The Winthrop High School boys hockey team was set to play Wilmington in the Division 4 state quarterfinals Wednesday night following a thrilling 5-4 victory over Rockport and a hard-fought 3-1 decision over Abington in MIAA Tournament home games at the Larsen Rink at the Miker Eruzione Center.
Junior team captain Paul Ferrara scored the winning goal to help the Vikings deny Rockport the upset. Rockport had entered the game against No. 5-seeded Winthrop as one of the lower-seeded teams in the division, but the intensity of Rockport’s performance did not surprise Winthrop head coach Dale Dunbar.
“[As the defending state champion] we get the best from every team we play,” said Dunbar. “In fact, their coach told me after the game that this was the best game his team had played all season.”
Senior captain Joe Pumphret opened the scoring for Winthrop, assisted by Ferrara. After Rockport tied the game at 1-1, sophomore forward Breadon Lounsbury broke the deadlock, assisted by junior Mike D’Ambrosio.
Nikita Rossi delivered a goal in the third period, assisted by D’Ambrosio, giving Winthrp a 3-1 lead. But Rockport refused to go away, scoring back-to-back goals to tie it at 3-3.
Dom Spinale rose to the occasion for the go-ahead goal late in the third period, but once again Rockport bounced back and tied the game at 4-4 with less than a minute to play.
In the 4-on-4 overtime session, Ferrara rushed to the goal and chipped his own rebound into the net, setting off a celebration among Winthrop players and fans and sending the Vikings into the Round of 16.
In a tough, defensive battle with Abington Saturday afternoon in Winthrop, Joe Pumphret had an opportunity on a penalty shot in the second period to break the 0-0 tie, but the Abington goaltender made the save.
The Vikings kept the pressure on the Abington goalie at the outset of the third period. Dom Spinale gave the hometown audience plenty to cheer about with the first goal of the game, assisted by Nicky Romano and Joe Pumphret.
Minutes later, Pumphret struck gold with the second goal of the game for Winthrop. Breadon Lounsbury and Steve Calla assisted on the tally. With 30 seconds left, Abington scored to close the gap to 2-1. But Pumphret delivered the game-sealer on an open-net goal, assisted by Spinale.