Third-period explosion pushes Norwell High boys hockey past Martha's Vineyard into Final 4

KINGSTON – The first line for the Norwell High boys hockey team (Quinn Simmons-Timmy Ward-Austin Shea) has been ultra productive this season.

But it was the second line (Joey Perniola-Nolan Petrucelli-Matt Cerruti) that punched the Clippers ticket to the Division 4 state semifinal with a 5-0 win over Martha’s Vineyard on Thursday.

Trailing 1-0, the No. 9 Vineyarders opened the third period with some extended time in Norwell’s zone. Once the Clippers cleared the puck, Petrucelli, a junior, collected a pass from Perniola in the neutral zone and then raced his way into the Vineyarders' zone. There, he placed a wrist shot top shelf to push Norwell’s lead to 2-0.

The Clippers took the ensuing faceoff and Petrucelli won a puck battle in the offensive zone before finding Perniola in front of the net. The sophomore then stuffed home the feed. In the span of 11 seconds, Norwell had turned a one-goal lead into three-goal cushion.

“That one shifted really ended the game honestly,” said Norwell coach Jim Casagrande.

“Right there I knew it was over and we were just going to keep going,” said Petrucelli.

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Ward, a senior captain, stamped the victory by scoring two goals less than a minute apart later in the period. The first came on a power play and the second he finished on a breakaway.

Unfinished business

The Clippers are no strangers to deep tournament runs in March. Last season, Norwell lost to the eventual state champions, Sandwich, in double overtime in the state semifinals. The Clippers lost in the Division 3 South Sectional final in 2016 and lost in the state semifinals in 2015 and 2009.

“Feels good to get back where we were last year and hopefully we can win this time,” said Ward.

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“Garden or bust, that’s all I’ve got to say,” said Petrucelli. “If we don’t make it to the (TD) Garden and win it all, it’s a bust.”

Vineyarders run comes to an end

Martha’s Vineyard finished the regular season by going just 1-5 in February, albeit against tough competition.

Despite entering the tournament without momentum, the Vineyarders rolled in tournament wins over No. 25 Fitchburg (5-1) and No. 8 Stoneham (4-0). With the help of strong goaltending from junior Zach Mathias, Martha’s Vineyard was within reach of the top-seeded Clippers heading into the third period. The scoring chances never seemed to come, and the upset bid was for naught.

“We held them back as much as we could,” said Martha’s Vineyard coach Matt Mincone. “I think we made two critical mistakes there and in that period of time and it was score, score. I thought my goalie did a hell of a job keeping us where we needed to be. We just didn’t generate enough.”

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Martha’s Vineyard will graduate eight seniors: Nate Gullotta, Parker Blake, Richie Combra, Nik Rego, Nick BenDavid, Sam Riley, Mathias and Noah Smith.

BenDavid and Rego are captains on the blue line. Mincone called them, “four-year guys who have pulled the load.”

Thursday’s loss could be a learning experience for a team that will return a lot of talent next winter.

“The majority of the top two lines are coming back so maybe it’s good they see stuff like this,” said Mincone. “It stinks today.”

Key plays

Mathias had a number of key saves early. He denied a sneaky one-timer bid from Ward with a pad save. He also stopped a mini-breakaway bid on a backhand try from in tight from Perniola.

The Clippers finally solved Mathias late in the second period. Ward sent a touch pass to senior captain Austin Shea, who buried a shot top shelf at 12:54 of the middle period.

Game pucks

Timmy Ward, Norwell: Ward was an offensive threat all night. He finished with three points (two goals, assist) and his two tallies put an exclamation point on the victory.

Zach Mathias, Martha’s Vineyard: Mathias stopped 14 of the 15 shots he saw in the first two periods to give the Vineyarders a puncher’s chance going into the third period.

Norwell’s depth: The Clippers second line put the game away with two goals 11 seconds apart, but they weren’t the only standouts. Norwell got strong minutes from the third line of Garrett Fisher, Ryan Johnson and Connor Vinton.

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Senior goaltender Sean Donovan recorded a 15-save shutout, but the defensive core in front of him limited any Vineyarder opportunities. Kevin Leary, a senior captain, had an assist and led the defensive effort. Charlie Booras, Jackson Logan and Aedan Coyle also were solid on the blue line.

“Going in, (the message was) let’s not give them a chance,” said Casagrande. “In the first couple of (tournament) games we handed a few goals away and we just wanted no part of that tonight. We wanted to make sure we protected our goalie and played defense, not allow them into the game.”

“They were really good,” said Petrucelli of his defensemen. “They kept us away from the net.”

What’s next?

The Clippers will play No. 4 Grafton (21-2) on Sunday at 5:30 p.m. at Loring Arena in Framingham. The Gators have tournament wins over No. 5 Shawsheen Valley (4-2), No. 20 Dedham (5-1) and No. 29 Rockport (5-0).

“Grafton’s fast,” said Casagrande. “They’re big and fast and they have some skilled kids. Their first line is legit.

“They play excellent structure, the defense can handle the puck. The goalie looks solid, but they’re well-coached too.”

Grafton won the Division 3A state title in 2017.

“This is going to be the hardest game we’ve had in a couple of years,” said Casagrande.

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Norwell High boys hockey defeats Martha's Vineyard in Elite 8