Hull's late goal propels Rocks to
dramatic victory over rival Chiefs

BY ED WRIGHT
Nov. 29, 2009, 1:30 a.m.

  For a split second during the third period of Saturday night's Canton-Salem hockey game, Rock defenseman Matt Hull was like a man testing out a new three iron at a driving range.

  Only Hull's club was a stick, his ball was a puck, his target was a net and his surroundings were anything but serene.

  With 4:00 left on the clock, an every-seat-taken crowd sitting on the edge of their seats and the score deadlocked at 3-3, Hull teed up a loose puck at the mid-point of the top of the circles and laced a laser past Chief goalie Max Sexton.

  Canton tested Salem goalie Steven Manser with a flurry of last-minute shots, but the senior locked down the goal crease and preserved his team's dramatic 4-3 win.

  "We have a handful of defensemen who are offensive-minded, and Matt's one of those," said Salem coach Ryan Ossenmacher, referring to Hull. "He got the opportunity and buried it, which is what goal scorers do.

  "By the end of the season, he'll probably be one of our top goal scorers because when he gets the opportunities, he knows how to finish."

  The victory improved Salem's record to 2-0 while Canton slipped to 2-1.

  The two teams will rekindle their intense rivalry this coming Friday night at the Arctic Edge Ice Arena.

  "I thought we played pretty well," said Canton coach Jeremy Majszak. "I liked the way we played hard right to the final buzzer. In the last five minutes we had cross-bar, cross-bar, empty-net chance, empty-net chance.

  "That says a lot for a team this young that is pretty much brand new to show the kind of tenacity they did going for the net at the end. It didn't work out tonight, but it's still early in the season. I like the way we're playing."

  As expected, the Plymouth Cultural Center's bleachers were jam-packed with blue- and red-clad fans whose expectations for an intense showdown were more than exceeded.

  Two minutes didn't pass without a clean, bones-jarring collision or an adrenaline-producing rush up the ice.

  "Nights like this are why these kids play high school hockey," said Ossenmacher. "It's not just the people in the stands -- there must have been 400 here tonight -- it's the intensity on the ice. They're playing in front of family and friends, they're playing for their school and they're playing against their friends. What more could you want?"

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