Breaking down another instant-classic Duxbury vs. Hingham high school boys lacrosse game

HINGHAM — Well, where do we even begin?

The Hingham and Duxbury High boys lacrosse teams met in yet-another classic on Thursday. The Harbormen tied the game with 3.6 seconds remaining in regulation before picking up the win in double-overtime.

“Games like this have defined Hingham and Duxbury lacrosse,” said Hingham senior Owen Hoffman.

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It was a back-and-forth battle that featured several huge performances, so let’s break down the biggest plays and players from the instant-classic battle.

Hoffman calls game

Hoffman’s second goal of the game ended it and sent the Harbormen into a frenzied celebration.

On the final possession, the Harbormen cycled the ball around the perimeter of the net. Senior Cian Nicholas had the assist, finding Hoffman with a feed from behind the net. The Duxbury defense sagged off just enough to give Hoffman enough time to fire a low shot inside the far post.

“I was wide open on the wing and he gave me a great pass and I just buried it low," Hoffman said. "It’s everything you can imagine. It feels so good."

Nicholas gets nifty

Hoffman’s heroics never happen if it wasn’t for Nicholas’s highlight-reel goal to tie the game with 3.6 seconds remaining in regulation.

Coming out of a timeout with 10 seconds left, Nicholas initially became open in the slot because junior Charlie Packard faked a pass to the outside. That opened up just enough of a seam for Nicholas to cut in front of the net and haul in a quick pass in traffic.

Then he dropped the jaws of everyone in attendance.

In one swift move, Nicholas hauled in the pass while running away from the net and still got enough juice on a left-handed shot that one-hopped home. The kicker? The shot was behind his legs.

“I get reamed out for shots like that, it’s a bad habit that sometimes comes in clutch,” said Nicholas.

"In practice I see it all the time,” said Hingham coach John Todd of shots like Nicholas’s. "It’s nonsense, but that’s kind of what the game has evolved to somewhat. It’s more freestyle. I give him credit. If anyone’s going to take that shot on this team, it’s him all day long.”

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Here’s what Nicholas saw develop on the play: “I trust this team to do anything on the field. (Packard) pushed over, I filled to the middle of the field and it kind of just opened up for a split second and he trusted me to catch it and shoot it.”

Duxbury had possession before Hingham’s tying tally, but goaltender Niko Decola won possession with a save on a shot right on his doorstep.

Rocco sticks with it

The Dragons held a 13-5 edge on face-offs, thanks to the stellar play of senior Campbell Pang. For much of the second half, the Harbormen used a long-stick pole at the X instead of usual face-off man sophomore Rocco Egan.

But when regulation ended, Hingham turned back to the sophomore. He responded by winning the face-off in the first overtime, which allowed the Harbormen to control possession for almost the entirety of that frame. In the second overtime, Hingham also earned possession of the opening draw.

“We just looked at each other and said, 'He’s our guy and we’re putting him back in there,'” said Todd. "He wins that face-off out of the first overtime and gets a possession in the second overtime. You can’t ask anything more of a sophomore. Some kids can be crushed by saying, ‘You’re not going to take face-offs for awhile, you’re going to sit for 30 minutes before you get another opportunity.’ That’s the fortitude that we instill in our guys.”

“It all goes to Rocco," Nicholas said. "He grinded, and overtime was when it counted."

Hartman’s hat trick

The Dragons dominated possession for most of regulation thanks to an extremely patient offensive attack. (Duxbury led 2-1 at halftime.) Hingham senior Connor Hartman was a steady, scoring presence when the Harbormen were lacking for offensive zone time.

Hartman scored three goals, including Hingham’s first two tallies of the day and a goal that tied the game at 6-6 with 3:16 remaining.

Slimbaugh’s save

Duxbury senior goalkeeper Jeb Slimbaugh made 9 saves on the day, including two in overtime.

The Harbormen looked to have the game won in the first overtime thanks to a golden transition chance.

Hingham’s Joe Hennessey (assist) was open in front of Slimbaugh. He faked a low shot, which brought the goalie to his knees, but when Hennessey went high with a shot, Slimbaugh was there to deny him with a game-extending stop.

Pang plays phenomenal

Had Hingham not pulled out a win, this story likely would have been focused on Pang. Pang was stellar at the X (he won 13 of 20 face-offs) and was the main reason the Dragons were able to slow down the game and play keep away.

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Pang finished with 3 goals and an assist. He looked like the hero of the day when he put the Dragons up 7-6 with 47 seconds remaining. On the score, he drove to the net, dodged a defender with a spin move and potted a shot inside the near post.

Duxbury's Delby Lemieux and Brayden Glass both had 2 goals. Brady Madigan also had an assist for the Dragons.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Duxbury drops double-overtime thriller to Hingham High boys lacrosse