The Greenfield hockey team has been preparing all season for games like this.
It’s been a while since the Green Wave have been a true underdog on paper in a tournament game, but when they head to The Bog Ice Arena in Kingston for Saturday’s MIAA Div. 4 Round of 32 game against Norwell, 32nd-seeded Greenfield will lock eyes with a Clippers’ side seeded No. 1 overall in the Div. 4 bracket.
That doesn’t bother the Green Wave, however. The defending Div. 3A state champs won the Wright Division this year, won their second consecutive Western Mass. title, and then followed that with a preliminary state tournament victory over Gardner on Wednesday. It’s certainly not the resume of a typical 32 seed.
“When you look at it, we played the toughest schedule this year since I’ve been involved with the program,” Greenfield coach Adam Bouchard said. “You do that to prepare for situations like this. You want to play as many tough games as you can so you get ready to see these kinds of teams in the tournament. A lot of our games this season had a playoff atmosphere. Coming off a league championship, back-to-back Western Mass. titles and being the reigning state champs, every team looks at you and wants to knock you off. It got us ready for moments like Saturday.”
Norwell (18-1) is the No. 1 seed for a reason. The Clippers haven’t lost since the start of the New Year, ripping off 15 straight wins en route to a South Shore League title. In their 19 games, they outscored their opponents 109-22.
Bouchard feels the way Norwell operates isn’t all that different from his Green Wave.
“They play a similar game to us,” Bouchard said. “They have a heavy forecheck, they’re defensive minded. This is a really good high school hockey game coming up.”
Greenfield got to work after the win over Gardner on Wednesday, not content just making it to the Round of 32. The Green Wave feel they’re ready to go and compete with the best Div. 4 has to offer.
“We had a good practice [Thursday],” Bouchard said. “We’ve had a business-like mentality all month to get to where we want to be. Coming into practice [Thursday] the feel in the rink was we need to work hard and have a good day to get ready for a great game on Saturday.”
It’ll be the first meeting between Greenfield and the Clippers. Bouchard expects both teams to use the first half of the first period to feel each other out before strategy starts taking over.
Puck drop is set for 3 p.m. on Saturday. The game will be streamed on GCTV and FCAT for those unable to make the trip.
“We’ve never seen them and they’ve never seen us,” Bouchard said after the win on Wednesday. “We’re really excited. We’ll get some practice in, hop on the bus and go down there. We’re looking forward to a competitive hockey game. Someone has to break the bracket, so why not the Green Wave?”