Jokes flowed the very second Winchester boys hockey head coach Geno Khatchadourian stepped out of the locker room at John A. Ryan Arena late Sunday night.
He was in a great mood. Exhausted, but elated. And why wouldn’t he be?
For over two hours, his eleventh-seeded Red and Black battled into triple overtime with the No. 6 Belmont group that beat them twice in the regular season. Sophomore Graham Emerick (35 saves) matched every show-stopping save sophomore Ethan Bauer (34 saves) flashed for the Marauders in an all-time goalie duel – one that Belmont head coach Tim Foley called an exhibition he hasn’t seen in a long time. And both teams needed that in a revolving door of continuous odd-man rushes, each one stealing the breath of the 2,000-plus anxiously watching.
Finally, junior Caiden Brady called game with a triple-overtime winner, sending an underestimated Winchester to the state quarterfinals for a second year in a row. The emotional rollercoaster was over, and it was taxing.
That couldn’t stop Khatchadourian from riding his joy into postgame interviews with quips and charisma, though. And after a light-hearted suggestion of a “6 a.m. practice tomorrow,” that joy shined pure.
“That’s the best two words you could say,” Khatchadourian responded. “Practice tomorrow.”
Alas, that’s the simple celebratory thinking any number of the Div. 1 state tournament teams should and do feel. Coaches said all year that it was anyone’s game almost all the way down the list of qualifiers, and that’s unraveled in front of us in a way that leaves no team feeling safe.
While Winchester and Belmont gutted out a true classic, two others developed at the same time across the bracket. Eighth-seeded Xaverian needed a double-overtime winner from Jackson Morse to finally oust No. 24 Barnstable in a 2-1 win. No. 14 St. John’s of Shrewsbury, which had just lost by seven goals to Hingham late in the regular season, rallied to upset the No. 3 Harbormen in overtime, 2-1, with Brady Chenevert’s golden goal.
Khatchadourian nor Foley seemed all too surprised when told the extent of Sunday’s madness. After all, craziness is the norm everyone – more or less – expected.
“Like you see, this was a great hockey game,” Khatchadourian said. “I think the parity is getting closer and closer with everybody. This time of the year, you’ve got to play your best hockey. We saw last year, even though we were the 11-seed, you start playing well, and (you can get to TD Garden).”
“It gives a ton of respect (for the tournament),” Foley added. “Anybody who’s in this tournament, you have to have a ton of respect for, and there’s no pushover. … Any opponent we have or would’ve had in this tournament, it doesn’t matter what number you are. I really believe that. Anybody is capable in the top-20 – actually 32, but usually the top-20 – of beating anybody.”
The feeling among at least a few coaches, and many more would likely agree, is that this kind of parity is how an optimal state tournament should look. Xaverian head coach Dave Spinale thinks the ranking system could be improved without margin of victory, and Arlington’s John Messuri is hopeful of putting off league rematches in the tourney until after at least the second round. But as far as thrill factor, this is as good as it gets.
Spinale says elite goaltending and smart playstyle helped both No. 25 Central Catholic and No. 24 Barnstable take the Hawks to double-overtime, where anything can happen. It’s also what helped No. 24 Barnstable upset No. 9 Reading in double-overtime to get there, and what No. 12 Archbishop Williams used to upset No. 5 BC High in a Sunday matinee, 1-0.
Six of the eight second-round matchups were decided by a goal, and four extended into at least one overtime. The tournament has 11 one-goal games already, too, and we’re just now getting to the state quarterfinals.
“Both teams (we played) played really hard, I give their (coaching) staffs and their players a ton of credit,” Spinale said. “(The tournament) has been great. It’s certainly been a lot of fun for everybody. … I think it’s just great for hockey and the state of Massachusetts.”
In the spirit of that fun, Messuri actually cut Arlington’s practice a bit short Sunday night for the team to tune into the overtime action.
Just the day prior, his No. 7 Spy Ponders put on a heart-wrenching performance themselves by tying No. 10 St. Mary’s of Lynn with just 16 seconds left in regulation. Quinlan McNulty-Lu then capped it in overtime to help them advance with a memorable comeback.
As they watched on, much of what Messuri and his staff tells their kids rang true.
“It’s just different,” he said. “A tournament game is much different than any other game. When you make one mistake in December or January that might cost you, you kind of say, ‘Eh, it’s one or two points.’ One mistake in a tournament game could lead to the end of a season. Guys are playing so hard. Nobody wants to lose.”
The lower-seeded teams can see the opportunity, too.
Winchester, Archbishop Williams and St. John’s have seen it through, and a why-not-us mentality propels them. Archies goalie Sean Velozo, who had 34 saves in the shutout of BC High, has all the confidence that it can keep going.
The Red and Black’s Emerick does too, and teammates Brady and Chris McCarthy see the potential for anyone to rise up.
“I think any team can win,” McCarthy said. “Rankings don’t matter so much. … Playoffs, you know, everybody gives 100 percent. They really want it.”
“It’s win or go home,” Brady said. “The lower seeds, they play so hard. Last game, (No. 22) Shrewsbury played us very hard. All these lower seeds just want to win. They don’t want to go home, it’s do or die.”
No. 1 Pope Francis plays No. 8 Xaverian in the quarterfinals. No. 2 St. John’s Prep has No. 7 Arlington. No. 4 Catholic Memorial plays No. 12 Archbishop Williams, and No. 11 Winchester plays No. 14 St. John’s.
Keep expecting the unexpected. And enjoy.