Braintree nips Weymouth in barnburner, 1-0
A good night’s sleep will reveal quite a few bruises for the Braintree boys hockey team after an excruciatingly physical Div. 1 first round battle at Zapustas Arena on Wednesday night.
But no amount of soreness can overshadow taking down a bitter league rival in the playoffs, especially one many pegged as a strong candidate to send the higher-seeded Wamps packing early.
Behind a late goal from Charlie DiMartino at the backside post, as well as a tenacious defensive stand throughout, 11th-seeded Braintree (13-6-2) overcame a taxing defensive effort from No. 22 Weymouth (12-9-2) en route to 1-0 win in front of a crowd of nearly 1,000. DiMartino’s goal off a beautiful pass from Jake Joyce with 3:51 left ended a sensational shutout bid from Wildcats goalie Grady Salfity (24 saves), sending that crowd into a frenzy after pressure mounted through 41 minutes of scoreless hockey.
Braintree’s defense absorbed a bevy of shots and Ryan Cochrane (17 saves) held onto his own shutout for the win, even staving off a 6-on-4 disadvantage over the last minute of action. It was the first time in three games against Weymouth this year that the Wamps didn’t need overtime to win, and they move on to play the winner of No. 6 Arlington/No. 27 Westford Academy in the next round.
“It was a great, great high school hockey game, just two good teams battling hard,” said Braintree head coach Dave Fasano. “We’re the 11 seed, we’re the higher seed, and everyone looks like we’re the underdog because Weymouth is coming in 11-2-1 (over their last 14 games). … We knew we were going to be in for a tough game tonight. So kudos to our kids, we kept battling, battling, battling — we knew it was probably going to be a one-goal game.”
By controlling play most of the way following a dead-even first period, the pressure and opportunities the Wamps created gave off the feeling they would break through first. Kyle Hutchinson’s speed produced four of five breakaways that Salfity withstood, though, and the Wildcats’ physicality broke up everything else Braintree brought to gap.
But Weymouth turnovers against Braintree’s forecheck gave the Wamps the majority of possession on the night, and one with under five minutes to go hurt the most. Joyce had time at the point to survey any openings, and he threaded a slim passing lane across the ice to the right post for an unmarked DiMartino to tap in.
“It’s just the best feeling ever, rivalry game in our home barn,” DiMartino said. “The puck came back to the point … they left backdoor wide-open so I was just screaming for it. You could barely hear me because the place was freaking going nuts. So he passed it to me and it went in.”
Much of the defensive intensity was fueled by that electrifying crowd, which blew up right when DiMartino’s goal found the back of the net. Every one of the many big hits both teams laid on each other was met with a roar, as were the countless blocked shots the Braintree defense ate up as it emphasized closing the gap and blocking shots this week in practice.
“It’s awesome,” DiMartino said. “Everybody was coming to school, talking about it in school, hyping the game up (beforehand). It’s just awesome.”
Cochrane, a three-year junior varsity goalie who was called upon most of the year after star Jack Fitzgerald went down with an injury, delivered on everything else for the shutout.
“When it’s 0-0 in the last five minutes, anything can happen,” Fasano said. “(Special teams) really locked it down there at the end. And our goaltender, he wasn’t the starter coming into the season. … He’s come in this year and really played well.”