Agawam Tops Taconic in Class B Final

WEST SPRINGFIELD, Mass. – After giving up the game’s first goal on Saturday afternoon at the Olympia Ice Center, the Taconic hockey team immediately had an answer.

 

But the Thunder had no response for Agawam the rest of the way.

 

Second-seeded Agawam scored five unanswered goals to hand Taconic a 6-1 loss in the Western Massachusetts Class B Championship Game.

 

Anthony Barbarini scored twice, and Landon Ashford had a goal and an assist for Agawam, which got 17 saves from Dimitri Huey to upend the 2024 regional champions.

 

Vinny Montagna got the scoring started for Agawam in the fourth minute of the game.

 

But Taconic fired back right away when Eric Harringotn converted a beautiful pass from Cody Soper in the slot to make it 1-1.

 

Barbarini scored with 4 minutes, 59 seconds left in the first period with an assist from Ashford to give Agawam a lead it never relinquished.

 

It was 3-1 after the first period and 4-1 after Cam Saltmarsh scored the only goal of the second.

 

Aiden Pisano converted on an odd-man rush for Agawam in the sixth minute of the third before Barbarini tacked on a power-play goal with 21 seconds left on the clock to provide the final margin.

 

Special teams were a big plus for Agawam, which had just that one man-up goal but killed off four power-play chances for the Thunder.

 

The back-breaker came midway through the second, when Agawam drew a hooking call and a tripping call six seconds apart but then killed nearly two minutes of a 5-on-3 advantage in which Taconic got two shots on goal and hit the post once.

 

Hunter Shepardson had the start in goal for Taconic, giving up five goals while stopping 19 shots. Bobby Baer stopped three shots in four minutes of relief between the pipes.

 

Taconic (8-7-2) earlier Saturday was named the No. 34 seed in the Division 4 State Tournament. The Thunder are scheduled to go to Dennis-Yarmouth on Tuesday afternoon for a play-in round game.

 

Photos from this game to come.