July 19, 2009
Second that emotion
by Kevin Henkin/
The Boston Cannons moved one step closer to securing a playoff spot with a convincing 17-10 victory over the Chicago Machine Saturday night at Harvard Stadium in front of an announced crowd of 8,074. The win improved Boston’s record to 6-4 with two games left to play in the regular season and moved them a half-game ahead of Long Island for second place in the league standings.
Ryan Boyle led the way with eight points on six goals and two assists. Paul Rabil (5 points), Sean Morris (Marshfield, Mass.) and Matt Alrich each scored three goals, and Matt Poskay, returning after missing the previous game while recovering from another round of cancer treatment, contributed a pair of scores. In all, eight players touched the twine for the Cannons, a stat that pleased coach Bill Daye.
“Offensively, whenever you get eight guys on the scoreboard, you have a very good chance of winning,” Daye said.
The defense also played well, especially after the break when Boston limited Chicago to just two goals.
“I think we played solid defense in the second half,” Daye said. “One of our goals coming into today was to get back to playing a real team defense, not leaving guys out on an island, making plays, getting the ball on the ground.”
Daye gave much of the credit for the win to goalie Kip Turner, who made 15 saves on 25 shots.
“Obviously, our goalie played very well in the second half. He pretty much shut the door,” Daye said.
Poskay made note of the shift in the play of the Cannons between the first and second halves.
“I think we just calmed down,” he said. “We got the ball moving a little bit. It seemed like in the first half the ball was a little stagnant. We were going to the cage a little too early, not using too much of the shot clock. Then we started using the clock more and made them work a little bit harder.”
Regarding where he stands on his cancer treatments, Poskay said: “The recovery is going pretty good. I finish up my radiation next week. I’m looking to gain a little more energy each day. I’m obviously playing now, so I’m just hoping to get more energy each day and get better and better week in and week out.”
Former UMass star Kevin Leveille had four points for Chicago, as did his brother, Mike.
Both teams shot out of the gates early, with each scoring six goals in a frenzied first quarter. In that frame, Poskay announced his return to the lineup with a sublime over-the shoulder rocket at the 10:45 mark. Morris also ripped one through while streaking in front of the crease.
In the second quarter, the Cannons gained their first separation of the game by scoring seven unanswered goals in the middle 10 minutes of play, a stretch that would prove to be the deciding factor in the game. Mike Leveille stopped the bleeding for Chicago with a goal in the final two minutes, but at the end of the half, Boston held a commanding lead at 13-8. With that production, the Cannons were on pace to surpass their season high in goals, set in their previous lopsided 22-11 victory over Chicago in June.
In the second half, the Cannons rolled out a more poised attack, controlling the ball on offense for longer stretches and gaining a physical upper hand on defense. The nets remained untouched for both teams until the 10:47 mark when Morris broke free and converted a goal. Poskay scored his second goal of the game at the end of the quarter, increasing the Boston lead to 14-8.
In the final quarter, after giving up an early power play goal to the Machine, the Boston defense resumed its lockdown. At 6:23, Rabil scored a 2-point goal on a shot well outside of the circle. After that, both teams held serve until Mike Leveille scored the final goal of the game at 11:31. The goal was somewhat of a concession by the Cannons, who, according to Daye, were using the large goal margin as an opportunity to practice the 10-man ride at the time.
Chicago goalie Mike Gabel (Falmouth, Mass.) suffered the brunt of the Cannons’ attack, giving up all of Boston's goals on 29 shots before being replaced by Bud Petit with 8:37 to play. Said Gabel: "When we had the ball on offense, they were able to make some stops. When they had the ball on offense, we were not able to make those stops."
With the loss, the Machine fell to 0-3 against Boston in 2009 and 2-7 overall.
Up next for the Cannons is a road game Saturday against the Toronto Nationals, who improved to 5-5 with a 19-9 win over the Long Island Lizards on Saturday night and hold the fourth spot in the league standings.
