After press time: North Reading falls to Stoneham 3-1 (March 5)
Icemen roll past Wilmington 6-2 in Round of 16
Published March 6, 2025
By DAN ZIMMERMAN
TEWKSBURY — A raucous standing-room only crowd was on hand at the Breakaway Ice Center last Saturday afternoon to witness high school playoff hockey at its finest.
In a near-flawless game, No. 9 North Reading upset neighbor and natural rival Wilmington, claiming a huge 6-2 win in the MIAA Division 4 Round of 16.
Despite season-long struggles and a record of 5-15 overall, Wilmington emerged from the MIAA Power Rankings at No. 8, based largely on the strength of their standard opponents in the Middlesex League. The Wildcats knocked off No. 25 South Shore Vocational in the opening round, 4-1, to set up a showdown with North Reading.
Powered by Tom Gazda and Duncan Gulino, each with a pair of goals, the Hornets handily eliminated Wilmington, earning the right to advance to the D4 Final-8. North Reading Coach Brian McAuliffe who, at the outset of the season last December, boldly declared that this batch of players would reach great heights, was more than pleased with their recent achievements.
“After going through a couple of bumps in the road along the regular season final stretch,” the coach said, “the boys are now firing on all cylinders. We’re hitting our stride at the ideal time and it feels pretty good.”
Feeling pretty good was Tom Gazda, who was held out of the 7-goal scoring deluge against Gardner in the opening round. Gazda put the Hornets in front with a goal midway through the first period on the power play and added a second late in the game.
“We were all hungry,” said Gazda, who is second on the team with 14-goals and added 3 helpers in the win over the ‘Cats. “We scrimmaged with Wilmington before the season got started and they beat us. But we’re not the same team we were then. We’re a machine now and we’re ready to take on anyone who comes our way.”
Gulino, who has been on a tear lately, doubled the Hornet lead at 8:05 of the second frame. Skating hard on the left wing, Gulino leaned into a hard wrister from the dot, beating Wilmington goaltender Tyler Marinho top shelf. Minutes later, North Reading scoring leader Christian Lava made it 3-0 off a steal, burying his 24th of the season.
Wilmington’s Isaac Tavares cut the deficit with 1:40 left, banking a laser off the pad of goalie Steven DeLisle but the ‘Cats elation was fleeting as Gulino, with his 9th of the season, restored the 3-goal lead just 15-seconds later.
The Hornets were adept at clogging the shooting lanes, blocking shots, and curbing the pressure on their goaltender. When shots made it through, DeLisle stonewalled the effort, turning aside 27-shots.
“It’s unimaginable,” said DeLisle when asked how he felt about being just two wins from a visit to the Boston Garden. “Going into today’s game, I was a little nervous. But it was such a big game for all of us. At the end of the day, I do it for the guys. We just have to keep this thing going.”
“The decision to go with Steven after Charlie Cooper’s amazing performance in the Gardner game was based on what has worked all season,” said McAuliffe. “I wanted to stick with our alternating system and it paid off. Steven played a phenomenal game.”
Wilmington closed to within a pair early in the third on a goal from Brady Cabral. But once again, the Hornets suppressed any hopes of a rally, scoring back-to-back. The Gazda brothers, Tom and Brendon sealed the deal with tallies less than a minute apart at the tail end of the contest.
“That’s just a testament to the skill level on this team,” said McAuliffe when asked about the Hornet’s offensive firepower. “We have a lot of guys on this team who can score goals whereas in the past, we relied on just one or two goal scorers.”
North Reading faced top-seed Stoneham Wednesday night (results in after press time) for the right to advance to the D4 final 4.
The winner will meet the winner of No. 4 Littleton vs. No. 5 Winthrop in the semifinals.