The Panthers used a pair of third-period goals Wednesday night to beat Silver Lake, 3-1.
PEMBROKE – The Whitman-Hanson High boys hockey team persisted and it worked out well for them.
The Panthers broke a third-period tie with Silver Lake on Wednesday night and emerged with a 3-1 Patriot League victory at Hobomock Ice Arena.
“I thought we had some great goaltending from Ricky Welch and great commitment from everyone who was out there tonight,” Whitman-Hanson coach Chris Googins said. “We played unselfish hockey tonight.
“Owen Manning did great blocking shots for us, and we got saves from Welch when we needed them. Silver Lake is a very good team and we really had to work tonight.”
Forward Korey Howard broke the tie with 5:49 remaining in the game for the Panthers (5-3-1). Forwards Ed Scriven and Alex Uva had the assists.
Two minutes later, Scriven knocked in an insurance goal, set up by Howard and defenseman Ryan Sawtelle.
The Panthers outshot the Lakers 10-3 in the final period, playing as a cohesive unit and making smart passes.
“I’ve been saying since day one this year that this is a high-character team,” Googins said. “They’re all guys who love hockey. They all really buy into the system here and we’re really happy about that.”
Whitman-Hanson had the better of the play in the first period, including a power-play opportunity, but goaltender Alden Maguire stood strong in net for Silver Lake (3-4-2).
The Lakers defense also did what they could to limit their foe’s scoring opportunities. Defenseman Nick Iarossi had a key shot block on a 1-on-1 rush with five seconds left in the first period to keep the game scoreless.
The Lakers may have been on the defense for the majority of the first period, but that flipped early in the second period and they were rewarded for it when defenseman Gregory Wolff opened the scoring with 13:21 remaining. Fellow defenseman Liam Kelleher had the assist.
With 6:17 remaining in the second, Howard tied it up for Whitman-Hanson, scoring from inside the left faceoff circle. Scriven and forward Alex Solari had the assists.