

“He’s pretty unselfish normally, [but] tonight he had to be a little bit more aggressive offensively,” Franklin head coach Dean O’Connor said of Bohmiller. “I mean, that’s our high scorer of the year. They’re a tough team to defend, they’ve got a couple of kids who can really take you off the bounce.

“He made the big hoops when we needed them. When we needed something, we ran something for him, a quick hit or something, create for him or someone else.”

Franklin led 39-29 at the half, but Barnstable’s Jason Eddy (25 points) came out firing to start the second half, sparking a 7-2 run to start the third quarter with two drop-step finishes through the middle of the lane. The Red Raiders cut the lead to 41-38 with a three-pointer from Tedaro France, then later in the period came up with some more craft, this time Eddy hitting a walk-up NBA-range three-pointer with a hand in the face to cut the lead again to three.

The Panthers led 50-45 headed into the final frame, and opened with a 10-3 run to extend the lead to 12. Finishing off the run was Bohmiller, with a trio of nifty plays. First, after initially getting swatted by the Raiders’ Kadeem Bailey, Bohmiller lofted a shot back up from an acute angle, and the ball seemingly blindly landed.

On the next trip down, a 2-on-1 fast break, Bohmiller hesitated in the middle of the lane, drawing a defender out, and delivered a bounce pass underneath to forward Brendan Kuzio (13 points) for a clean lay-in.

Bohmiller then finished the run with an off-balance leaner, drawing a foul in the process, for a 60-48 advantage with 4:15 to go.

“The big thing was getting stops,” Bohmiller said. “They had a lot of momentum at the end of the third going into the fourth, they hit some big shots. Eddy was going nuts toward the basket. We had to contain him, rebound the ball, and once we rebound, Coach really preaches pushing the ball upcourt. Against their big guys, we thought we could get some easy buckets in transition.”

Barnstable’s Nick Peabody (12 points, 13 rebounds) closed the lead to six with 1:24 to go, nailing his third 3-pointer of the night. But Bohmiller was able to keep the rally at bay, from the charity stripe; Bohmiller was 9-of-10 on free throws from the quarter, and 12-of-15 overall.

Chris Rodgers added 14 points for Franklin in the win. France was the only other Barnstable player in double-figures, with 10 points.

Eddy brings it: When the Franklin coaching staff went to scout Barnstable, in a win over Falmouth, they observed Eddy’s affinity for perimeter shots in that contest, including his buzzer-beater at the end to win it. But by their count, they also had Eddy down for 4-for-17 from three-point range.

Safe to say, this was not the case tonight. Eddy was particularly efficient in the second half, scoring 18 of his 25 points over the final 16 minutes, mostly on drives through the middle of Franklin’s defense. Most of the time, Franklin’s defenders ended up with fouls on the floor, pressing into his midsection in an attempt to slow him down. Eddy was 11-of-12 on free throws.

“We wanted to attack the basket,” Barnstable coach Gerry McDowell said. “I mean yeah, we shot three’s, but you’re not going to win games…There were some games where we hit a bunch of three’s this year, but we really felt that we could attack them.

“They didn’t really have a shot blocker inside –- they’re tough, and they’re aggressive inside, but they didn’t have a shot-blocker –- so we attacked the basket. And I think Jason is at his best when he’s doing that.”

Next up -- Mansfield; An all too familiar opponent is on the docket for Saturday afternoon, as the Panthers travel to Mansfield for their third matchup of the season. Mansfield took the first game of the heated rivalry back in mid-December, but Franklin turned around and delivered an upset a week and a half ago to even the series.

Last season, Franklin ended Mansfield’s season early with a second-round battle at Franklin High’s field house, en route to an unexpected appearance in the D1 South semifinals.

This will mark the sixth time the two teams have squared off since the start of the 2011-12 season. The coaches are all too familiar with each other too; Mansfield’s Mike Vaughan is a former assistant of O’Connor, and the two maintain a strong friendship off the court.

“Every time we play Mansfield, it’s a battle,” Bohmiller said. “The first time, over there, they handed it to us. We stole one from them on our home court a few weeks ago, on senior night. I’m sure coach Vaughan will have them ready to go. I know we’ll be ready to go. It’s always a great showdown with them, always a great playoff atmosphere. I’m looking forward to it.”

