They’re set for Garden party
The Sandwich boys’ hockey team has taken no solace in having been there and done that at TD Garden.
Champions in 2022, the Blue Knights were denied by Norwell in Division 4 last March.
Looking every bit as formidable in its quest for a third straight trip to Boston, a steady senior class has Sandwich (11-2-1) embracing the lessons learned from both a double-overtime win over Watertown in 2022 and an OT loss against Norwell in 2023.
“I think winning it our sophomore year made it hurt more our junior year,” said alternate captain Shane Corcoran. “You know how good it feels to win. We know it’s something we can work towards this year.
“I want to prove we’re not one-and-done. That we can win multiple.”
Corcoran, committed to Assumption for lacrosse, is among several mainstays for the Blue Knights who’ve logged big minutes in each of the last three seasons. The anchor on D, he shares an “A” on his sweater with prolific right winger Chris Cardillo, who’s amassed 80 goals in 79 career games (132 total points). Team captain Jack Connolly is on an exclusive list of players who’ve scored at TD Garden in multiple seasons; the left winger tallied the winner against Watertown and scored again vs. Norwell.
“Our team knows what it takes to get there,” said Connolly, who’s closing in on 100 career points (50-47—97). “We know what it takes to win, but we know the mistakes you can’t have at the Garden.”
Five of Sandwich’s top-six forwards are seniors, along with each of their top four defensemen. But the Blue Knights are green in goal following the graduation of Mitchell Norkevicius, the team’s backbone in net for each championship run.
Sandwich has turned to goalie by committee, with juniors Luke Greeley and Quinn Johnston, as well as sophomore Sean Collins to replace “Nork,” the Cape & Islands MVP last winter who now plays club hockey at Bowling Green.
“We’ve got the same confidence in Luke, Quinn and Sean, we’ve just got to play our game,” Cardillo said.
The Blue Knights are helmed by alum Jordan Mohre (Class of 1999). A hockey lifer who fondly recalls attending Sandwich games in the 1980s with his father, Mohre gradually made his way up from volunteer assistant before taking the head job for the 2008-09 season — just after the Blue Knights won their first state title under coach Derackk Curtis.
Like their coach, Cardillo, Connolly and Corcoran have grown up around Sandwich hockey — all three of their older brothers skated for the Blue Knights at Gallo Arena.
“Those guys made them want to play Sandwich hockey,” Mohre said. “Amidst all that culture, we had some good teams. We might not have won state championships or hung banners, but we learned how to compete with our best players being the guys who had the highest compete level at practice. I think that wore off on the younger guys.”
Among other new challenges for Sandwich? The Blue Knights now compete in the South Shore League, a conference featuring a foe needing no introduction in Norwell. When Sandwich won it all in 2022, the title run included an epic double-overtime win over the Clippers in the state semis.
In what is shaping up to be a banner year for hockey on the Cape — Nauset is ranked atop the most recent MIAA power rankings in Division 3, with Nantucket second in Division 4 and Sandwich checking in at No. 4 — Mohre said it was important to him to keep those regional rivalries intact.
“We might not be in that league any more, but we’ve been able to keep those relationships,” he said.
Sandwich took the first meeting, 2-1, in December. The rematch is Saturday at The Bog (5:40 p.m.).
“Our sophomore year we took something big away from them, our junior year they took something huge away from us,” Cardillo said. “It’s a battle of emotions every time we play.”
Ice chips
■ Prior to the state tournament last year, Burbank Ice Arena general manager Ed Peduto gave the goaltenders a slice of pizza for every shutout. He’d surprise those that man the last line of defense with a fresh pie on the ice, before practice, or in the hallway by the locker room.
The tradition has stuck.
“His rink pizza is as good as it gets anywhere,” said Reading coach Mark Doherty.
“We’re lucky we have him. He’s terrific. He’s a real good human being, a good person. This is his job, but he’s fully invested.”
Peduto has been busy keeping the pizza oven hot, as the seventh-ranked Rockets (7-3-0) have posted four shutouts and only surrendered 14 goals this season.
“We have a selfless group of kids overall. If we stick together, we’ve got a puncher’s chance against anyone,” Doherty said.
■ Norwell senior Nolan Petrucelli and Cohasset/Hull junior Luke Dunham each recorded their 100th point this week. Petrucelli has been a stalwart for the Clippers and played an integral part in the Division 4 state championship last season. Dunham is also the quarterback and captain of the Hull football team.