WALTHAM – Some Middlesex League boys hockey coaches have said all season this is one of the best years the Liberty’s ever had.
The proof was at Bentley University Sunday night.
In an Ed Burns Coffee Pot Tournament semifinal doubleheader, the Arlington and Belmont boys hockey teams each pulled out thrillers to meet in the Doherty division’s final next Sunday at Tsongas Center (1 p.m.) for a battle of public-school supremacy.
First, the fourth-seeded Spy Ponders outlasted No. 1 Reading in double-overtime, 2-1, to get back to the tournament’s upper-division final in search of a second title in three years. The third-seeded Marauders fell in the Brinn division’s final last year, but edged out a 2-1 win over No. 2 Hingham for another crack at a title.
Middlesex League Liberty foes clash in a final for the first time in the two-division tournament’s four years.
“I don’t know which league is the best league in the state, but I’ll tell you this right now,” said Belmont head coach Tim Foley. “The Middlesex League is very competitive whenever we go outside the league, and we’re more competitive inside the league.”
Arlington enjoyed the spoils of having star junior Nolan Russell back, who’s slowly ramping up his minutes after missing some time with an injury.
Head coach John Messuri didn’t love that Russell attempted a “Michigan” goal on a 4-on-3 power play in double-overtime. But Russell had the awareness to stop the attempt when he couldn’t get the puck on his stick behind the net, switched directions, and scored on a wrap-around to his left for the game-winner 55 seconds into double-overtime.
“It feels great obviously, but I think I would’ve been happy if any of my teammates scored that,” Russell said. “Even though I didn’t play a lot, it feels nice I was out there at the end and was able to win it for our team.”
The moment ranked high in Russell’s book of hockey experiences, complementing an excellent turnaround from Arlington in a game that will count as a tie in the MIAA Div. 1 power rankings.
Reading (10-2-3) controlled much of the first, taking a 1-0 lead late in the period on a goal from Nate Mulvey. Momentum shifted after an Arlington power play in the second, heavily occupying the Rockets’ zone and tying the score on a Kurt Beck snipe from the left circle.
“Game flipped in the second, it was unbelievable,” Messuri said. “We’re excited (to get to the final). … We weathered the storm in the first, that was the difference.”
John Snider (28 saves) had 13 saves in the first and nine in the third to help Arlington get to overtime. Owen Holland (21 saves) also played well for Reading, though a Rockets penalty at the end of the first overtime allowed the 4-on-3 chance Arlington capitalized on.
Much of the same flow carried into the second game, as Hingham dominated the first 10 minutes and peppered Belmont goalie Ethan Bauer with nine shots – many of them quality looks. Bauer (27 saves) stood tall, though, and the Marauders slowly gathered their footing to eventually flip things around.
A Hingham penalty at the end of the first period put Belmont on the power play to start the second, which sophomore Liam Guilderson took advantage of with a snipe from the left circle. Just 46 seconds later, he scored again for a 2-0 lead.
“(Hingham is) a good team and they’re a deep team,” Foley said. “Once we settled in … (we felt) we can compete with (them).”
Back-and-forth play characterized the rest of the second period, and Belmont built a slew of 2-on-1 opportunities in the third that the Harbormen and goalie Mike Karo (19 saves) held off. They eventually got a goal back on a beautiful passing sequence Colin Lasch scored on with 7:58 left, but Bauer notched 13 saves around it in the frame to pull out the win.
“He works hard in the summer, he works hard during the season … the work ethic is just there,” Foley said. “He could get (player of the game) every game. We feel comfortable with him back there.”