Winthrop 3 Dedham 0: State Champions!

Winthrop completes historic journey on Garden ice

By Cary Shuman

A season that began with high hopes in November ended in a dream-come-true reality, with hats on the ice and students and fans cheering, all in supreme recognition of senior captain Michael Holgersen’s hat trick and the Vikings’ incredible 2024-25 campaign.

The Vikings locked up the state championship with Holgersen’s center-ice, open netter to put the final stamp on an impressive 3-0 victory over Dedham Sunday at the TD Garden in Boston.

Head coach Coach Dale Dunbar said it was a masterful performance in which all players can take pride for the team’s accomplishment.

From senior captain Phil Boncore’s can’t-stop-this drive to the net in the second period (19 seconds after a disallowed goal by Dedham, determined by video replay) that helped produce the game’s key first goal, to goaltender Michael Donahue’s 22-save gem, to a Fab Five defense that shut down and shut out Dedham, who had averaged five goals per game – the effort was emblematic of being the undisputed Division 4 state champion.

Dunbar made it a point to hail the three lines – Phil Boncore, Michael Holgersen, and Joe Pumphret;  Dom Spinale, Luke Gitinji, and Nick Romano; and Jay Fotiades, Bert Kline, and Charlie Ferrara – who all figured prominently in the end-to-end execution and throttling of the Dedham offense.

Donahue, who has allowed only one goal in three Final Four games over the past two seasons, combined with the five Winthrop defensemen – Paul Ferrara, Aidan Survilas, Nikita Rossi, Ricky Mackenzie, and Tomas Babine – to do what no one had done this post-season, contain a red-hot senior-rich Dedham attack.

‘A Tribute To The Kids’

Dale Dunbar was emotional as he talked to reporters in the press room about the journey from Winthrop to Framingham, Chelmsford and Boston, and the culmination of a season for the ages.

“It’s so emotional,” Dunbar said. “Twenty years chasing it. I couldn’t be more proud of these kids. They weren’t given much of a chance. Last year’s team was supposed to be the team. We started off 0-2. Our captains from that point on just took this team over. They listened to us. We knew it was going to get better and we kept on getting better and better and better. It’s just a tribute to all these kids. To get here and to win it, now I know what the guys are like when they hold the Stanley Cup.”

Holgersen’s hat trick

If Michael Holgersen hadn’t understood to that point the magnitude of his and the team’s majesty, he quickly learned in his joint post-game interview alongside teammates Phil Boncore and Michael Donahue.

Holgersen was asked what it was like to win the title.

“Everyone doubted us from the beginning. They thought last year was our year, and we showed what we can really do,” said Holgersen. “It took a lot of ups and downs during the year, but we got there.”

About his hat trick, Holgersen told reporters, “I never thought a hat trick in TD Garden would happen. I mean it’s not on me, it’s my team around me that helped me get to this point, so I thank all of them. Looking up and seeing all the hats come down, it was an awesome feeling.”

Boncore seized
the momentum

Phil Boncore made the “play of the day” to set up Holgersen moments after Dedham’s goal was rightfully disallowed due to the net being dislodged.

“After they [Dedham] scored a goal and it getting called back, it was a huge deal,” said Boncore. “We knew we had to take advantage of that and we wanted to get as much pressure on them as possible.”

Boncore’s line outplayed its counterparts from Dedham.

“The chemistry on our line and on the team completely is just nuts,” said Boncore. “We’re all pulling together.”

Boncore just missed cashing in on an in-close wrist shot during the game on a terrific feed from Joe Pumphret from behind the net, but Noel Adams was equal to the task.

Boncore was a crowd favorite with his tenacity and toughness, and he was happy to reward the team’s supporters with a state championship.

“It brought the whole town together,” said Boncore. “We had a saying, ‘All playoffs for the town’ because everyone was pulling for us and our crowd was just absolutely insane this week.”

Donahue thrives in the spotlight

Michael Donahue was asked about the pressure of playing the game’s most important position in the MIAA Tournament.

“Honestly, I love the pressure. It honestly makes me play better,” said Donahue. “You just have to relax and stay calm.”

Donahue said he appreciated the student body and the town’s ardent support through the regular season, MIAA playoffs, and of course, at the Garden.

“It feels so good,” said Donahue, who joined his uncle, Sean Donahue, as a state hockey champion. “You have random kids just going up to you and saying how they’re going to the games and high-fiving you, and it just kind of pumps you up, makes you play better knowing that we have the whole town going to the game – it fires you up.”

An overwhelming
reaction to a state
championship

Dale Dunbar said “Winthrop is only a mile square” and the response to the Vikings’ post season run – packed rinks, everybody all-in, and tons of text messages from friends, alumni, and the hockey community – has been overwhelming.

“I can tell you right now that when we come over this bridge [Belle Isle], it’s going to be insane. I’ve dreamt of it, believe it or not I have, and now it’s reality. And I couldn’t be more happy for our kids, our student body, everybody involved. It’s the administration. It’s a village. That’s what Winthrop is. It’s a village where we all support and care about each other no matter what the sport is, and today these kids are the heroes.”