RAYNHAM, Mass. -- If the Joseph Quinn Tournament is any indication, the Division 2 state tournament is going to be exciting. All four games at the Raynham Ice Plex were played with playoff-like intensity, with very few penalties, and each was decided by a single goal.

With 7:22 remaining in the championship game and the score tied 1-1, Boston Latin senior forward Joe Gillespie turned with the puck against the near boards. Heeding his coach’s advice, Gillespie flipped the puck towards the net where it ricocheted off the stick of a Coyle-Cassidy defenseman, past goalie Brent Petrowski, and into the far post.

In tight games, sometimes it is the bad bounce that decides the outcome. In the tournament final, the Wolfpack was the beneficiary of a fortunate bounce and turned it into the trophy-winning goal in a 2-1 victory.

It may not have been the prettiest of goals, but following the trophy presentation Boston Latin head coach Frank Woods was not complaining.

“We have a lot of kids that work hard and we preach throw the puck at the net because you never know what can happen,” he explained. “It’s just kind of our game. You give yourself a chance to bang an ugly one or two in, in games like this with competitive teams it’s usually the difference.”

When asked about how unlucky the final goal was, Coyle head coach Dave Borges simply smiled and shrugged.

“Like we told our guys, come next week those are the kind of pucks that go in the net,” Borges said. “You have to get pucks to the net in tight games and you never know what can happen. That’s a perfect example. Unfortunately, we’re on the short end, but I thought it was a great game.”

The Wolfpack (11-6-3) made a conscious effort to get the puck to the net as frequently as possible. Boston Latin dominated the first period, outshooting Coyle ,14-5, and opened the scoring with just 15.9 seconds remaining. Senior captain Ryan Dougherty made a great move through the Coyle defense and punched the puck in on the second attempt.

In the second period, the hosts asserted themselves. Coyle (13-5-1) outshot Latin 10-6 in the period and had a number of scoring chances before finally finding the equalizing goal. Nick Cambria laid the perfect pass in the path of captain Ryan Jones. The forward outskated the defenseman to the net and finished with a backhand over the pads of goalie Michael Murray before following the puck into the back of the net.

Borges praised Petrowski for keeping the team in the game and giving them the chance to turn the game around.

“I told Brent before the game that it’s their style,” Borges said. “They like to throw the puck at the net and he did a great job of either holding them or kicking the rebounds out to the corners.”

He added with a chuckle, “It was a great game…other than losing.”

Boston Latin won both games in Raynham by 2-1 scores (the first was on Tuesday against Franklin) and Woods feels that this will give his team plenty of confidence ahead of the state tournament.

“we have a group of seniors that have had a lot of success with this team, been in tournament games and won the league, but it’s good to get wins with this particular group,” Woods said.

CANTON 3, FRANKLIN 2
The consolation game featured Hockomock League division champions No. 24 Canton and Franklin meeting for the third time this season. The teams had split the opening two games so, in addition to finishing third in the tournament, the game would give one team the edge in the season series.

After losing third period leads in each of its last two games (including Tuesday’s overtime loss to Coyle), Canton (15-3-2) held off a late Franklin (13-7-2) flurry to win 3-2 and clinch the top seed in the upcoming Division 2 South sectional.

Bulldogs head coach Brian Shuman understood the importance of his team managing to hold on and get the victory over its league rival.

“In the third period against a good team, you need a lot of things to go right,” he remarked. “You’ve got to give credit to Franklin, they’re a phenomenal team, two very even teams and we just scored one more goal than them tonight.”

Canton stormed out of the gates and jumped to a 2-0 lead in the first period.

Just 2:50 into the game, senior captain Pat Ward scored his third goal of the tournament as Franklin goalie Devon Maloof was caught too deep on his line and the puck squeezed across the line at the near post. The first goal was fortunate, but the second was a great shot from J.C. Marcone just underneath the crossbar.

At this point, it seemed like Canton would cruise to victory, but Franklin showed the heart of a team that has been to consecutive state finals.

The Panthers got on the board on a redirected shot by sophomore Alec Borkowski, who got his stick to a shot by defenseman Kyle Filbert and sent it through Rich Nee’s five-hole. A minute later, captain Mike Patjane pounced on a rebound to make it 2-2 and give the Panthers momentum.

The momentum was short-lived as Canton fully controlled the second period, outshooting Franklin, 14-1. After Maloof robbed Brian Brooks, the Bulldogs got the go ahead goal from junior Ben Lodge, who found space in the slot and fired into the top corner.

