Greenfield Hockey defeats Lunenburg 3-2 to win first Division IIIA state title in program history

WORCESTER – When the Greenfield hockey team was fined 36 seconds from the Division IIIA State Championship and leading Lunenburg by a goal, the team did not panic.

Instead, the Green Waves killing unit went back to work one last time and did what it had been doing all season.

They killed the sentence.

Behind several key stops by goalkeeper Riley Drew and a late goal by senior captain Bryan Baumann with 1:31 remaining, Greenfield won 3-2 to bring home the first State title of the program.

When we made it short, we were pretty confident of what we needed to do, said Green Wave head coach Adam Bouchard.

We knew we had to get the puck out, we knew they were going to try to grab it and shoot hard in the point, he added. They knew they had to stand in front of certain plans, which they did.

With the draw for two and overtime starting to seem increasingly likely, Baumann had a pass, gestured to create some separation and pulled a wrist in front of Blue Knights goalkeeper Nick Granger to probably score the greatest goal in the history of Green Wave.

By the end of the match, we were better conditioned, so we were really going to soften the blue line on them, and they couldn't break out or anything, "said Baumann." I picked up the puck in the center of the ice, only one defender to beat, he backed away very deeply so I used it as a screen and I tore a low shot and I found the bottom of the net.

Bouchard referred to a discussion earlier in the match he had with Baumann which ultimately led to the match winner.

(Bryan) was lucky to have the puck on his stick to get in like this, said Bouchard. "Actually we talked about it on the bench, he was trying to make an extra move and the Lunenburg team grabbed it, so we decided on a move and one shot, and the boy delivered. "

After Lunenburg took a 2-1 lead in the second period on a wrist shot from Jason Brandy who defeated Drew, Greenfield responded when a wrist shot from Jacob Bryant was unleashed in front of the net and was repelled by freshman Shane Prusak.

With a place at the forefront in the progression of Prusaks over the season, Bouchard was not surprised to see the attacker's first year pass at a pivotal moment.

The little man is a big player, said Bouchard. "We trusted him from the first day out of camp. He got fat boy minutes all year round and watching him progress, especially when we entered the tournament when the pressure was greatest, we were really excited to see what it brought. " the next three years of high school hockey.

Baumann echoed these thoughts.

It's great that the kids have been working his ass all season, he said. "He gave us 110% every day and I love to see him because it shows that the programs will develop in the next two years with him here."

Derek Lenois opened the scoring for the Green Wave with 3:37 left in the first period, circling a loose puck from a blocked shot by Kevin Baumann and tackling it in the back of the net.

The green wave was found to be a minor bench before the ensuing puck took place, the Blue Knights capitalizing soon after on a slap in the face one minute from Hunter Arsenault's slot.

Now that their names are engraved in the school history books, Baumann and Bouchard have thought about a monumental occasion.

I remember my first year was a season 1-19, it's just great to see the program grow and become so successful just in the four years that I have been here, said Baumann. "I will really miss it.

It will be something they will remember for the rest of their lives, added Bouchard. "I know we just changed the lives of some boys where they can get into life by learning a life lesson that if you work hard, you do your best and you fight adversity, good things happen will produce.