Hingham boys’ hockey rides outburst to Division 1 Elite Eight

Hingham 3 Braintree 0

CANTON — Fashionably late, the Hingham boys’ hockey team quickly made up for lost time on the offensive end.

The eighth-seeded Harbormen surgically struck for three goals in less than eight minutes in the second period, and that was all they needed to beat No. 24 Braintree, 3-0, in Monday’s Division 1 second-round matchup at the Canton Ice House.

For the first time since the tournament moved to a statewide format, Hingham (15-7-2) advanced to the Elite Eight.

“Somehow it takes us a little longer than most teams to score goals, but I’m happy we got the first one,” Hingham coach Tony Messina said.

Conal Mulkerrin scored 4:30 into the second for a 1-0 lead. Hingham took advantage of its lone power play of the night with Cam McKenna’s strike at 8:49. Paul Dzavik completed the burst at 11:52, as the Harbormen improved to 2-0-1 against Braintree (9-12-1) this season. Mike Karo stopped all nine shots he faced for his second shutout in as many rounds for the Harbormen, who blanked No. 25 Burlington, 5-0, in their postseason opener.

Next up for Hingham is top-seeded St. John’s Prep (19-3-0) on Thursday (Stoneham Arena, 7:30 p.m.) — a team the Harbormen defeated, 2-1, in just their second game of the season on Dec. 16 in Middleton.

“They’re a fast team,” Messina said. “We beat them, but that just means they’re going to be coming at us much harder.”

One additional advantage Hingham could have against the Prep is the return of top-line center Travis Rugg, who missed the first month of the season with an upper-body injury. Rugg, who assisted on the power-play goal Monday, has 10-18–28 totals in 17 games back in the lineup.