WEST SPRINGFIELD — Just 1 minute and 25 seconds separated the Greenfield hockey team from an untimely demise Thursday.
But, as they have all season, the Green Wave believed.
With Greenfield goalie Riley Drew pulled and the seconds ticking away, Kyle Barnes netted the game-tying goal with 1:25 to play in regulation. That set the stage for senior Bryan Baumann, who took a feed from Jacob Bryant and notched the game-winner 1:49 into overtime.
From the doorstep of elimination to a sectional title in the blink of an eye, top-seeded Greenfield captured the Western Massachusetts Division 3A championship with a 2-1 victory over No. 3 Wahconah at the Olympia Ice Center.
Greenfield, a cooperative team made of seven schools including Frontier Regional and Smith Academy, advances to the Division 3A state final, where it will meet Central Massachusetts champion Lunenberg (13-9-1) on Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Hart Center on the campus of Holy Cross in Worcester.
“We’re good at facing adversity,” Baumann said. “We never gave up on ourselves, never gave up on each other.”
Wahconah (16-4-2) scored what looked like the game’s only goal 3:25 into the opening period. Ryan LaPierre beat his defender up the ice, got in alone and snuck a shot past Drew to stake the Warriors a quick 1-0 lead.
“I knew it was a weak goal on my part,” said Drew, who finished with 14 saves. “I wasn’t square and that’s why it went in. After that, I said, ‘Nothing is getting by me now.’ I had to stand on my head and prove that.”
That tally held up for the next 40 minutes, and Wahconah goalie Jake Risley looked like he was going to send the trophy back to the Berkshires thanks to a standout performance between the pipes. The senior backstop turned away the first 34 shots he faced, enabling Wahconah to hold the lead deep into the third period.
Greenfield (19-3) pulled Drew for an extra attacker with 1:29 remaining with a faceoff in the Wahconah zone. Off the draw, Baumann held possession. He fired a pass toward the back post, where Barnes was waiting. Left wide open, he redirected a shot past Risley for the first time all night, bringing the Wave level with 1:25 to go.
“That faceoff play, we had a blown coverage and (Barnes) was wide open,” Wahconah coach Matt Risley said. “Nothing Jake could’ve done on that.”
Greenfield team that found with new life with the goal and capitalized on the momentum.
“They were tired, and that really boosted our morale,” Baumann said.
After the buzzer sounded to end regulation, and the teams had a matter of moments to re group before the overtime period. The postseason has an eight-minute, 4-on-4 overtime, followed by a 3-on-3 session and then, if necessary, a shootout.
The quick turnaround had Greenfield believing in its chances to win the game in OT.
“We knew on the 4-on-4 ice, there was going to be a lot of room out there,” Greenfield coach Adam Bouchard said. “With the speed and skill that our team possesses, if we got into that situation we knew it could be a good advantage for us.”
On the game-winner, Bryant flipped a lead pass to Baumann, who beat his defender to earn a one-on-one shot against Risley. While Baumann, the team’s leading scorer, didn’t strike the puck perfectly, he did enough to slide the it past the Wahconah keeper, setting off a raucous celebration that scattered gloves and sticks all over the ice.
“For me, it’s awesome. For everyone, it’s awesome. I just did my part of the thing, Jacob slid a good pass, everyone else played a great game and I was lucky enough to be the one to tuck it home,” Baumann said.
The goal was well-timed by Baumann, who hadn’t found the back of the net the past few contests.
“He came in tonight, vowed to score for his team,” Bouchard said. “When Bryan scores, good things happen. He’s a great leader, gives everything he has, and everyone falls behind his lead.”
The Western Mass. title is the second in program history and first since 2008. Greenfield improved to 2-3 in sectional finals.
“I’m extremely proud of those student-athletes in that room,” Bouchard lauded. “These boys have worked harder than everyone else I know. They work as hard as they can every single day and it showed.”