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The state tournament can by exhilarating, but it can also be cruel at the same time. After edging Wachusett Regional (18-2-1), the 16th seed, 5-4 in a Round of 32 Division 1 game, the Winchester High boys hockey team (12-10-2, 17th seed) lost a competitive Sweet 16 battle to Catholic Memorial (19-3-1), the top seed, at Allston’s Warrior Ice Arena, the practice home of the Boston Bruins, 5-2 on Feb. 28.
The Winchester boys skated successfully with the Knights, and that extra effort ended up taking its toll on the top seed in the Elite 8 game, when St. John’s of Shrewsbury (14-8-1), the eighth seed, upset them, 4-3 at Framingham’s Loring Arena on March 4.
“I thought we played well for 45 minutes,” said Coach Gino Khachadourian. “We did whatever it took – blocking shots, clearing pucks, generating chances – to get a win, but unfortunately it did not go our way. CM is a very good team, but we skated with them the entire way. I’m proud of the way we competed to give it our all.”
Senior captain Caiden Brady and Gus Gustafson netted the Winchester goals. Eli Krogmeier, Leo Dagostino and Axel Osborn chipped in with one assist apiece. Junior goalie Graham Emerick certainly did his part to keep it close, coming up with 30 saves.
To get to this point of the season, it takes a commitment to persevere, when the body sometimes would say no. The Red & Black had that commitment, led by their veterans.
“Our senior leadership – Macklin O'Flynn, Axel Osborn, Thomas Lisy, Alistair Dattoli, Liam Connelly, Jack Burkhart, Caiden Brady, Brett Daniels and Gus Gustafson – was tremendous throughout the season,” said Khachadourian. “They did a great job in developing the younger players (to adapt) quickly into our culture. We relied on (the seniors) heavily this year, and they answered the call every time by scoring some big goals and making plays. We thank them for their commitment and dedication to the program that they consistently had the last four years.”
Going forward into next season, Khachadourian wants the returning players to continue to play the game “the right way.”
“We want to pick up right where we left off, while sticking to our style and systems,” the coach added. “Our program has had a lot of success the past few seasons, and we want to continue to build off that success in order to maintain the positive culture. But it won’t be easy, because we play in one of the toughest (Middlesex) leagues in the state, not to mention playing (an always) challenging non-league schedule, but our guys are always ready to take it head-on.”
Joe McConnell is a longtime, award-winning sports editor for numerous North Shore publications. He began covering Winchester sports for the News in November 2024 and is currently its Sports Editor. He can be reached at editor@winchesternews.org.
