You could not write a script like this.
The wise words of Ian Darke during the United States’ last minute victory against Algeria in the World Cup of 2010 seem apt to describe the situation that the Walpole Boys Hockey team has found themselves in.
After three defeats in their last three games to Norwood, Xaverian, and Braintree, a beleaguered Walpole side limped into the playoffs, knowing that an away game was the verdict and wondering who that game would be against. Rumors of sides like Natick and Falmouth swept as opponents swept throughout the players and the fanbase, but both had to wait for the conclusion of the Super Eight tournament to find out the opponent.
What happenned next was not only unexpected, not only nervewracking—as all playoff games are bound to be—but completely unfathomable. Norwood, Walpole’s major rival in almost every sport, especially in hockey, is the opponent. The team that came back against Walpole in Canton and then embarrassed Walpole at Iorio is Walpole’s first round opponent.
And with that, the boys hockey state tournament starts off with one of the biggest rivalry in the state. The two hard-hitting sides go at it for a third time this season, this time for all the marbles, for the ultimate bragging rights. As mentioned earlier, Norwood has clearly had the better of Walpole this season, capping off their Herget season with a huge 5-1 win over Walpole. However, in the first game that the two teams played, it was a much more evenly matched game: Walpole actually started the game with a 2-0 lead and only after a multitude of questionable calls, culminating in a very dubious ejection, did Norwood eventually tie the game up.
Norwood has ended their season well, winning their last four games over Walpole, Newton North, Brockton and Winchester. Usually, late-season form is a good indicator for which team will triumph in early-tournament games, and Norwood seems to be the team more likely to win. However, Walpole has about as much motivation as a team could have coming into a first-round game because of the embarassment of the devestating home loss.
Both of the two meetings between the two teams were defined by hard hits and rowdy fans, two basic characteristics of both of these teams. One of Walpole’s star forwards, senior Matt Bender, who spent at least ten minutes in the penalty box for the two games combined, has shown his excitement and motivation for beating Norwood on Twitter.
Whatever happens, a casual fan can expect a hard-fought game with plenty of penalties and plenty of goals. A match of form and motivation, two of the most dominant forces of will in a winning team will come together on Friday at 7:30 in Bourne, and one team will emerge victorious. It has to be said that the team that wins this game will look primed for a long tournament run, so whether you are a Walpole fan, a Norwood fan, or just a hockey fan, this looks like to be the game of the tournament. It looks scripted for a Walpole win—third time’s the charm, etc.—but everyone knows the game is not played on paper.
