Reading, MA – There was one Elite 8 spot up for grabs in D1 and MassNZ was in the house to find out who would claim it. We were back at the venerable Burbank Arena to see the Reading Rockets hosting the Archbishop Williams Bishops. The atmosphere pregame was like nothing we have seen all season. Despite arriving 30 minutes early, we were already late as the parking lot was close to full and the student sections were already seated, fully packed and ready to go. There were droves of police directing traffic and working crowd control inside: this game mattered and both schools knew it. It was LOUD inside as both teams brought out big cheering sections and we even got a few pregame daps from the student section on our way in and a couple selfies to boot, which was a first: shoutout to the boys. We found our seats near the roof as the women’s team finished their practice and there were Reading youngsters lining the glass, climbing on top of anything they could find to get a better look. Once the teams were announced and the anthem played: it was hockey time.
In the first period, the territorial advantage belonged to Reading as they engaged their forecheck early and often and stepped up the physicality from jump street. Archbishop Williams struggled to exit their zone which led to several Grade A looks, but fortunately, sophomore Austin Gaylord was there to kick them out. The game continued and the Rockets maintained their advantage – they were heavy on pucks and activating the cycle, which led to more chances. The dam finally broke eight minutes in as senior captain Jack Melly worked the puck out of the corner and found junior Jack Sullivan who was headed to the net. Sullivan found the five-hole on the backhand and it was 1-0 Rockets. The Bishops made a push shortly after and put the pressure on but Reading would follow their first tally with another just two minutes later. The Bishops were granted a power play but senior Nate Vitarisi stole the puck in neutral ice and cruised in on the breakaway. He hesitated and slowed his progress using a nice deke move to his backhand for the tuck at the back post: 2-0 was our score. After this goal, the Bishops rallied to keep the momentum flat and the game took on a back-and-forth, trading-rushes style. It turned out that Archies would have the last laugh as the clock was ticking down and junior Nick Marini went behind the net to retrieve a loose puck and found senior Brody Kabilian at the dot and he fired home a one-timer to make it 2-1 with 2.7 seconds remaining. The momentum was all on their side as the teams went to the locker rooms.
In the second period, Archies was able to turn the tables as they got sticks and bodies in the way of the Reading offense and bottled them up on their way through the neutral zone. For the opening minutes of the period, most of it was spent around the red line and in the Bishops attacking zone. As the period progressed, the Rockets stabilized and both teams created quality looks as the next goal would be crucial. It was a dogfight as both teams were playing hard-nosed, pack-a-lunchpail hockey, which was refreshing to watch. Both teams had chances in this frame: there were power plays, turnovers and odd man looks but both goalies stood tall and refused to let anything through. After 30 minutes of play it was Reading 2, Archbishop Williams 1.
In the third period, it was anybody’s game and both squads were emptying the tank. The pace was frenetic, the crowd was loud: it was a great high school hockey atmosphere. The Bishops gained the early edge on possession but the Rockets battled back and created several quality looks of their own. It felt like the clock was ticking slower and slower because of all the stoppages with icings and offsides calls. The game remained 2-1 in favor of Reading and it took on more of the shape that the Rockets wanted: the plays around the net were minimal and the zone exits were quick. The clock continued to tick and there were only a few minutes left. We got down to the final 1:34 of play and the Bishops called timeout to muster one last push. The Rockets had control of the puck in their own zone but were unable to get a long clear and the puck ended up on the stick of Jack Healy in the neutral zone and he fired it towards the net. It hit a Reading player at the top of the circle and took a weird bounce which found its way into the back of the net: we were all square at 2-2 with 47.4 left. The Archies crowd went balistic and that momentum powered them through the final few seconds so we were headed to 4×4 OT.
In the overtime, Reading took charge immediately and created a golden chance on the doorstep that was swept aside. Archies would create one of their own a minute later before Reading would work another low-cycle play that somehow stayed out of the net. The clock continued to wind until the Rockets called a timeout with 4:57 remaining in the period. Once play resumed Reading was more fresh and picked up their aggressive play. With just under three minutes to go, Bishops senior Dylan Cole lost his stick and pinned a puck to the wall in the neutral zone. He saw his teammate Steve O’Malley ready to sprint into the zone and swiftly kicked it his way. The Dorchester native would do the rest. He gained the blue line with space to operate and he wired one under the crossbar for the game winner with 2:43 on the clock. The Bishops went absolutely wild with nearly the entire team climbing the half glass to celebrate with their classmates. In this season of upsets, the 12-seed defeated the 5-seed in the D1 bracket and the Bishops advance to take on Arlington in the Elite 8.
Three Stars:
- F Steve O’Malley, Archbishop Williams
- G Austin Gaylord, Archbishop Williams
- D Nate Vitarisi, Reading