BEDFORD — When it comes to Bedford goaltender Max Marchionna, the phrase ‘brick wall’ doesn’t even scratch the surface.
Posting his fifth consecutive shutout, and third straight in this state tournament, Marchionna made 33 saves for the Bucs to rob the Essex Tech boys hockey team in a 3-0 victory at the Chelmsford Forum on Thursday night.
The No. 3 seed Hawks (18-4-1) threw everything they had at Marchionna for just about all 45 minutes; on at least two occasions, the Hawk student section leaped to its feet believing a goal had been scored, only to discover the unflappable netminder had committed another theft.
At the other end, the Bucs (19-3-1) couldn’t solve the Hawks defense either for much of the game. The Division 3 state quarterfinal battle remained 0-0 until third period, when Bedford popped in two goals in a two-minute stretch early on and added an empty netter to advance to a state Final Four for the first time.
“A great hockey game, 0-0 going into the third. One of those games where you know whoever scores first it probably going to win,” said Hawks coach Mark Leonard. “Unfortunately, it wasn’t us.”
Even in the face of a two-goal deficit, the Hawks kept forechecking and creating scoring opportunities. Captain Anthony Bisenti broke into the zone and threaded a backhander into the blue paint that was denied, then later had a wicked wrister from an off-angle get shouldered aside by Marchionna.
Essex Tech, which hadn’t been shut out all season and averaged over four goals per game, deployed one of the state’s highest scoring lines with captain Brady Leonard centering Bisenti and fellow captain Jaydan Vargas. To hold them off, the Bucs knew they’d need some big-time saves from their goaltender and they’d have to mind their P’s and Q’s defensively.
“Our D-zone coverages had to be almost perfect. We had to make sure we covered the slot at all times and stuck man-on-man,” said Bedford coach Brian Seabury. “The other big thing was to stay wide and try to limit the transition through the neutral zone.”
The Hawks certainly carried the play in the early going, outshooting Bedford 11-5 in the opening period. Brady Leonard had a mini-breakaway denied and Bisenti had what looked a wide open net, only to see Marchionna reach out with his leg and smother the puck. The chances were manufactured by some terrific outlet passes by Vargas as well as defenseman and captain Mason Sutcliffe, not to mention excellent forechecking by wingers Ted Tsoutsouris (second line) and Jack Swencki (third).
“Early on, we came out flying,” Mark Leonard said. “Their kid made some unbelievable saves. The one on Bisenti? I don’t know he got it … it was a ridiculous save.”
The Bucs took their turn with momentum early in the second and Hawks goalie Teagan Moreau made most of his 20 saves in the first five minutes of the middle frame. Essex Tech came to life again, peppering the net for the rest of the frame but unable to light the lamp. The Hawks also drew the game’s only power play in the second, but didn’t convert any of their three shots during the advantage.
Moments after Marchionna robbed a one-timer by Brian DeLisio, the Bucs got the game-winner on a one-timer of their own as Logan Cox fed captain Ryan McGrath on a blast with 12:37 to play.
“We knew we’d have to bide our time, and we were willing to wait it out. That’s kind of been our style,” said Seabury. “I told the guys just keep waiting for it. We’ll wait until the last minute if we have to.”
Cox popped in a turnover with 10:36 go to to double the lead and also scored the unassisted empty netter with a mere 1:21 to play.
“Bedford’s a very strong defensive team, and they’d won 18 games like we did for a reason,” said Mark Leonard. “We played very well. The kids did a good job; we just couldn’t score one tonight.”
It’s the end of a era for nine Essex Tech seniors that helped put the school’s boys hockey program on the map in Eastern Massachusetts. Besides winning 67 games together, this crew won championships in two different leagues (Commonwealth Athletic Conference and, this season, the Cape Ann League) and a won two state vocational crowns in their underclass years.
Defenseman Riley Sobezenski and captains Sutcliffe and Andrew McKenna were mainstays for Essex Tech. Up front, Michael Cann was a valuable cog, and Brett Granger was a forechecking maven.
Then there’s the aforementioned trio of Leonard, Bisenti and Vargas, who broke out of the zone as well as any line on the North Shore in recent memory. They’d been with Mark Leonard, Brady’s dad, since they were five years old. On the ice, they seemed to be a perfect manifestation of his brand of creative, confident hockey with their ability to find each other quickly in open space.
As a result of that chemistry plus his own ability and work ethic, Brady Leonard graduates as Essex Tech’s all-time leading scorer with 151 points — a total that ranks in the top 20 all-time in the region and is third most of any local skater in the last 15 years.
“It’s a tough, tough moment to see it end because they’re great kids. I’m so proud of them and everything they accomplished in their four years here. They have an incredible record,” Mark Leonard said. “They were a fun team to coach and I love ‘em.”
Bedford 3, Essex Tech 0
Division 3 Quarterfinal
at Chelmsford Forum, North Billerica
Bedford;0;0;3;3
Essex Tech;0;0;0;0
Scoring summary
First period: No scoring.
Second period: No scoring.
Third period: B, Ryan McGrath (Logan Cox), 2:23; B, Cox (un), 4:24; B, Cox (un), eng, 13:39.
Saves: B, Max Marchionna 33; ET, Teagan Moreau 20.
Record: B, 18-3-1; ET, 18-3-1