Franklin head coach Chris Spillane emphasized the need for his team to play a full 45 minutes if they hope to be successful in the state tournament.

“It’s sort of been the season for us,” Spillane said. “We haven’t played three periods. We always take a period off and tonight it was the second. We had one shot on goal and the puck was in our zone the entire time and it takes a lot of gas out of you.”

Canton withstood a strong third period from the Panthers and Shuman was pleased to see that other players besides his top two scorers (Brooks and Ward) got on the scoreboard.

He said, “We had our second power play out there, which doesn’t get much run because our first line is pretty talented. They just kept it simple. We always say to win this time of year, you need twenty-four guys. You need those second and third liners contributing and we got it tonight.”

RAYNHAM, Mass. -- The inaugural Joseph I. Quinn Memorial Tournament kicked off on Tuesday night at the Raynham IcePlex. The tournament pits four Division 2 state tournament qualifiers: Boston Latin, No. 24 Canton, Franklin, and host team No. 21 Coyle- Cassidy. It’s a chance for all four teams to challenge themselves against playoff competition.

Coyle head coach David Borges noted that the tournament, which was named in honor of former Warriors coach Joe Quinn, who passed away this summer, meant a lot more to the Coyle program than just the chance to play good teams.

“The guys that played for him can’t say enough about how much he gave of his time, his money… it means a lot to us,” Borges said. “These guys [the current Coyle team], even though they haven’t been around him, we’ve tried to convey the history of Coyle hockey and they wanted to win for Joe tonight.”

Quinn was the head coach of Coyle for 35 years and won 11 division titles during his tenure, before stepping down in 2005. He founded the program and financially supported it while coach.

“He owned the shirt on my back when I played here,” Borges said.

Coyle (13-4-1) rallied to earn an overtime win over Canton (14-3-2) in the nightcap.

But, until the game-tying goal went in, the Bulldogs were dominating. This is the time of year when one mistake or one slip can turn a game around and send a team home and the Bulldogs saw that firsthand in 3-2 loss.

Leading 2-1 in the third period, Canton’s top line created four great scoring opportunities, but failed to finish any of them.

First, senior captain Pat Ward had the puck roll off his stick in front of an open net after slipping past two Coyle defenders. Then leading scorer Brian Brooks missed short side on a breakaway chance. Minutes later, Ward rifled a shot off the post. Finally, senior Michael Denehy had his one-timer in the slot saved by Warriors goalie Brent Petrowski.

Coyle made Canton pay with 4:13 left in the third period. Senior captain Ryan Jones flicked a pass from behind the net to a wide open Greg DiBona and the senior forward roofed his backhand to make it 2-2. Coyle had chances to win it in regulation but Canton goalie Rich Nee made several great stops to send it to overtime.

In the overtime, both goalies were tested before a slip by Bulldogs senior defenseman Stephen Mullaney gave Coyle an opening. Nick Cambria fired in a wrister just under the crossbar to win the game for the Warriors.

“We sensed desperation down 2-1, but once we scored that goal, we had the confidence that we could keep doing that,” Borges said about changing his team’s approach in the third period from carrying the puck to chipping it in deep. “That’s a great Canton team. They’re disciplined, they work hard, and they make you earn every inch of the ice.”

As far as the MIAA is concerned, the game finished in a 2-2 tie. This is the second consecutive game that Canton has allowed a third-period lead slip to a D2 tournament team.

That is a pattern that head coach Brian Shuman is working hard to change.

“I think one of the things that we have to learn is when we don’t get our scoring opportunities, or when we miss our chances, that we still have to pick up defensively,” he explained. “What you saw there was guys get frustrated that they couldn’t bury the puck and they lose their defensive responsibility. We’ve got to figure out a way to close out games.”

Jones had the opening goal of the game for Coyle on an assist from DiBona. Ward scored twice in the opening period, including a blistering slapshot into the top corner, to give Canton the lead which the Bulldogs held until the final period.

BOSTON LATIN 2, FRANKLIN 1

The cliché says, “You can’t score if you don’t shoot.”

That was especially true for Boston Latin (10-6-3), which had two deflected goals in its 2-1 win over Franklin (13-6-2) in the tournament opener.

The opening goal came with 5:28 remaining in the first period as defenseman Brian Forgione carried the puck into the attacking zone. The senior had few options so he fired a shot at Franklin goalie Devon Maloof. The puck ricocheted off the post and off the goaltender to make it 1-0.

