On Thursday, March 5, the WA boys’ hockey team competed in the north division semi-finals against St. John’s High School. They played at the Tsongas Center in Lowell and lost the game 3-1.

The game got off to a quick start with the players skating smoothly around the rink. There were shots taken by many WA players, but St. John’s goalie stopped them all. There were also numerous defensive plays WA made to keep the score 0-0.

With just over five minutes to play in the first period, a WA player was sent to serve two minutes in the penalty box. St. John’s took advantage having an extra player, and scored the first point of the night.

WA continued playing hard. Sophomore goalie Christian Guglielmo followed up with a save to maintain the score. At the end of the first period WA trailed by one, outshooting St. John’s nine shots to their four.

Less than a minute into the second period St John’s scored again making the score 0-2. WA continued playing hard. A St. John’s player was sent to the penalty box midway through the second period. WA took advantage of the penalty and junior Matt Cielakie scored off of an assist from Sean Milanette.

The score remained the same throughout the rest of the second period. The intensity of the game was starting to rise and fans from both schools were chanting back and forth as the puck dropped to start the third.

Within the first few minutes of the third period, St. John’s scored again pulling ahead by two. The ghosts continued to skate hard and take numerous shots on the net in the late minutes of the game.

With just over two minutes left in the game, WA took Guglielmo out of the game to give WA six skaters to St John’s five. Although WA was able to take many shots on goal, St. John’s defense stayed strong.

The score held for the rest of the game with WA losing 3-1. WA had 34 shots on goal to St. John’s 16.

“From top to bottom this group was truly special. The seniors took it to a new level and our younger guys were all ready to step up. This season was a huge step in the right direction for WA hockey,” senior captain Jason Bunyon said.

WA hockey made it the furthest this season then in the last 12 years. They went undefeated at home (7-0-1)

“Our team had our eyes set on the prize early in the season and never looked back. Each player combined their talents and efforts to create the unified group we had this year.” senior captain Kevin Egan said.