Update: The boys hockey team lost in the Round of 16 to Lynnfield by a score of 7-1 on Wednesday night.
EASTHAM — The Nauset boys hockey team showed sheer determination on the ice Saturday night in a double-overtime win over North Middlesex in the Round of 32 of the Division III state tournament.
The Warriors struck first as senior Cooper Guiliano put one in the back of the net with about two minutes left in the first period. Despite being up 1-0 early, the team looked slow through the first two periods.
North Middlesex took advantage of a few Nauset mistakes and managed to score two shorthanded goals. The Patriots tied it at 1-1 early in the second period and then, with 7:30 left in the third period, the Warriors left the puck out in front of their own net and the Patriots went up 2-1.
As the clock ticked down it looked like the Warriors, seeded 13th, were going to be upset by the Patriots, seeded 20th. Nauset pulled its goalie in a desperate move. With just 32 seconds left in regulation, sophomore Cam Connery slipped past the defense and scored to tie the game.
After a scoreless first overtime period, Nauset started the second overtime by attacking the net. That paid off as junior Logan Valine controlled the puck up the ice, skated around the last defender, and flicked the puck into the top of the net for the 3-2 victory.
The four seniors on the team, Cam Viprino, Hayden Boucher, Zach Roberts, and Guiliano, spoke about their team’s toughness and close bond during an interview in February.
“The thing about Nauset, we don’t have the most skill, we don’t have the most players showing up for tryouts, but we work harder than any other team out there,” Viprino said. “That sense of family and knowing that everyone has each other’s back really helps us on the ice.”
When this year’s crop of seniors were freshmen, they played a junior varsity tournament title game with just 10 players against a team of 23 in Sandwich. Despite being shorthanded, Nauset’s JV team won that game, and their hard-striving underdog mentality has endured.
“That game built a lot of character,” Boucher said. “It showed us who you want to be as role models to the sophomores and freshmen.”
The Warriors have now skated to a 13-7-1 record with a matchup against 4th-seeded Lynnfield in the Round of 16 that, at press time, was scheduled for Wednesday, March 9 at 5:15 p.m. at McVann-O’Keefe Rink in Peabody.
Girls Hockey, Boys Basketball Defeated
After the boys hockey triumph on Saturday, the Cape Cod Furies skated to a 1-0 loss against Reading in the first round of the Division I girls hockey state tournament. The Furies let Reading score a goal in the first period after a defensive mistake and couldn’t find a way to tie it for the rest of the game.
Sophomore goalkeeper Olivia Avellar played a great game in net despite giving up the only goal of the game. Eighth-grader Gaby Basset managed to get the best chances at scoring but came up empty as Reading’s keeper also played well.
The Furies didn’t get their first playoff win in program history, but they’re a young team with a promising future ahead.
The Nauset boys basketball team lost to Malden Catholic Friday night by a score of 85-36. The Lancers are the number-one team in the state’s Division II and the favorites to win the state tournament.
After beating Westwood by two points in the first round, the 33rd-seeded Warriors were looking to stage a huge upset in Malden. But Nauset had no answer for Malden Catholic’s tough defense and the athleticism of 6’7” junior Jahmari Hamilton-Brown.
Brown, who already has an offer to play basketball at Division I Providence College, got it done on both ends of the floor in the first half and led Malden Catholic to a 44-8 lead at halftime.
It was a great season for Nauset, said Coach John McCarthy. The team graduates nine seniors this year. He says he is optimistic about the future because this year’s junior varsity team posted a 12-3 record and the freshmen team went 12-1.
