COURTESY PHOTO BY SALEM STATE ATHLETICS
Medford’s John Needham and the Salem State Vikings will battle against Norwich on Saturday night.
By JOSHUA KUMMINS
While conference and NCAA tournaments are all underway on the hardwood, “March Madness” is really just beginning in hockey.
Last weekend was an exciting one for Lynn’s Katie Burt and Medford’s John Needham as their respective teams ― the Boston College women and Salem State men ― won conference championships and clinched automatic berths to national postseason play.
Burt and the Eagles won their second straight Women’s Hockey East title after a previous five-year drought, playing a combined three overtimes to defeat Vermont and Northeastern in the semifinal and championship games.
“It was definitely an emotional rollercoaster, but I think we battled all weekend, which was really a true testament to our team this year,” said Burt, whose Eagles entertain St. Lawrence Saturday at 1 p.m. in the national quarterfinals.
“We had a ‘never quit’ attitude. No matter what is thrown at us, we find a way to overcome it.”
Burt was at her best in the biggest moments en route to BC’s third league title in program history, while the rest of the Eagles proved their junior goaltender’s point.
After allowing Northeastern’s only goal in the first period of Sunday’s Hockey East title game, Burt stopped all 19 shots she faced over the final two frames and finished with 31 saves, her second-highest total of the season.
Burt was also named to the Hockey East All-Tournament Team for the first time in her career. She also made 28 saves in the 4-3, double-overtime triumph over Vermont.
The victory over the Huskies marked the BC’s 27th of the year, lifting it to the tournament’s No. 4 seed and another NCAA home game.
“In the past, we’ve seen some teams (in the tournament) that we’re more familiar with, so getting a new team is kind of a breath of fresh air,” said Burt, whose 90 career wins are tied for seventh-most in NCAA history. “We knew that we’d get in no matter what if we won Hockey East, but it was a relief to know we didn’t have to rely on other teams … and to get home ice.”
The Eagles’ NCAA run fell a game short last season as they defeated Northeastern and Clarkson in the first two rounds of national tournament play before falling to Minnesota in the national title game in Durham, N.H.
This year, they’re hoping to reverse that luck and extend “Trophy Season” again.
“It would be really special,” Burt said. “We made program history (with a 40-1 record) last season, and we’re looking to do that again. But, the only way we can make any more history is to win it.”
A pair of local teams are in the Division III men’s national bracket as Salem State and Endicott each won their respective conference championships. The Vikings, champions of the Massachusetts State Collegiate Athletic Conference (MASCAC) for the second straight season, head to No. 1 Norwich for a 7 p.m. Saturday puck drop.
The road to last year’s MASCAC title ran through Rockett Arena as the Vikings won 16 of their 18 conference games, but this year’s SSU team had to win it away from home.
After compiling a 15-9-3 overall record and 12 league wins this winter, the Vikings scored four straight goals in the second period of Saturday’s MASCAC title game to snag a 4-3 win at top-seeded Plymouth State.
“It was a great game and awesome to win the championship, but we’re really trying to look past that and focus on our next objective,” said Needham, whose 10 goals rank second on the team. “That win definitely gives us confidence. We’re more than happy to be here, and we’re just trying to win.”
Needham sees the opportunity to play the nation’s top team as an exciting one. In fact, the Vikings also played Norwich in NCAAs when Needham was a freshman.
“If anything, they have all the pressure on them,” Needham said. “They’re almost supposed to win the game, so we’re definitely loose and everyone’s feeling good around the locker room.”
Led by two All-MASCAC selections in freshman defenseman Callum Hofford and senior forward Brandon Platt, Salem enters the national tournament on a four-game winning streak and as winners in 10 of their last 12 games.
“We’re looking to carry momentum and confidence,” said the Vikings’ 35th-year head coach Bill O’Neill, a Lynn native. “This is a fantastic hockey team, so we’re looking at this game as a great opportunity for us … Each game, the energy, the stakes and everything is higher. The guys know that, so we’re going to see how we handle that and what we can bring into this game.”
Endicott powered its way through the Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) and boasts a 23-3-2 record, including a current 11-game winning streak. The Gulls, ranked seventh in the D3hockey.com Top 15, open their first-ever NCAA Tournament Saturday night at No. 4/5 Hobart.