GREENFIELD — With a 4-0 win over Boston Latin Academy in the MIAA Division 4 statewide tournament, the Greenfield hockey team advanced through the Round of 32 for the first time on Thursday at Collins-Moylan.
Since the MIAA switched to the new statewide format in 2022, Greenfield had lost in the Round of 32 every season. Greenfield started slow against the 20th-seeded Dragons. The ominous cloud of first round exits hung over Greenfield for the first few minutes of the game.
Greenfield’s Luca Siano with puck vs Boston Latin Academy Thursday night in Greenfield. PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
Greenfield’s Chayton Massa looks to pass vs Boston Latin Academy Thursday night in Greenfield. PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
Greenfield’s Chase Zraunig handles the puck vs Boston Latin Academy Thursday night in Greenfield. PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
Greenfield’s Luca Siano scores in the first period vs Boston Latin Academy Thursday night in Greenfield. PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
Greenfield’s Shawn Beckwith looks to center the puck vs Boston Latin Academy’s net Thursday night in Greenfield. PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
Greenfield’s Luca Siano looks to shoot vs Boston Latin Academy’s net Thursday night in Greenfield. PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
Greenfield’s Nolan Kalinowski chases the puck behind Boston Latin Academy’s net Thursday night in Greenfield. PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
Greenfield’s Chase Zraunig is harassed in front of Boston Latin Academy’s net Thursday night in Greenfield. PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo 
Greenfield celebrates a second period goal vs Boston Latin Academy Thursday night in Greenfield. PAUL FRANZ / Staff Photo
“It took us 15 minutes to get going,” Greenfield coach Adam Bouchard said. “You could definitely see and feel, we talked about it in the room, we expected it. The home game, Round of 32, we’ve never made it out of this round in the past. A little bit of nervousness not to make mistakes.”
The 13th-seeded Green Wave advances to play No. 4 Wilmington on the road on Saturday at 2:45 p.m. The Wildcats play home games at the Breakaway Ice Center in Tewksbury.
“They are fourth in the state for reason,” Bouchard said. “They play a very heavy league schedule out east. A lot of Division 1 teams they play along the way. They are big, heavy and fast. They are a good high school hockey team.”
Goalie Ben Johnston made several saves in the first period to keep things even for Greenfield. Johnston made 38 saves in the shutout. The sophomore hadn’t made a start in net in over a month. Jumping into a high stakes game after a layoff did not phase Johnson.
“I had a lot of confidence going into it from past games that we’ve played this year,” Johnston said. “I’ve been doing lessons every week in Agawam. It was amazing. We hadn’t gotten out of the first round at states. I had to do it for the seniors.”
Jack Laurie netted a hat trick for Greenfield. His second period goal from just inside the blue line gave Greenfield a 2-0 lead at the 7:54 mark of the second period. Laurie’s shot from the blue line ricocheted off several players before finding the net.
“That was complete luck,” Laurie said. “But I’ll take it. I think it hit like three people’s skates and somehow went in.”
Boston Latin Academy is located in Roxbury. The Dragons were a highly unfamiliar opponent for the Green Wave.
“We didn’t know what to expect,” Laurie said. “We just came out hard like we do every game. We had more in the tank than they did . They couldn’t keep up end to end.”
Laurie launched two empty net goals from the defensive zone in the third period to put the game out of reach for the Green Wave. Sometimes practicing on open nets from close to 200 feet away can come up in a game situation.
“I shoot those all the time in practice,” Laurie said. “I’m pretty confident when I do it.”
Luca Siano opened the scoring with a wrister right in-between the circles for the Green Wave with two minutes, 51 seconds left in the first period. Shawn Baumann and Nico Siano assisted on the goal. Greenfield seemed to settle in after Siano’s goal.
“We were able to get through he adversity as a team,” Bouchard said. “Getting out of that first period up 1-0 was a huge piece of that. Once the second and third period started that was the Green Wave hockey we are used to seeing. Hard, heavy, forecheck.”
Greenfield went 5-for-5 on the penalty-kill against the Dragons. Brady Poreda and Shawn Beckwith assisted on Laurie’s second goal. Nico Siano and Luca Siano assisted on the first empty netter for Greenfield. Baumann and Beckwith assisted on Laurie’s third goal in the third period.
