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BOSTON — Canton High boys hockey head coach Brian Shuman has no doubt that his returning players are already working on how to get back to the TD Garden just minutes after the Bulldogs' 21-game win streak was snapped.
Billerica defensemen Nolan Dawson netted the game-winning goal on a 2-on-1 in double overtime to lift his top-seeded team to a 3-2 win over No. 3 Canton in the Div. 2 boys hockey state championship Sunday at the TD Garden.
More: Mission compete: Hingham girls hockey wins Div. 1 state championship
Canton, which hadn't lost since Dec. 14, made its fifth trip to the state finals in the last six years. The Bulldogs were just 2:56 away from winning their fourth state title in program history after forward Ryan Elrick scored the go-ahead goal to make it 2-1, but Billerica answered 28 seconds later with 2:28 left in the third period.
Making it to the state finals, and winning, has become a standard of sorts in Canton over the last half decade. That makes the loss sting that much more, but it also serves as fuel for Shuman and the players who will return for the 2025-2026 season.
"Without saying it outright, it is the goal every year," Shuman said on making the state finals. "I'm sure those guys are talking right now as they're crying about how to get back here in the future."
Canton finishes the season 23-2-1. Senior captain Travis Thomas was an important piece in helping the Bulldogs reach the No. 3 seed in the tournament and was even bigger in the postseason.
Thomas scored eight goals in total as a junior last season. With the go-ahead goal in the first period of Sunday's title game, he was one short of that total in this season's playoffs alone. Thomas scored a hat trick in the Bulldogs' 7-1 round of 32 win over Falmouth and added two more in a 5-2 elite-eight win over Milton.
Thomas finished his final two games of his career with a goal in the final four against No. 2 Woburn and the opening goal against Billerica in the 2025 finals.
More: FOLLOW LIVE: Milton vs. Medfield high school girls hockey Division 2 state final updates
Shuman said there was only one other player he had coached that had the level of improvement Thomas had from year to year. That player is Kevin Rooney, who is currently playing in the NHL with the Calgary Flames.
For Shuman, that's not to say that Thomas will or won't go on to play at that level, but it was a benchmark for the immense growth that the Bulldogs star showed in his final season.
"He took it to another level this year," Shuman said. "He's so hard to play against, he's so strong. We would not be here without him."
Nolan Dawson's winner in double overtime meant that Billerica stays a perfect 4-0 in its state championship appearances. It was the program's first title, and appearance, since it won nearly a half-century ago in 1977.
Earlier in the game, Dawson also assisted on Daniel Viscione's first goal of the game to tie Canton 1-1 with 11:43 left in period 2. Viscione returned the favor for Dawson, feeding him a pass for the overtime winner on a 2-on-1.
"The kid is automatic," Viscione said about Dawson. "I knew once I got it to him that game was over."
Viscione tied the game not once, but twice for Billerica, the second of which came with under three minutes to play in regulation.
His two goals in the final put him at 40 for the season, and that's without scoring in six of the last eight games of the season, according to head coach Jim Egan.
"It's more than just what he's doing on the ice," Egan said. "He's got an incredible voice in the locker room. The boys listen to him. I listen to him. He's a great all-around captain."
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Billerica defeats Canton in double overtime for first title since 1977
Continue reading...
Billerica defensemen Nolan Dawson netted the game-winning goal on a 2-on-1 in double overtime to lift his top-seeded team to a 3-2 win over No. 3 Canton in the Div. 2 boys hockey state championship Sunday at the TD Garden.
More: Mission compete: Hingham girls hockey wins Div. 1 state championship
Canton, which hadn't lost since Dec. 14, made its fifth trip to the state finals in the last six years. The Bulldogs were just 2:56 away from winning their fourth state title in program history after forward Ryan Elrick scored the go-ahead goal to make it 2-1, but Billerica answered 28 seconds later with 2:28 left in the third period.
Making it to the state finals, and winning, has become a standard of sorts in Canton over the last half decade. That makes the loss sting that much more, but it also serves as fuel for Shuman and the players who will return for the 2025-2026 season.
"Without saying it outright, it is the goal every year," Shuman said on making the state finals. "I'm sure those guys are talking right now as they're crying about how to get back here in the future."
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Canton finishes the season 23-2-1. Senior captain Travis Thomas was an important piece in helping the Bulldogs reach the No. 3 seed in the tournament and was even bigger in the postseason.
Thomas scored eight goals in total as a junior last season. With the go-ahead goal in the first period of Sunday's title game, he was one short of that total in this season's playoffs alone. Thomas scored a hat trick in the Bulldogs' 7-1 round of 32 win over Falmouth and added two more in a 5-2 elite-eight win over Milton.
Thomas finished his final two games of his career with a goal in the final four against No. 2 Woburn and the opening goal against Billerica in the 2025 finals.
More: FOLLOW LIVE: Milton vs. Medfield high school girls hockey Division 2 state final updates
Shuman said there was only one other player he had coached that had the level of improvement Thomas had from year to year. That player is Kevin Rooney, who is currently playing in the NHL with the Calgary Flames.
For Shuman, that's not to say that Thomas will or won't go on to play at that level, but it was a benchmark for the immense growth that the Bulldogs star showed in his final season.
"He took it to another level this year," Shuman said. "He's so hard to play against, he's so strong. We would not be here without him."
Dawson, Viscione give Billerica first title since 1977
Nolan Dawson's winner in double overtime meant that Billerica stays a perfect 4-0 in its state championship appearances. It was the program's first title, and appearance, since it won nearly a half-century ago in 1977.
Earlier in the game, Dawson also assisted on Daniel Viscione's first goal of the game to tie Canton 1-1 with 11:43 left in period 2. Viscione returned the favor for Dawson, feeding him a pass for the overtime winner on a 2-on-1.
"The kid is automatic," Viscione said about Dawson. "I knew once I got it to him that game was over."
You must be registered for see images
Viscione tied the game not once, but twice for Billerica, the second of which came with under three minutes to play in regulation.
His two goals in the final put him at 40 for the season, and that's without scoring in six of the last eight games of the season, according to head coach Jim Egan.
"It's more than just what he's doing on the ice," Egan said. "He's got an incredible voice in the locker room. The boys listen to him. I listen to him. He's a great all-around captain."
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Billerica defeats Canton in double overtime for first title since 1977
Continue reading...
