high school hockey

It feels like it’s been a minute or two since the Nashoba Regional ice hockey team has hauled some serious hardware back to Bolton. Maybe a bit longer, but who’s counting?

After a bit of a lull, the Wolves will have a chance to bring home a big, shiny trophy on Sunday.

Nashoba will take to the TD Garden ice at 5:30 p.m. with the Division 3 state title in its sights, squaring off against top-seeded Scituate, a program with which it has some recent history. The Sailors ended the Wolves’ playoff run last year, stopping Nashoba, 5-3, in the quarterfinals.

Head coach Matt Biggs led the team to a 10-5-5 in the regular season, with a pair of players notch double digits in goals and a total of five reaching 10 or more points. Joseph Quinn led the way with 13 goals and 11 assists, while Dillon Kelleher added 10 markers and nine helpers.

Also contributing to a balanced Nashoba attack were forward Ryan May (7-11-18) and defensemen Dillan Lowe (2-13-15) and Collin Ruschioni (3-7-10).

After earning the 11th seed in the postseason, Nashoba won three straight games in dramatic fashion.

In a first round game, the Wolves bested No. 22 Groton-Dunstable in overtime, with Mason Holmes potting the game-winner. Then it was a 3-2 double overtime upset of No. 6 Marlboro as Quinn netted the deciding goal midway through the second extra session.

The Wolves then stunned No. 3 Medfield, 1-0, to earn a berth in the semifinals, with Quinn, a Lancaster resident, again providing the heroics with a third-period tally.

And in the semifinals, the Wolves bucked their trend of winning nailbiters. Against No. 10 Triton Regional, Nashoba put the game out of reach early with a three-goal lead and rolled to a 4-1 victory behind a pair of goals from Lowe, of Lancaster. .

Along the way, the Wolves have taken advantage of balanced scoring and outstanding play in their own zone by a stout defensive group and junior netminder Charlie Mattocks, surrendering just four goals in as many contests..

They’ll need to keep it up against a talented Scituate team that has outscored opponents 18-5 in four games in order to bring home their first championship trophy since 2016. That year, the Wolves stormed to the Central Mass. 3A crown and cruised to a 5-1 victory over Amherst-Pelham for the state 3A title.

Since then, success has been hard to come by. The Wolves reached the Central Mass. Division 3 final in 2020 — the last year of sectional tournaments — but were blanked by Wachusett Regional.

Now, they’re 45 minutes from adding a new championship chapter to their history with the opportunity to pick up a little sweet revenge along the way.

LOWELL — The magical run continues for the Nashoba Regional boys hockey team.

Entering the Division 3 state tournament as the No. 11 seed, the Wolves weren’t necessarily a favorite to make a deep run.

On Sunday afternoon, Nashoba continued to defy odds as it punched its ticket to the state title game at the TD Garden next weekend in convincing fashion, as the Wolves dominated play from start to finish in a 4-1 victory over 10th-seeded Triton Regional at the Tsongas Center in Lowell.

“As the 11-seed, I think it was a little bit of a revenge tour for us,” said Nashoba head coach Matt Biggs. “For this group, I couldn’t be prouder because they really deserve it.”

The Wolves wasted no time taking control in this one as senior Ryan May jumped on a rebound and deposited a shot into the back of the net, giving Nashoba a 1-0 lead just 49 seconds into the contest.

With 9:47 left in the opening period, senior captain Dilan Lowe scored what proved to be the eventual game-winner when his shot hit the chest of Triton goalie Wes Rollins’ chest before jumping over the netminder’s shoulder into the back of the net. Nashoba took a 2-0 lead into the locker after 20 minutes as the Wolves outshot the Vikings, 11-6, in the opening period.

“It is huge,” Biggs said of his team’s fast start. “As much as we try to get the boys prepared playing on ice like this, in a rink like this and a game like this, the nerves are there so when it goes in really early you can feel the weight get lifted a little bit.”

In the middle frame, senior Joseph Quinn scored a power play goal as Nashoba extended its lead to 3-0 heading into the final period.

Triton got on the board with 12:59 left in the third period when sophomore Mason Colby scored on an assist from classmate Josh Hersey.

But, like he has done all year,

shut the door on any chances of a comeback. Mattocks wasn’t tested often but came up with 14 saves for the Wolves.

“(Mattocks) has been incredible,” Biggs said. “As a junior, he has stepped up big for us. If you look at his playoff numbers, he is in the mid 90s and his goals against average has to be in the low ones, so he has taken us this far if you want to be honest.”

Nashoba put the game away when Lowe scored an empty net goal with 41.9 seconds left remaining to send the fans into a frenzy.

The Wolves now get the opportunity to avenge last year’s season ending loss to Scituate when they play the top-seeded Sailors in the Division 2 state title game to be played at the TD Garden at a time to be determined next Sunday.