The Boston Latin School boys’ hockey team had tears in their eyes as they clutched the Division 2 state championship trophy in front of a roaring students section at TD Garden on March 17, late Sunday night.
Since their opponent, Tewksbury High School, entered as the No. 1 seed and BLS the No. 11 seed, the Wolfpack were underdogs. Having a lot at stake, they hoped to secure their first state championship win since 2005. After Tewksbury scored just three minutes into the first period, the Wolfpack started out playing a defensive game. After that first goal, however, Wolfpack goalie Oliver Murphy (III) was a brick wall.
The second period was much like the first as Tewksbury secured their second goal two minutes in with a clean, fast snipe. Down two goals, the scrappy Latin team continued to press on. The momentum shifted when left winger Ryan McHugh (III) scored a late second-period goal.
Latin proved themselves to truly be a third-period team when they hit the ice in this final period. A drive by McHugh left an excellent rebound for center Billy Cunniffe (II), who was able to bury it into the net. With five minutes left, both teams were square at 2-2. Although Tewksbury called a timeout to try to calm things down, there was no stopping the Wolfpack, as captain Aidan Fitzpatrick (I) roofed his own rebound at the right post to make it 3-2 with just under four minutes to play. As the Latin student sections howled for the first lead of the game, captain Matt Carrara (I) broke into the zone, evaded the defenders, and secured the Latin victory at 4-2.
“They’ve carried us all year, those two players,’’ said BLS boys’ varsity hockey head coach Frank Woods about Fitzpatrick and Carrara. “It was fitting to have those two be the guys to get us the lead and extend it.’’ Although the game was delayed for two hours as previous games ran over time, no one regretted watching the Wolfpack make history. Whether it was the luck of St. Patrick or, more likely, the incredible determination and iron-clad willpower of the Wolfpack’s players, they sealed their place as triumphant underdogs with this fantastic upset.
