By Cary Shuman
Of all the post-season quotes by high school hockey stars in the Boston newspapers this March, we enjoyed the one most by senior captain Phil Boncore after the Vikings’ 5-1 victory over No. 1 seed, Stoneham.
“It’s a huge deal. They’re here for us, and I love it. I’m speechless.” Boncore told the Boston Herald in appreciation of the large Winthrop student rooting section on hand in Chelmsford.
Boncore has always been a confident spokesperson for his team during interviews with the Sun-Transcript. It’s an admirable quality that will bode well in his future career.
Case in point. Boncore was asked about his torrid offensive performance in the post-season a la Reggie Jackson, the Yankees’ Mr. October, and he deflected, saying, “My line is just doing what we need to do. We’re finding each other at the right times, and we’ve all been in the right spots at the right times.”
Then asked specifically what he likes about his linemates Mike Holgersen and Joe Pumphret, Boncore said a bit self-effacingly, “They’re both wicked fast, and I’m not going to lie, I’m not the fastest guy out there, so they’re kind of doing everything for me.”
An NEC All-Star linebacker in football, he understands the philosophy that defenses wins championships.
“[Michael] Donahue has been great for us. He’s been keeping us in games and been locking it down back there,” credited Boncore.
Asked if he thought Winthrop could return to the Final Four following such a tough loss in a shootout to Dover-Sherborn, Boncore said, “Absolutely. I know we lost some key guys, but with the closeness of the guys we have here, everyone that was still here wanted the same thing, and we’re close to it.”