Following a Troy Donahue short-handed goal that tied the game at 1-1, Wolfpack forward Greg Penella turned and fired a hopeful shot towards the Panthers net. The puck deflected off the skate of a Franklin player and past Maloof to make it 2-1.

Boston Latin head coach Frank Woods admitted after the game that these are the types of goals that his team has to score to be successful.

“That’s how we score,” he said. “We don’t have a very skilled team this year. We have a bunch of kids that work hard and we preach put the puck on net and go get the ugly goals or bang in a rebound.”

Despite trailing by a goal, Franklin was outshot in the third period, 12-2, and Panthers head coach Chris Spillane was disappointed that there was no reaction from his team to get back into the game.

“You expect everyone to step up and have a little extra offensive jump in your step and we didn’t see that,” he said. “We were content just backing up. Anytime that you put the puck on net in a close game, it’s a good shot and we just didn’t do that.”

Spillane added, “I guess if you’re going to have a bad game it’s better to have it this week than next week. We still have an opportunity to play a good team on Thursday. If we come out and play a good solid hockey game, we’ll go into the tournament feeling comfortable.”

Thursday night, Hockomock League rivals Franklin and No. 24 Canton will face-off for the third time this season in the consolation game at 6 p.m. and No. 21 Coyle will take on Boston Latin in the nightcap at 8 p.m.

We updated our statewide MIAA Top 25 boys basketball poll this afternoon. To view it, CLICK HERE.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This will be the final boys basketball poll update of the regular season. The next poll update will be on March 18, following the MIAA state championships in Worcester.

A few notes and observations about this week's poll:

Bulldogs bite heavyweights: Two state title contenders, Springfield Central and St. John's Prep, were upset on consecutive days by Lynn English in the IAABO Board 130 Classic, at Central Catholic's Memorial Gymnasium. In the championship game over Prep, junior guard Freddy Hogan sank a 10-foot runner at the buzzer to send the place into a frenzy. With the win, the Bulldogs have now won 11 of their last 12, and make their season debut at No. 12 in our poll.

Big shifts: A number of upsets to ranked teams made for quite the interesting shuffle. Follow along:

*** Central Catholic drops one spot for its loss to St. John's Prep in the IAABO 130 semifinals, but avoids dropping further on account of an impressive win over Springfield Central, thrashing the Golden Eagles by 25 in the consolation game.

*** North Andover takes a drop six spots to No. 11 following its loss to Westford Academy on Monday. Hard to drop the Scarlet Knights much further, on account of their record in the Merrimack Valley Conference -- the Knights have a win each over Central (4), Lowell (8) and Andover (21).

*** Danvers drops five spots to No. 9 following losses to Brighton and Newton North in the Comcast Tournament. The previously-unbeaten Falcons lost point guard and Northeastern Conference MVP Eric Martin to an ankle injury in the second half of the Brighton loss, and his presence was sorely missed in a 58-42 North thrashing the following day.

*** Mansfield and St. John's Prep each suffered a loss this week -- the Hornets in overtime to rival No. 23 Franklin, and Prep to Lynn English in the IAABO 130 final, at the buzzer. Considering the scenarios, everybody else losing, each team following up with a win over a Top 25 squad, and both teams holding wins over No. 3 BC High, we decided to keep Mansfield and Prep at the Nos. 1 and 2 spots respectively.

*** Two Western Mass. powers stumbled. Putnam fell six spots to No. 14 following its first loss of the season, to West Springfield. Springfield Central took the most dramatic drop of any team this week, plunging 12 spots to No. 22.

Debuts and returns: In addition to Lynn English, North Reading is also making a season debut in the polls, at No. 25. The 19-0 Hornets are one of two remaining unbeatens in Massachusetts, along with No. 5 Melrose (19-0). Westford (19) and Franklin (23) make returns to the poll this week after extended absences.

Here's how the poll breaks down this week by league affiliation:

Merrimack Valley - 4
Boston City League - 2
Catholic Conference - 2
Hockomock - 2
Mid-Wach A - 2
Northeastern - 2
Valley Wheel - 2
Bay State - 1
Big Three - 1
Cape Ann - 1
Central Mass. Conference - 1
Dual County - 1
Dual Valley - 1
Middlesex - 1
South Coast - 1
Valley League - 1