RANDOLPH – A three-goal effort from Brody Kabilian helped propel Archbishop Williams to a 6-1 boy’s hockey victory over Needham in the first round of the Division 1 State Tournament.
The victory allowed Archbishop Williams to avenge an early exit in the 2024 D1 Tournament when the then-five seeded Bishops fell 2-0 to Canton. Head coach Chris Cunningham said that memory stuck with his team all season.
“It’s a weight off of our shoulders,” Cunningham said. “It’s been all over our minds and we knew we had to put the pedal to the ground right away. We weren’t going to take anything for granted.”
The beginning of the first period was physical, with neither defense allowing any quality chances. That ended midway through the period, when senior captain Finn Kelly sent a saucer pass to sophomore Jack Healy Jr., who fired it off the post and into the net.
A few minutes later, Kabilian sprung loose and beat Rockets goaltender Connor Espinola on the glove side. This was only the junior’s fifth game of the season due to multiple injuries and he said the process to return was a grind, but his electric performance made it worth it.
“The rehab was tough, it was really brutal,” Kabilian said. “It builds your hunger, you want it more and you want to go out there and show what you can do.”
The second period would feature a strong start from the Rockets, who generated several high-quality chances. However, Bishops goaltender Sean Velozo was able to handle the challenge.
“He was sharp when he needed to be,” Cunningham said of Velozo. “He handled pucks well, there were no rebounds. He did a really good job.”
Eventually, a battle in the slot allowed Sean O’Malley to fire it home and extend the lead to three. A few minutes later, Kabilian ascended on a juicy rebound to extend the lead again.
“It popped right out to me and I just had to bury it,” Kabilian said. “There’s not much else to it.”
Senior Patrick Hampton made it 5-0 a few minutes later when he nailed the top corner on a snap shot. That rounded out the scoring in the middle period and the Bishops led comfortably.
The Rockets would respond well in the third period, getting on the board with a Tommy Peabody tally. However, Velozo and the Bishops defense locked in from there and Kilian added his third on a breakaway midway through to make it 6-1.
“It’s the best feeling,” Kabilian said. “Just seeing all your guys getting fired up and the parents in the crowd, you can’t beat it.”
The Bishops advance to play either BC High or Chelmsford in the second round. Ahead of the matchup, Cunningham said the opponent is irrelevant and that the Bishops’ play will determine their future.
“We have no opponents, we have ourselves,” Cunningham said. “No one else exists, no refs, no fans and no opponent. We are just worried about meeting our standard.”