After not qualifying for the postseason a year ago, the Easthampton ice hockey team received the second seed in the five-team Western Massachusetts Division 3A Tournament Saturday.
“I am happy with the seeding,” Easthampton coach Bill Griese said. “More happy overall that we made that tournament and the improvement we’ve made since last year. We were younger last year and we grew as a more mature team.”
The Eagles (10-3-7) will face off against Greenfield (14-4-2) in the semifinal round, at 1:30 p.m. at the Olympia Ice Center Saturday.
Easthampton and the Green Wave played to a tie twice this season. Greenfield is led by Easthampton resident and Smith Academy senior Evan Simmons.
Simmons scored his 100th career point against Easthampton this season.
“I’m excited,” Griese said. “We had two ties with them this year. It should be a good game.”
Garren Fugiel leads the Eagles with 23 goals and 11 assists for a team-high 41 points. Christopher Tenzcar accumulated 26 points throughout the regular season.
“It is really going to take a team effort,” Griese said. “I do not think anybody in particular is going to make or break us.”
Belchertown (6-5-4), like last season, will play in the preliminary round. The Orioles earned the fifth seed and will face Chicopee Comp. (7-7-6) Tuesday at 6 p.m. at the Olympia Ice Center.
“It’s kind of what we were expecting,” Belchertown coach Matt Crutch said.
The Orioles tied the Colts 1-1 in their only meeting this season. Goalie Kyle Vezina made 31 saves for Comp.
“We are pretty familiar with each other,” Crutch said. “They got probably the best goaltender in western Mass. so that is not going to be easy. We are ready for him.”
Vaughn Gillen and Matt Pacheco have powered the Orioles with 31 and 29 points, respectively. Pacheco’s brother Nate finished with 24 points in the regular season.
“Gillen is leading the way. The two Pacheco brothers have been great. They all play on a line together,” Crutch said.
Sophomore goalie Ethan Rajpold has exceeded expectations for Belchertown.
“It’s (Rajpold’s) first year as a starter, but he’s played tremendous,” Crutch said. “We are going to ride him the whole way and we will see where it brings us.”
Longmeadow (10-5-0) earned the 16th seed in the 31-team state Division 1 girls tournament. The Lancers will play No. 17 Haverhill-Pentucket-North Andover (12-6-2) at 8 p.m. Tuesday at the Olympia.
Junior Brigitte Goeler-Slough, who attends Northampton High School, is tied for the team lead with 25 points. Goeler-Slough has a team-high 20 goals with five assists.