RallyNorth.net

Rival coaches say Marblehead has paid its dues

Wednesday, March, 12 By Phil Stacey
Sports editor

Nobody in state hockey circles could have foreseen Marblehead's improbable run to the Division 3 state semifinals, right?

Wrong. Geno Faia did.

Faia, the head coach at arch rival Swampscott High, knew | just knew | that whoever got out of the Division 3 first round matchup between his Big Blue and the neighboring Headers was going to go very far in the state tournament.

So when Marblehead | the 12th seed in a 13-team field | stunned the Big Blue in overtime, 3-2, Faia knew even better things were on the horizon for the Headers.

"To be honest, I truly felt the winner of our game would win the (Division 3) North title and possibly get to the (TD Banknorth) Garden," said Faia, referring to the site of Sunday's state championship contest.

The Headers will take a 14-10 record into the DCU Center in Worcester tonight (6 p.m.) when they face the defending Division 3 state champions, Scituate (12-6-5), in the state semifinals.

"We play in a tough, tough league | a lot of Division 3 teams play strictly a Division 3 schedule and don't see anything like the level of teams we face in the Northeastern Conference," added Faia. "Playing in the NEC toughens you up."

Faia said he had gone out and scouted many of the teams that would earn high rankings in the Division 3 North draw, clubs such as Concord-Carlisle, Tyngsboro, Weston and Lowell. After watching them, he felt that his own team was deeper, faster and had better defense and goaltending than any of them.

That's why, despite shutting them out twice during the regular season, the one team Faia didn't want to have to face in the first round was Marblehead.

"We knew that from the get-go, that Marblehead was the team to get by," said Faia. "They play an aggressive, scrappy style. They fight, they dig ... basically, they do whatever they need to do to win."

For those who follow hockey on the North Shore, Marblehead's phoenix-like ascension from a squad that just barely qualified for postseason play with a .500 regular season mark to one that is two wins shy of its first-ever state title is nothing short of mind-boggling.

After all, this is a Headers team that began the season 0-4. A team with just two seniors and eight freshmen who rounded out the varsity roster. A team that took its lumps against NEC foes such as Gloucester (6-1), Peabody (8-2) and Danvers (4-0) | and even lost an ugly game to East Boston (5-0), which is not exactly a hockey power.

But this is also a Headers team that jelled and matured over the course of the season, learning how to play together and do what it takes to be successful. A team that scored solid wins over NEC Large foes such as Winthrop (4-1) and Revere (3-2), bounced back to beat Saugus (3-2) after losing to the Sachems their first time around, as well as another Division 2 tourney team, Bishop Fenwick (3-2).

"They got hot at the right time," Peabody head coach Mark Leonard said of the Headers. "Their last 4-5 games, they were playing tournament hockey already; they couldn't afford to lose those games. That helped them, and no doubt they started believing they could win any game they played.

"I'm really glad for them. I hope they go all the way."

In poker terms, this is a team playing with house money. "If I'm on that team or coaching that team and we beat our biggest rival in the first round of the playoffs, I'd feel like we could beat anyone else the rest of the way," long-time Fenwick head coach Bo Tierney said of Marblehead. "Swampscott was the best skill team they'll face the entire tournament; knowing that has to be a huge emotional boost for them.

"I'm really, really happy for them. (Marblehead head coach) Bobby Jackson and his staff are great guys, and they've really got their team playing terrific hockey when it counts the most."

Beverly head coach Bobby Gilligan agreed with Tierney. "When we played Marblehead (Dec. 15), things weren't starting off too well for them. But look at the way they've completely turned it around," said Gilligan, who | like Faia | left a congratulatory message for Jackson during the Headers' wild tournament ride.

"For one thing, their goalie (junior Aaron Reny, who has posted back-to-back playoff shutouts) has been unbelievable; a team can ride that a long way in the playoffs. And they've got some kids who can really play: (sophomore Anders) Gundersen is a kid who can play defense or forward and excels at both."

Just as importantly for the Headers | and other public school teams, said Gilligan | is that in this day and age, where schools need to literally fight to keep their best players from flocking to prep and junior programs, Marblehead's success should benefit the team in both the short and long term.

"They've had their lean times over there," Gilligan said, "so it's good see them succeed like this."

No doubt, playing regular season games against some of the best Division 2 teams around got Marblehead prepared for their current postseason run. Similarly, Leonard said he always felt that playing Division 1 teams such as Arlington and Medford when his Tanners were a member of the Greater Boston League helped prepare his squad for the Division 2 state playoffs.

"I always thought those games were a big advantage for us come tournament time," said Leonard. "It gets you battle tested."

Young as their roster may be, these Headers are indeed battle tested by this point. They'll be ready to go into the trenches once more tomorrow night in Worcester | and hope to fight one more day Sunday in Boston.