WEST SPRINGFIELD — It wasn’t looking good for the Greenfield hockey team in overtime on Wednesday against East Longmeadow in the Western Mass. Class A semifinals. 

The top-seeded Green Wave tied things 3-3 early in the third period which led to overtime, but through seven minutes of the extra period, it was all Spartans. 

Fourth-seeded East Longmeadow peppered Greenfield keeper Cooper Smith throughout the 4-on-4 extra time period, but Smith — who finished the game with 30 saves — came up with stop after stop, even when the Spartans went on the power play, to keep the Wave alive. 

While East Longmeadow had the majority of chances, Greenfield’s Jake Jurek needed just one. 

Jurek came up with the puck with just over one minute to go in overtime, raced down the ice and beat an East Longmeadow defender to the net before slipping a shot into the Spartan goal with 59 seconds remaining in the first OT period, sending the Green Wave to the sectional championship game with a 4-3 victory at the Olympia Ice Center. 

“I was flying down the ice,” Jurek said. “I was gassed. I had been out there for about four minutes. I had one last stride. I burned the kid, toe dragged, shot it and it went in. It felt amazing.” 

Greenfield (12-7-1) advanced to play No. 2 Westfield in the finals. The Green Wave beat the Bombers, which took down Minnechaug 4-2 in Wednesday’s other semifinal, twice during the regular season. That final will take place on Saturday at a time to be determined. 

Based on the regular season, a wide range of options could have played out on Wednesday. 

Greenfield knocked off East Longmeadow 2-1 the first time the two teams saw each other earlier in the month, but last week the Spartans defeated the Green Wave 10-1. 

Greenfield coach Adam Bouchard said despite the big loss, he expected a close, competitive game on Wednesday with a Western Mass. championship game spot on the line. 

“They took it to us the other night,” Bouchard said. “We knew we owed them a receipt tonight. We had a game plan which was effort and execution. We expected it to go to overtime. Outside of that 10-1 game every game against East Longmeadow these last few years has been a one goal or overtime game. This is the exact kind of game we expected.” 

A miscommunication by Greenfield led to the opening goal of the game. 

The Green Wave turned it over in their own end to Spartan Joseph Mazza, who quickly sent it across the crease to Owen Reid for the wide open tap in, giving East Longmeadow a 1-0 lead just 3:03 into the game. 

The Spartans (11-8-1) didn’t take long to strike again. East Longmeadow’s Brayden Erickson drove to the net and was checked hard, but the puck slipped back to Connor Brewster who was able to snipe it into the left corner to take a 2-0 lead with 8:13 to go in the period. 

The power play got Greenfield back in the game. The Wave went on the man up late in the first period and Jurek did the rest. 

With the power play stagnating, Jurek retrieved the puck in the Greenfield end, rushed up the ice himself by weaving through the Spartan defense before putting a back hand top shelf for an unassisted goal that cut the lead to 2-1 with 3:53 remaining in the period. 

“We were just picking each other up on the bench after being down two [goals],” Jurek said. “We got one back and that felt good. I took it down, it was a 2-on-1. I just lifted it back hand top shelf.” 

The Green Wave tied things on the power play in the second. Greenfield controlled possession this time around and after a scramble in front of the East Longmeadow goal, Matt Garvin was able to smash it home to tie things 2-2 with 7:53 to go in the frame. Shawn Baumann was credited with an assist on the play. 

The Spartans kept taking penalties late in the second, including a five minute major. While killing off that major, East Longmeadow took another penalty, leading to a Greenfield 5-on-3. 

Playing two men down, the Spartans got the puck out of their own end and East Longmeadow’s Carson LePage tipped it away from a Wave defender and went in on a breakaway. He finished the chance to give the Spartans a 3-2 lead with 2:13 to go in the second period. 

Greenfield came out with life to start the third. Jurek collected the puck in the corner, fed it to Garvin at the point and he rifled a shot in to knot things 3-3 with 13:50 to go in the third. 

The Green Wave went on the power play with 2:20 to go in regulation but were unable to find the game-winner until Jurek’s OT heroics.

“This was a fast, hard, physical game,” Bouchard said. “A few turnovers and mistakes on both sides caused some goals to go in. To come into overtime, get the players in the positions we needed them to get in and we’re lucky to have number two [Jurek] here to show everyone who number two is.”