Net worth quite high

Farrington good as gold for Sandwich

As far as personal standards go, Pat Farrington has set his bar high.

The freshman led Sandwich to the MIAA Division 2 state title yesterday, stopping 18 shots in a 1-0 victory over Wilmington at TD Banknorth Garden.

It was Sandwich's first state title, and the shutout was Farrington's second in a row. The Blue Knights emerged from the Division 2 South finals with a 1-0 shootout win over Franklin last Sunday.

"I did not expect this coming into my freshman year at Sandwich High School. I did not expect a state championship," he said after denying all of Wilmington's 18 attempts - four more than he faced against the Panthers.

But Sandwich coach Derackk Curtis said he's come to expect a high level of play from the youngster, who has matured considerably since allowing three goals in the first period of his debut varsity performance against Barnstable.

"I knew [early in the regular season] that we had a good team, and I felt that after watching Pat play during the regular season that maybe we had a good chance at making a run at this thing, if he could hold his own and play more of a veteran style of play," he said. "And he played outstanding. I mean, the kid's a freshman and he didn't act like it at all. The chances that they did have he shut the door."

Wilmington (17-3-4) had a hard time generating chances early, as both teams appeared groggy out of the gate.

Sandwich (20-2-3) garnered a 6-2 shooting advantage by the end of the first period. But the Wildcats brought their offense up to par in the middle frame, matching Sandwich's nine shots, including four in the first 90 seconds.

Sandwich's Craig Brubaker interrupted the Wilmington momentum 4:28 into the stanza, giving his team its 1-0 lead. Wading through the right faceoff circle, he rocketed a feed from linemates Bryan Bolton and Connor Hayes between the legs of Wilmington netminder Michael Cabral, who finished with 20 saves.

"I thought Brubaker was the best player on the ice, for both teams," Curtis said.

Wilmington continued to create chances, with senior Eric Siegel registering the best for his side. He rifled off three quality attempts in a span of about two minutes, but Farrington denied Siegel's low shot and high shot before hugging his left post to stop the third.

"They do a good job cleaning up. When there is a rebound . . . they come in and you don't get that second and third opportunity," said Wilmington coach Stephen Scanlon. "I didn't think we got much puck luck tonight, either. Things didn't bounce our way. Ernie [Mello] had some good chances.

"And the kid made some good saves, too," he said. "For a young kid, he did a good job. They've got a good team, a good balanced team."

The Wildcats survived back-to-back Sandwich power plays late in the second period, as well as a bevy of opportunities generated by Matt Cassista, Casey Helms, and Garrett Lessard. But they couldn't get past Sandwich's talented young netminder.

"It's amazing. We worked hard all year," Brubaker said. "It's an unbelievable feeling."