One step complete, another journey to begin.
After winning the Western Massachusetts Class B championship last week thanks to a 5-4 victory over Chicopee, the Greenfield hockey team quickly must turn its attention to the next event.
The Green Wave qualified and were officially seeded in the inaugural statewide tournament over the weekend. The club is the No. 32 seed in the MIAA Division 4 field, and will begin state tourney play on Wednesday at 6 p.m. when it hosts No. 33 Gardner (9-7-2) in a preliminary round game at Collins-Moylan Arena.
The winner would advance to the Round of 32, and a daunting road trip to play at No. 1 Norwell (18-1-0) on Saturday at 3 p.m. at The Bog Ice Arena in Kingston. The Clippers earned a preliminary round bye.
Greenfield (12-6-2), which includes Smith Academy and Frontier Regional in its co-op, is one of two area schools that qualified for the state tournament.
South Hadley (9-8-2) drew the No. 35 and final seed in the Div. 4 field, and the Tigers will travel to play in the preliminary round at No. 30 Littleton (10-8-0). That tilt is scheduled for Monday at 8 p.m. at the Nashoba Valley Olympia Rink in Boxborough.
The Tigers finished 43rd in the final MIAA Power Rankings, but qualified for the state tournament thanks to a winning record.
The winner of the South Hadley-Littleton game will travel to play at No. 3 Stoneham (12-8) in the Round of 32.
Greenfield (12-6-2) hasn’t played Gardner this year, but they do have a common opponent in Chicopee. The Wildcats dropped a 3-0 decision when the two teams played back on Dec. 28. Gardner also played Western Mass. foe Chicopee Comp twice this year, dropping decisions of 3-2 and 3-1. Comp is the No. 19 seed in the Div. 4 field.
Gardner, which is coached by Western Mass. native and Holyoke Catholic alum Scott Freniere, struggled down the stretch of its season, and it enters the state tournament having gone 1-4-1 in its last six games. The ‘Cats lost to Oakmont in the Central Mass. Class C title game last week.
After suffering a three-game losing streak against West Springfield, East Longmeadow and Assabet Valley – all tournament teams – Greenfield has won three straight games entering the state tournament, outscoring opponents 18-7 in that span.