The Bears hosted Salmon river on Monday, October 19 which was Canton’s final home game of the year and senior night for the Bears.
Coach Caufield, who is retiring after this year, gave remarks to the crowd, congratulating the graduating seniors and thanking the Canton community for the support they have given over his coaching career.
The Bears proceeded to beat Salmon River by one in a close and entertaining game.
The game got out to a fast start with breaks for both sides. Salmon River had an early free kick outside of the box but sailed the shot over. Early shots from seniors Colden Francey and Griffin Coakley kept the pressure on the Shamrocks. A Canton corner kick in the 19th minute gave way for a headed shot to nearly score but the Shamrock goalkeeper made the save on the goal line and it was ruled no goal.
Canton did not become discouraged by this call but instead turned up the offense. The Bears had another corner kick chance hit off of the crossbar and out. Senior Will Andes had a dangerous direct kick chance after Coakley drew a foul but the shot was denied. Andes continued with another chance later that banged the outside of the post.
The Bears had another free kick chance late in the half but the goalkeeper made back-to-back saves. Late clearances from defensemen Andrew Downing and Matt Holbrook along with saves from goalkeeper Sean McCluskey kept the ball out of the defensive end as the first half winded down.
The second half maintained a similar pace to the first half with both sides taking early shots. Another free kick taken by Andes was sent wide while Coakley launched many shots on net but with no success. The Shamrocks created their own offensive chances but missed shots wide of the net at vital moments.
Canton finally struck in the 67th minute when Andes dribbled through multiple Shamrock defenders while fighting to keep possession. He launched a shot to the left side of the net which snuck past the goalkeeper to finally break the deadlocked tie late.
The Bears did not let up and closed out the game well. Coakley and forward Wyatt Francey skillfully blocked Shamrock defenders from getting the ball out of their own corner. This helped to waste the final minutes of play until time expired and the win was secured.
This win had the Bears clinch the third seed in playoff competition and will face the Shamrocks again in Salmon River for the semifinal game. Canton plays their final regular season game on Thursday, October 22 on the road in Ogdensburg against a strong Blue Devil team.