Move on to play Walpole in round of 16
By DAN PAWLOWSKI
STONEHAM — Let’s just say the Stoneham Arena hasn’t been that loud in a while.
Wakefield’s first state tournament victory since 2013 took place in an environment that featured another first: the first time since an opening round playoff loss to Gloucester at the Stoneham Arena in February of 2020 that the cheers of fans went unmuffled.
In accordance with the first day of the mask mandate being lifted in Wakefield schools, face coverings quickly became a thing of the past as droves of Warrior fans and plenty of visitors supporting Somer-Berkley rolled into Stoneham last night and created a proper playoff atmosphere to watch a Div. 2 first round game.
In the end, Wakefield’s faithful got to celebrate a 2-0 victory for their 11th-seeded Warriors, who will now hit the road to meet No. 6 Walpole in the round of 16, time and location to be announced.
“I’m really happy for the kids,” said Wakefield head coach Mike Geary. “To get a tournament win is always one of the goals starting out a season. I thought we came out a little jumpy but played better as the game went on and to get a 2-0 win, obviously our defense and goaltending was great and we got some opportunistic offense.”
Senior goalie Gabe Brissette picked up 17 saves to earn Wakefield High’s first shutout in a tournament game since a 2012 3-0 win over Andover. It was Brissette’s 6th shutout of the season.
“Beginning of the year, I thought maybe a shutout here or a shutout there,” said Brissette. “At this stage, you don’t think shutout you just think win the game – win the game no matter what. We just happened to get a shutout and it feels that much better.”
After a stalemate in the first, senior captain Joey O’Brien opened the scoring with an unassisted goal in the 2nd.
Wakefield tacked on some insurance in the 3rd with a goal by freshman Nate Brissette who tipped home a shot from senior captain Evan Simoneau. Senior Ryan Rossini also assisted on the goal.
In-between, the Warriors played a fast and physical game complete with some strong team defense.
Wakefield killed three penalties on the night behind strong work from the first PK line, O’Brien, Simoneau and juniors Joe Colliton and Matt Elwell in addition to rotating forwards Nate Brissette and junior Bobby DeFeo.
Gabe Brissette was cool and collected throughout, making multiple highlight-reel stops especially in the 1st and 2nd as both teams were battling for that all-important first goal.
“He’s been really good,” said Geary of his senior netminder. “He’s a calm guy, the kids love him, he really gives us a lot of confidence everywhere else on the ice.”
That confidence reached an apex after Brissette made a quality save in traffic just as Wakefield killed a Raider power play late in the 2nd. Seconds later, O’Brien picked off a pass in the offensive zone and wasted no time in firing home a top-shelf, stick-side wrist shot from just inside the right dot for his team-high 14th goal of the season with 3:35 on the clock. As soon as the net snapped, O’Brien took off for a rowdy Red Sea student section, gave them a Jaromir Jagr-style salute and jumped into the glass as his teammates surrounded him to celebrate.
“We love it,” said Gabe Brissette when asked about the environment, especially an energetic Red Sea. “Love to hear the noise, love the crowd. It was awesome.”
Wakefield was penalized again, this time for a high hit in the offensive zone, with just 15 seconds left in the period. Somerset-Berkley didn’t get any shots on Brissette as the 3rd period opened up, a Simoneau shot block the highlight of the penalty kill this time.
Nate Brissette’s tally came with 12:31 left in the third. Senior Dan Mailhoit won a puck battle behind the net and Rossini provided support to help get it centered out front. Brissette just missed the pass but had some next-level awareness to quickly get his stick in position as Simoneau recovered the puck in the slot, toe-dragged and ripped one stick side. Brissette’s redirection sent it glove side as Raider goalie Brandon Silva could only watch it go the opposite way of his momentum and in.
Another celebration in front of the Red Sea got the whole arena buzzing and gave the Warriors the energy to shut down the visitors for the remaining 12 minutes.
The Warriors learned that it takes a total team effort to win in the playoffs, something that the senior class made an emphasis of reminding their younger teammates.
“The main thing we told the younger guys was that throughout this year, we’ve had everyone step up at one point but tonight’s the night that we all needed to step up and every single person, number 1 through 33 stepped up tonight,” said Brissette.
In the end, it was an important step for the Wakefield boys’ hockey program, taken on a night which felt like a cause for celebration on many fronts.
The Warriors (11-9-1) will now focus on the next step on that steep, statewide tournament staircase: Walpole (12-7-2). The game, which will likely take place next week at Rodman Arena will feature two quality teams, both hungry to get a taste of the quarterfinals.
“We have to keep up this momentum and keep pushing forward,” said Brissette. “It’s gonna be a better team. They’re gonna get better and better and we have to get better and better with them.”
“It’s exciting to win but I think they know the goal wasn’t to win one game it’s to go further,” said Geary. “We have to improve and keep getting better. It was a good start tonight.”