With only a handful of games remaining on their schedule, the Norwood boys ice hockey team is striving to get into the State Tournament. After a three-game losing streak, the Mustangs defeated Boston Latin 2-1, and Ashland/Holliston, two big wins to get them back over .500 and in line to qualify for the Division 2 State Tournament. 

The Mustangs were able to earn themselves a 16 seed last winter and took out Dartmouth in the first round before losing to number one seed and eventual Division 2 State Champions Billerica Memorial. Norwood would like to get back into the tournament and make a bigger splash this year. 

“You go out there and expect to win every game, but as a coach you have to be realistic,” Norwood Coach Chuck Allen said. “We lost our best player, Braden Lee, in the fourth game of the season and that set us behind. We needed others to step up and fill that void; it has taken awhile but it’s starting to happen.”

This Norwood team is a close-knit group made up of a lot of seniors who have played together for a long time, and being that it’s the last time they will play together, they want to go out playing their best hockey.

Senior Captain Jason Gillis is the team’s leading scorer having notched 18 points at the time of this writing. Junior forward Anthony Parise finds himself right behind Gillis with 14 points. The duo is not only the team’s top two scorers, but each takes to the ice to play on the power play as well as on the penalty kill.

Senior defender Kevin Roache, another team captain, and Ryan Grenham have also been playing solid hockey as the Mustangs get ready for the stretch run.

Between the pipes, senior goaltender Brody Pacheco has picked up his game over the last few contests allowing only three goals against some top-notch teams. He currently has a 2.83 goals against average for Norwood.

If the Mustangs are going to get back into the State Tournament, they are going to have to play disciplined hockey while staying out of the penalty box. According to Allen, the team plays much better five on five as he continually rolls out four lines.

“We need to stay positive and win and if we can do that we’ll be back in the tournament,” Allen said. “It’s not how you start the season, but how you finish it. We’ve recently turned that corner, now we just have to continue to play the way we have and take it home over the last few games.”

With only a handful of games remaining, the Mustangs will have to face off against the likes of Westwood whom they lost to earlier in the year 4-1, then Hopkinton, Bedford, Dedham, and closing out the season with tough Division 1 foe Bishop Fenwick. If Norwood goes out and continues to play the way that they have been, then they should be in a good place come the end of the regular season to see their year continue into the post-season.