As the enormous Arlington student section on hand greeted Spy Ponder players coming off the ice following a 4-2 win over Malden Catholic in the MIAA Division 1 state tournament on Tuesday night, it seemed as if everything was back to normal for the time being.
Two years ago, Arlington made a magical run to the Super 8 final before having the game taken away from them. After no postseason last year, a massive crowd at the Ed Burns Arena watched as the No. 6 Spy Ponders took down No. 11 Malden Catholic, putting Arlington just two wins away from returning to a state championship game.
The Spy Ponders (18-4-2) will face No. 3 Hingham in the “quarterfinal round of the D1 tournament (Saturday, 5pm at Gallo Arena) while the Lancers’ season ends at 12-10-0.
“We had a down year (last year) because we’re Arlington. Right now, we’re 18-4-2 and lead the state in plus/minus. We were just immature in the beginning of the year and didn’t get it until Winchester came in and beat us,” said Arlington coach John Messuri of his team’s turnaround.
“We’re playing better now. We had a down year because of all this (pointing to various championship banners), we kind of get it now and we’re playing better.”
Brendan Hirsch (2 goals) got things started when he buried a loose puck 4:33 into the game with assists going to Jake Russell and Drew Fecteau. Both Jake Davies and Brendan Zinck (33 saves) dueled early and often starting with the first 15 minutes.
Malden Catholic got a PPG from Robert Ghergurvoich (assist to Nick Julian) in the final two minutes to make it 1-1 after one. Zinck was the main reason Arlington didn’t score multiple goals in the frame.
Hirsch put home a rebound with 6:34 left in the second to make it 2-1 (assists to Brendan Flynn and Russell). Less than two minutes later, Mike Dunning let an absolute rocket go from the point that whistled into the top left corner with the Spy Ponders on the power play, making it 3-1 as Killian Wright and Hirsch got the helpers.
“It feels great, it was a tough game,” said Hirsch. “It was an all around team effort, we got the job done and it feels great. The boys are going nuts in the locker room so it’s awesome, an awesome feeling.”
A fluttering shot from the point off the stick of Nick Evans with 1:41 left in the second cut it to 3-2 after two. In between the second and third periods, Messuri had a very simple message for his team.
“15 minutes to go, someone’s going home,” he said. “That’s all we told them. Win a period you keep playing, lose a period that’s it.”
The Spy Ponders got the message loud and clear and made it 4-2 with 13:04 left in the game when Hirsch hit Drew Fecteau with a phenomenal breakout pass, Feacteau carried over the blue line and fed it in front for Russell who tapped it home.
As expected, Malden Catholic began to ramp up the pressure with its season quickly fading away, but Davies stood tall in the face of a few flurries late to seal it.
The Arlington boys hockey team is fighting for a state championship again, all is right in Spy Ponder country and it should be a fun day at AHS tomorrow.
“It was awesome, all the students coming out and supporting us, it’s awesome,” said Hirsch. “Especially at our home rink, there’s nothing better playing in front of that many people. Seeing them at school tomorrow and knowing they’re going to come up and high-five ya and say congrats, it’s awesome.”
