Given what a tight race it’s been in the SHL’s Eastern Division, it’s only fitting that it would be decided on the last game of the season. After a bruising, intense battle that involved four different teams, it all came down to this: the Boston Badgers and Hershey Bliss facing off head-to-head at Shawmut Arena, with the last playoff spot on the line.
“If you can’t get up for a game like this,” said Badgers D Ted Keefe, “you’re dead.”
Boston came into the game with a one-point lead, so they would advance with a win or a tie, while Hershey needed a victory in order to make the postseason for the third straight year. After all the buildup, the game itself was somewhat anticlimactic; the Badgers got goals from some unlikely sources, and the ageless Riley Lattimore put up a 31-save shutout in a 3-0 win that sends Boston to the playoffs for the first time.
“We needed to be at our best today,” said Badgers coach Kyle Barrrow, “and we were. We really came up big in the key moments.”
The game began at a bit of a slow pace, as the teams felt each other out. The Bliss got an early break when Badgers RW Levi Rudyard was whistled for a questionable holding-the-stick call. But Boston’s PK limited Hershey to a single shot on the ensuing power play. Less than a minute after the power play ended, Badgers LW Dave Yaughn intercepted an attempted clear and found RW Asher Ravenbloom streaking toward the net. Ravenbloom tipped a shot up high over the outstretched blocker of Bliss goalie Christien Adamsson and into the net for the game’s first goal. Both teams had extended offensive shifts later in the period, including but neither could find the back of the net. (Badgers D Matt Cherner nearly scored on a hard slapper from the left faceoff circle, but Adamsson came up with a brilliant save.)
Two minutes into the second period, Ravenbloom and Yaughn broke loose on a two-on-one rush, which Yaughn finished by going five-hole on Adamsson to make it a 2-0 game. A little over four minutes later, Ravenbloom and Yaughn started another odd-man rush that ended with D Hans Mortensen beating Adamsson on the glove side to build a three-goal edge.
Ravenbloom and Yaughn are on Boston’s third line; they’re known as grinders who don’t generally produce a ton of offense. Barrow praised them highly in his postgame press conference.
“Yaughner and Raver, they really brought their A game today,” said the Badgers coach. “They get overlooked a lot, but those guys always show up with a team-first mentality, and they’re not afraid to do the dirty work. I’m glad they got a moment in the sun today; they deserve it.”
The Bliss tried to push back and climb back into the game, but their hopes were thwarted again and again by the 35-year-old Lattimore. The veteran netminder’s best save came in the middle of the second period, when Hershey C Spencer Kirkpatrick found the puck on his stick below the left faceoff circle with a clear path to a wide-open net. As Kirkpatrick fired, Lattimore launched himself across the goal mouth and knocked the shot aside with his right toe.
“I didn’t know I could still stretch that far,” joked Lattimore after the game. “I should probably just go sit in a bucket of ice right now.”
The Badgers, who nicknamed themselves “The Expendables” due to the number of veterans cast off from other clubs on their roster, celebrated in the locker room with champagne and cigars. They made clear that they have grander ambitions than just making the playoffs, in spite of a tough matchup with the two-time defending champion Hamilton Pistols in the first round.
“We’re not going to settle for ‘glad to be here,’” said Keefe. “I’m too old for that, and so are a lot of guys on this team. We’re aiming for the Vandy.
For the Bliss, the loss brought back grim memories of 2016, when Hershey lost to the Washington Galaxy in the season finale to miss out on a shot at the postseason.
“This one definitely stings,” said Bliss C Justin Valentine. “After the way we turned our season around, we came so far, and coming up just short… it really sucks.”
With Hershey’s defeat come questions about the future of coach Ron Wright. Wright took over behind the bench just over a month into the season. He insisted on signing a contract for this season only, and made clear that his goal was to guide the team to a Vandy. Despite leading the Bliss to a 25-15-3 record, Wright’s failure to reach the postseason leaves his situation up in the air.
Wright declined to discuss his future after the game. “It’s not the time for that discussion,” said the veteran coach. “Tonight, we lost. That’s the focus.”
Game 64, Hershey @ Boston, Shawmut Arena
1 2 3 OT F
Hershey 0 0 0 0
Boston 1 2 0 3
Hershey SH G A PTS BLK PIM +/- Boston SH G A PTS BLK PIM +/-
Valentine C 3 0 0 0 1 0 0 Beauchesne C 0 0 0 0 0 5 0
Hart RW 3 0 0 0 0 5 0 Cherner D 1 0 0 0 2 0 0
Sweet LW 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 Lunsford RW 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
Milton D 3 0 0 0 2 0 0 Darnholm LW 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
Aubin D 4 0 0 0 2 0 0 Keefe D 3 0 0 0 2 0 0
Cargill D 0 0 0 0 1 2 -1 Addison D 1 0 0 0 3 2 +1
Daniels RW 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 Thurman LW 4 0 0 0 0 0 0
Banks D 0 0 0 0 5 0 -1 Rudyard RW 1 0 0 0 1 2 0
Nahorniak LW 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 Marlow C 5 0 0 0 0 0 0
Derringer C 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 Mortensen D 1 1 0 1 2 0 +1
Kirkpatrick C 5 0 0 0 0 0 -3 Moultrie D 1 0 0 0 0 0 +2
Kulkarov D 1 0 0 0 2 0 -2 Yaughn LW 3 1 2 3 1 2 +3
Swindonburg LW 2 0 0 0 1 0 -3 Ravenbloom RW 2 1 2 3 1 0 +3
Brooks LW 0 0 0 0 0 5 -3 McCallan D 0 0 1 1 0 0 +2
Nurmi D 3 0 0 0 2 2 -2 Humplik C 2 0 0 0 0 5 +3
------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------
TOTALS 31 0 0 0 18 14 -3 TOTALS 26 3 5 8 14 16 3
Coach: Ron Wright Coach: Kyle Barrow
Scratches:
HSY: Lapointe, Clay, Snelling
BOS: Stolte, Jennings, Shivers
Hershey SH SV G Sv%
----------------------------------------
Adamsson 26 23 3 0.885
Boston SH SV G Sv%
----------------------------------------
Lattimore 31 31 0 1.000
First Period
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GOALS:
05:55 BOS Ravenbloom (Yaughn)
PENALTIES:
03:27 BOS Rudyard 2:00 (Holding the Stick)
18:02 BOS Addison 2:00 (Diving)
Second Period
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GOALS:
02:07 BOS Yaughn (Ravenbloom, McCallan)
06:27 BOS Mortensen (Ravenbloom, Yaughn)
PENALTIES:
12:00 HSY Nurmi 2:00 (High-sticking)
18:05 BOS Beauchesne 5:00 (Fighting)
18:05 HSY Hart 5:00 (Fighting)
Third Period
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GOALS:
None
PENALTIES:
06:30 HSY Cargill 2:00 (Elbowing)
17:46 BOS Humplik 5:00 (Fighting)
17:46 HSY Brooks 5:00 (Fighting)
19:24 BOS Yaughn 2:00 (High-sticking)
SHOTS
------
1 2 3 OT F
Hershey 11 9 11 31
Boston 10 10 6 26
SHOT ATTEMPTS: Hershey 55, Boston 56
POWER PLAYS
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Hershey 0 for 3
Boston 0 for 2
INJURIES
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None
SHL Hockey 
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