BILLERICA — Saturday’s 5-1 win over top-seeded Stoneham was nearly 50 years in the making for the Winthrop High boys hockey team.
The Vikings last appearance in the state championship was in 1976. A mere 49 years later, Winthrop booked its date at TD Garden against No. 6 Dedham in the Div. 4 finals.
Philip Boncore potted a pair of goals for Winthrop as Michael Holgerson, Joseph Pumphret and Nick Romano rounded out the scoring at Chelmsford Forum to secure the victory.
Seeing a top seed fall in the Final Four was no surprise to the Vikings. Last winter, Winthrop dropped a heartbreaker in the semifinals as the No. 1 seed. They flipped the script on Saturday night.
“Everybody rallies around it … our eyes are on that prize right now,” Winthrop head coach Dale Dunbar said. “If we play our game, we can do it.”
The Vikings (15-5-2) got an early start, capitalizing on a power play minutes into the contest.
Holgerson stuffed a loose puck over the goal line to provide the Vikings with a 1-0 lead. It looked like Noah Dinan got a pad on the second-chance opportunity, but the puck trickled over the goal line to light the lamp.
Winthrop doubled its lead as a result of another net front scrum. This time, Pumphret cleaned up a rebound with 6:46 to play in the first to put the top-seeded Spartans (17-7-0) on their heels. Holgerson threaded the puck to the slot from beyond the goal line to catalyze the ensuing puck battle as the Vikings nursed a 2-0 lead into the second.
Winthrop quickly added to its lead in the middle frame. On another power play, Boncore tapped in a rebound to provide the Vikings with a 3-0 cushion. The initial shot came off the tape of Paul Ferrara from the right point.
“We knew coming into the game we were playing our hockey, and if we kept playing our hockey we’d be fine,” Boncore said.
Stoneham responded to the score on its first shot of the period at the 11:18 mark — a shot-pass from Michael Ciriello to an uncovered Daniel DiPrizio.
But the Vikings got it back 48 seconds later, and Boncore’s second of the period was a rocket. The senior captain one-timed a cross crease feed from Pumphret to place Winthrop back into the driver’s seat. Winthrop carried a 5-1 lead into the final stanza with the help of a late goal at the 1:29 mark by Romano.
When the final buzzer sounded, it started to get real for Boncore. Surrounded by a rowdy group of Winthrop student support, the senior took in the memorable moment.
“It’s a huge deal,” Boncore said. “They’re here for us, and I love it. I’m speechless.”