The Warriors hockey team defeated the Bedford Buccaneers 2-1 in a hard fought game this past Saturday night.

Wayland had not played in a game since December break and came out flat during the first period. Neither team could find any success on offense, and they entered the locker room tied at zero. Early in the second period the Bucs were beating the Warriors to every puck, winning every battle. Their efforts showed as they put in a goal off a rebound: Bedford 1 Wayland 0.

When that goal entered the back of the Wayland net, the attitude on the bench changed, and Wayland picked up their game. It was now their turn to win every battle, as leadership came from all three senior captains as well as sophomore Zach Basterache. Finally, the Warriors put one on the board off the stick of sophomore Mark Haffey, his second of the year: Bedford 1 Wayland 1.

Energy was renewed. Going into the third the game was tied, and the Warriors were ready to win. Everything was rolling for Wayland, but Bedford’s goalie held strong. Late in the third period Haffey set up junior Peter Sullivan as he put the puck through the goalie’s legs to score what looked like the go-ahead goal. Bedford’s goalie pulled the puck out of the net and the official ruled no goal. After a dispute Wayland stayed calm and stuck to their game.

Just seconds after the argument with the official, on the ensuing draw Sullivan won the face-off and found a wide-open Ian Ball who ripped a slap shot just inside the post; this one clearly beat the goalie and was the game winner: Wayland 2 Bedford 1. The players on the ice piled up on the blue line as the Wayland fans erupted.

Coach Phil Bateman, when asked about the controversial call back, said, “It’s great to see how mature this group of young men have become. Two weeks ago I’m not sure if that goal would have ever happened after the first one got called back, but we overcame that call and never stopped playing.”

With this win Wayland improves to 2-3-2 and looks to improve that record at 7:30 on Wednesday at Newton South.