WELLESLEY – Zero-for-January. That scenario appeared likely for a team stumbling into the most important month of the season.
Down a goal in the final minute at Zapustas Rink in Randolph – and with just two wins all season – Wellesley’s boys hockey team seemed doomed to another defeat.
The Raiders had lost their previous seven games, all in January, before Aiden Reilly and Beckham Gould turned the season around. Reilly’s goal with 48 seconds left in regulation and Gould’s tally in overtime handed Wellesley a 3-2 victory over Braintree on Jan. 29.
The team hasn’t lost since.
“It started with a huge win over Braintree,” said senior defenseman Patrick “Paddy” Maxwell after his team defeated Natick 3-2 on Wednesday night. “Our confidence level was low during that stretch early in the season. Once we beat a good team like Braintree, it just showed all the guys in there (the locker room) that we’re talented enough to beat anyone.”
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
Wellesley was outscored 40-18 in January, but the streak-buster led to another OT win – over Norwood three nights later. The Raiders’ current five-game winning run includes victories over teams (Framingham and Natick) that decisively defeated them in consecutive games last month.
The Raiders are 8-10-1, which leaves them three points shy of clinching a playoff berth. But because they are in the top 32 in the MIAA rankings – right at No. 32 – Wellesley is currently in post-season position.
A faraway thought a month ago.
“We’re playing with more passion,” Reilly said. “Forward, defending, goalie – it’s all clicking now. It took a second, and we got a lot of young guys, but it’s finally clicking.”
Before the team’s final home game, Wellesley honored its 11 seniors at Boston Sports Institute. But this was not a veteran team when the season began.
“We had so many new kids,” head coach Paul Donato said. “We only had three kids who played a year ago, and it’s taken them a while to get adjusted to the system. We turned the corner a couple of weeks ago and now we’re a tough team to play against.”
Natick also has a pile of seniors – 13 of them. The Redhawks had their seven-game unbeaten streak ended Wednesday, but they will finish as the top team in the Bay State Conference – regardless of division – for the first time in more than 40 years.
With Sam Hubbard’s 26 goals – one of the top totals in the state – and Alex Peck’s playmaking, Natick made program history.
“That was the team’s goal and they made it happen,” said head coach Karl Infanger.
Natick is ranked No. 15 and tied No. 14 Arlington Catholic last week and will host No. 9 Xaverian on Friday.
After the 11 senior Raiders presented flowers to their parents and posed for pictures, 12th-grader Teddy Yang sang the national anthem before the opening faceoff. After a scoreless first period, Wellesley struck twice in the second as senior goalie Ryan Ocampo kept Natick off the board.
Reilly made it 1-0 before Gould stayed hot (5 points in a win Saturday over Framingham) when he picked the top corner just a minute and 12 seconds later.
Peck broke the shutout, however, when he ripped a shot over Ocampo’s shoulder midway through the final period to make it 2-1. But Cole Adams got the goal back on the power play with 3:59 left.
Just 35 seconds later, Grady Flynn pulled Natick again to within a goal before Ocampo helped the Raiders survive some tough moments to avenge a 6-2 loss to the Redhawks on Jan. 8. After the final buzzer, the Raiders piled on Ocampo as their winning ways continued.
“That’s just an all-around great win,” Maxwell said. “It feels so good, because we know how the first game of the season went. It feels good to get a win against a top rival.”
“You know when you play Natick, they’re so well coached and they’re so tough,” Donato said. “You have to play for 45 minutes and you can never count them out. Those kids compete so hard. They force you to raise your level. Our kids matched that intensity. We were lucky to come out with an extra goal. Just a great high school hockey game.”
Tim Dumas is a multimedia journalist for the Daily News. He can be reached at tdumas@wickedlocal.com. Follow him on Twitter @TimDumas.
