By DAN PAWLOWSKI
WALPOLE — The first ever boys’ hockey shootout in the MIAA’s new statewide tournament format took place last night at Rodman Arena between No. 11 Wakefield and the host No. 6 Walpole in the Div. 2 Round of 16.
A Dan Mailhoit goal from fellow senior Ryan Rossini led to a 1-1 tie at the end of regulation which held through two overtimes, the first being 4-on-4 and the second, 3-on-3.
Wakefield’s senior goalie Gabe Brissette was phenomenal on all fronts, racking up 26 saves through five periods and four more in the shootout. He was beaten just once in the shootout in which teams get five chances and the Warriors couldn’t match that opening goal scored by Walpole’s Matt Bianculli, bringing a strong season to a heartbreaking end.
“I’m just so proud of them and the way they left it all on the ice,” said head coach Mike Geary. “That’s hockey. It’s really a bounce here or a bounce there that could have changed the game.”
The Warriors rolled into Rodman undefeated in seven of their last eight games and coming off a solid 2-0 victory over Somerset-Berkley in the first round on March 3.
The Timberwolves and Warriors were even through a stalemate in the first period.
Walpole started the scoring when Eddie Jackson found the back of the net on the power play early in the second period.
Both teams had some quality chances but Brissette and Walpole’s senior goalie Timmy Abplanalp each put on a show and made it very clear that goals would be at a premium.
Wakefield defensemen, including captain Evan Simoneau, Joe Colliton, Matt Burns, Trevor Veilleux, Liam McNeil and Brian Purcell battled and shot-blocked their way through the rest of the 2nd and beyond.
In desperate need of an equalizer, the Warriors continued to throw rubber at Abplanalp until Mailhoit finished, assisted by Rossini.
Wakefield’s forward groups, captain Joey O’Brien, captain Matt Elwell and Bob DeFeo; Rossini, Mailhoit and Nate Brissette; Jack Curran, Mike Parent and Tylor Roycroft; Mike Pellegrino, Sean Hogan, Frank Leone and Andrew Nemec, all worked on the forecheck and moved the puck to create opportunities but couldn’t find a game winner while Gabe Brissette held down the fort to force overtime.
It was the fourth overtime game in the Div. 2 boys’ hockey bracket this postseason. Two of the previous three ended in the 8-minute, 4-on-4 OT period.
Brissette and Abplanalp didn’t allow that.
“Gabe was terrific as he’s been all season,” said Geary.
That led to just the second double OT game in D2 joining Tuesday’s Newburyport vs. Norwood Sweet 16 game which ended in the 8-minute, 3-on-3 2OT period.
This one did not.
Of the 102 state tournament games played so far through four boys’ hockey divisions, this was the first to reach the shootout.
The surprise of the game still being tied after one hour and one minute of gameplay was heightened when the exhausted Warriors were forced to kill a penalty in double overtime after a controversial too many men on the ice call. Undeterred, the three-man Warrior kill did the job and just like that, there were no more options. It was time for the shootout.
“It was definitely a tight game throughout,” said Geary, pointing to the shot totals, 28 for Wakefield and 27 for Walpole.
In the end, it doesn’t get any closer, even in the shootout where just one of 10 attempts crossed the line.
Of course, no pep talk exists for a scenario like that, but Geary said what he told his team revolved around gratitude for the class of 2022.
“I mostly just thanked the seniors for how far they’ve taken this program,” said Geary of O’Brien, Simoneau, Burns, Brissette, Mailhoit, Parent, Pellegrino, Rossini and Jon Guida.
It’s a group who played a big role as sophomores on an 11-6-3 state tournament team in Geary’s first season, leaders who helped them get through a shortened pandemic season last year and seniors who led Wakefield back to the dance where they won a state tourney game for the first time since 2013.
“The seniors are great players but saves and goals come and go; it’s their culture that will live on,” said Geary. “That’s the foundation they built. They’ve created a culture where kids enjoy competing and getting better. I’m really thankful for that.”