2019 Golden Bears (15-4-1)) earned their first NYSPHAA Division I playoffs over MASSENA

Canton ends Massena’s Section 10 Division I hockey reign. The Canton Central hockey team relieved years of frustration on Monday at Clarkson’s Cheel Arena.

Fueled by its top line of seniors Sam Martin and Jack Finnerty and freshman Rhett Palmer, the Golden Bears pulled away to a 7-3 win over seven-time defending champion Massena Central to claim the Section 10 Division I crown for the first time in seven years.

“It just feels so good right now,” said Martin, one of four four-year seniors who had fallen to the Red Raiders in each of their previous three sectional finals. “This is the result of four years of hard work. Because we are seniors, we worked even harder this year to get this done.”

With the win, the Golden Bears (15-4-1)) earned their first trip to the NYSPHAA Division I playoffs since 2012 and will take on Monroe-Woodbury of Section 9 at the Canton Pavilion on Saturday starting at 1 p.m.

First-year head coach Anthony Levato played on that squad.

“This group has been in this situation before but this year they really bought into what we were telling them. They learned what it took to win tight games,” he said.

“From day one, we’ve communicated one message. One group, one family, one common goal. The one common goal was to play for a state championship,” he added. “This is a great win for us but it’s just the first step toward a higher goal.”

Martin led the way against the Red Raiders, netting four of the seven goals and helping to set up the other three as the Bears built a 2-1 lead through the first period and led 4-2 after two before breaking the game open with three straight goals in the third.

Martin set the tone for the win when he opened the scoring just 2:58 into the game by finishing off a play set up by Palmer and Finnerty. He made it 2-0 less than two minutes later with his linemates once again teaming up to draw assists.

The Red Raiders got on the board at the 11:54 mark when senior Eddy Brown converted off an assist from sophomore Chris Paige.

Palmer restored the two-goal advantage midway through the second period assisted by Martin and senior defenseman John Mahoney but Massena pulled back to within one just under two minutes later when Brown once again converted from Paige with 6:05 left in the middle frame.

But with time winding down in the second, Martin intercepted a defensive zone pass and went in to score an unassisted goal with 31 seconds left that would hold up as the game-winner.

Palmer and Finnerty pushed the lead to 6-2 with goals at 8:15 by Palmer and then just 48 seconds by Finnerty. Martin closed out his highlight performance with an empty-net tally set up by Finnerty with 1:24 remaining. Finnerty finished with the lone goal to go along with three assists while Palmer wound up with two goals and one helper and Mahoney tallied two assists.

Paige closed out the scoring with 54 seconds remaining assisted by sophomore Caleb D’Arienzo.

“Give all the credit to Canton’s top line. They played well,” said Massena coach Mike Trimboli after his team closed out the year at 13-8.

“We have such a young team this year with only three seniors and it showed today. We had a game plan and we executed it at times but with younger teams, sometimes they lose patience and get away from it. We’ve had a big target on our back and it’s gotten larger over the last eight years,” he added. “Canton had our number today.”

Freshman netminder Hayden Todd turned aside 30 shots backstopping the Bears to the sectional title in his first season between the pipes.

“We’ve only had one goaltender since the start of the season and I wouldn’t trade him for any other goalie in the state,” said Levato.

Senior Casey Hooper closed out his Massena career with a 24-save effort. Massena Courier Observer