Bucci's latest overtime challenge: Abington wins thriller with ESPN star on the mic

ROCKLAND – John Buccigross loves college hockey. Or "Cawlidge Hawkey," if you prefer his catch phrase.

So to pry ESPN's voice of the Frozen Four away from the Beanpot on the second Monday in February takes something special.

Like family.

Buccigross was at Rockland Ice Rink (instead of TD Garden) on Monday night for the Abington High boys hockey team's Senior Night game against Cohasset/Hull. Green Wave defenseman Zach Buccigross (his dad, Eddie, is John Buccigross's cousin) is part of the Class of 2024, and John Buccigross was there to support him ... and to talk about him.

Buccigross, who lives in Plymouth, did color commentary (with play-by-play guy Matt Nelson) on Abington Community Access and Media's TV coverage of the game. The teams staged an overtime thriller with the Green Wave prevailing, 4-3, as sophomore center Sam McDonald ended things just 35 seconds into the extra period on a 4-on-3 power play.

"That was amazing, the coolest," Abington coach Bryan Woodford said of showing off in front of sports television royalty. "Couldn't have scripted it any better. On the edge of your seat."

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"Had a Bucci overtime challenge and everything," John Buccigross said, a reference to his famous guess-the-NHL-OT-hero contest on X, formerly known as Twitter. "The third period (which featured four goals, two by each team) was great. It made me think about my boys playing high school hockey.

"You could see how much (Abington's players) wanted it on Senior Night. I love small-town community high school sports. I've always said that a high school state championship, in my mind, is the best championship you can win. Even if you go on to play professional sports, there's nothing like a high school state championship."

John Buccigross, 58, got his start at a small TV station on the Cape and then moved to a channel in Providence, Rhode Island, before hitting it big at ESPN. He might seem like a big fish in a very small pond at Rockland Ice Rink, but he's quick to point out that he also broadcast the first game at Mullett Arena ‒ the ludicrously small (4,600-seat) temporary home of the Arizona Coyotes on the campus of Arizona State University in Tempe.

"I was as close to the ice then as I am here," said Buccigross. "Four rows (up) and me and Brian Boucher were right here. The exact same vantage point. And I've done NCAA hockey since 2006, so I'm used to small rinks. I did a game at Princeton once at the (2,092-seat) Hobey Baker Memorial Rink. I was actually (behind one of the nets) for that one. Not much bigger than this. The intimate rinks are pretty cool."

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The Buccigross cousins weren't exactly inseparable growing up as John Buccigross was raised in Pennsylvania and Ohio, and Eddie in Connecticut. "I saw him basically twice a year," Eddie said. "We did a summer vacation every year on the Cape and then either Thanksgiving or Easter. That was it. But we talked a ton."

John Buccigross had come to Abington games before, so Woodford, the coach, decided to ask Eddie if his cousin might like to handle the mic at the next one. After one misfire – John Buccigross lost his voice on the eve of a January Green Wave game and had to back out – all systems were go Monday night.

Zach Buccigross called it "awesome" to have his well-known relative in the house. The younger Buccigross stood out, blocking countless shots as Abington killed off four Cohasset/Hull power plays in the first period to preserve a 1-0 lead.

Exhausting?

"Sure was," Zach said. "I was tired, but I gotta battle (through) it for my guys."

Hunter Grafton staked Abington (7-9-1) to a 1-0 lead in the first with his team-leading 24th goal of the season. Cohasset/Hull's Luke Dunham knotted it up in the second with his team-leading 23rd of the season. The third period was wild with the Skippers (8-9) grabbing a 2-1 lead (Barrett Kelly) before Abington's Evan St. Martin and Cullen Crocker struck 19 seconds apart. Then it was Cohasset/Hull's Luke Mullen who forged a 3-3 tie.

McDonald wrapped up the night by swatting in a rebound of St. Martin's shot near the right post, sparking a huge on-ice celebration.

Buccigross got to analyze it all.

"That was awesome," Nelson, who lives in East Bridgewater, said of working with such a well-known partner. "We got to talk the game of hockey. Obviously, he's one of the top guys at ESPN, so any time he can come down and help out a community television production like us, it's pretty cool."

John Buccigross recalled how his youngest son, Jack, had a "Hoosiers kind of moment" in high school hockey when he led underdog South Windsor High to a Connecticut state semifinal off a .500 regular season. Buccigross called it an "unexpected gift."

Abington's Grafton thinks the Green Wave might be able to write a similar story this winter with a roster loaded with seniors (10 of them). Abington made the Division 4 Round of 16 last season and was seeded 23rd in the latest MIAA power rankings that came out last Friday.

"I think it'll be a Cinderella run for us," Grafton predicted. "We're still getting healthy. ... We're definitely a team to look out for in the playoffs, for sure."

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: ESPN's John Buccigross calls Abington boys hockey's overtime win