Video: Mansfield Hockey Comeback to Beat North Quincy in Shootout 2-1, Advance to Semifinals

As the Mansfield Hornets walked into the locker room during the second intermission of their MIAA Division 2 South quarterfinal matchup against the North Quincy Red Raiders, it seemed like it was a matter of time before the floodgates were ready to open.

Lucky to be trailing only 1-0, the Red Raiders were easily creating opportunities near the net and were challenging Mansfield goalie Rich Shipman. Yet as the game ended, it was Mansfield celebrating a victory as the Hornets took a 2-1 shootout win to advance to the semi-final round.

North Quincy got on the board first after Matt McDonald found the 5-hole at 3:00 in the second period. Facing a barrage of shots, Shipman made seven saves in the period to keep the Hornets only a shot away from tying the game.

“I think his (Shipman) play says enough,” a smiling Mansfield head coach Rick Anastos said after the game. “If we were going to be in that situation I’m glad we went to the shootout because he’s fantastic."

The Hornets came out a different team in the third quarter, playing more aggressive and attacking the net with the season on the line.

“I thought we came out flat so I stressed that we needed to be more aggressive on our forecheck,” Anastos said. “One of the other things we stressed is we gotta get more shots on net, throw the puck low. Anything can happen if you throw the puck at the net.”

Throwing a puck on net resulted in Mansfield tying the game in the third period. With a shot from the far right in between the blue line and the top of the circle, Adam Blackman scored off of the deflection of the initial shot to tie the game at 1-1

Mansfield's momentum continued into sudden death overtime where the Hornets outshot North Quincy 8-4. A feed from Brendan Murphy to Kevin Flynn was stoned by North Quincy goalie Nolan Greene. Blackman had a chance to win the game late in overtime but could not get past Greene a second time.

In the five round shoot out, Blackman’s first round goal gave the Hornets a 1-0 lead. In the third round, Timmy Glynn made it a 1-1 game for North Quincy. The winner would come in the fifth round as Cam Neary was able to sneak one past Greene. A save from Shipman locked up the Hornets’ comeback and trip to the semi-final round.

Like their basketball counterparts, the Hornets will now play Franklin in the semi-final round of the MIAA Division 2 South Boys’ Ice Hockey Tournament at a time and location to be announced.