With long-awaited title captured, Norwell boys hockey now in uncharted waters to defend it
KINGSTON — The end of an era, all encapsulated in one play. The play in the 31-year history of the Norwell High boys hockey program.
Leading up to it, Norwell suffered a double-OT loss to Sandwich in the Final Four in 2022, a sectional final loss in 2016 and quarterfinal losses in 2017, 2019 and 2020.
But when Timmy Ward deked a defender and delivered the fate-deciding goal in overtime against Sandwich in the Division 3 state championship game at the TD Garden in March, he brought the long-awaiting Clippers to the summit, a place they had never been but always craved to reach.
That was the senior class' lasting mark. Longtime head coach Jim Casagrande can finally exhale.
"Myself, I felt a ton of pressure and a ton of responsibility for not getting it done. We were close a few times. It kind of weighed on me, I’m not going to lie," said Casagrande, entering his 16th year the helm of the Clippers' ship. "You just think that the kids have one shot at it and think maybe if I did something better, it could've helped us get through. It’s almost been an albatross at some point. Personally, I think the program (now) has a weight lifted off its shoulders. Every year we had a really good team, but it seemed like something happened – an injury, a bounce, this or that."
As Casagrande took an early-morning skate around the practice rink with his team Tuesday, a new season for the Clippers not only comes with a refreshing start but also uncharted waters: defend the title.
“I’ll be honest with you — I don’t know (what the challenge will be like), we’ve never done it before," Casagrande said. "That’s one thing we don’t have any experience with."
“But I think that adds a lot of fun," he said. "Now, we have one (title). Let’s see if we can get another.”
For the first time in 11 years, Casagrande's team is without a member of the Ward family. Timmy, the youngest of two brothers (Jack, Class of 2016; Matty, Class of 2020) who came through the program, was a player Casagrande referred to as the best player in program history after the title win. He finished his senior campaign with 30 goals and 40 assists for 70 points as the South Shore League's Player of the Year.
Ward bowed out with fellow standout Austin Shea, starting goaltender Sean Donovan and a cast of five other seniors.
So, in come five returners ready for a promotion – senior forward Nolan Petrucelli, senior forward Quinn Simmons, junior forward Matt Ceruitti, senior defenseman Charlie Booras and senior defenseman Aedan Coyle.
“The team is going to go how they go," Casagrande said of the line. "Those are the hardest workers on the team, the kids that put in the most time in the offseason. They’re our leaders.”
Both Simmons and Petrucelli scored a goal in the state final against Sandwich, as Coyle picked up an assist. Simmons also collected a goal and three assists as Norwell defeated Grafton in the Final Four, which had been the furthest the program had advanced in the postseason prior to the title-game berth.
“Now we know what it takes," Petrucelli said. "It takes a lot of blood, sweat, everything. We know we need to get there. The feeling is unreal. We want that feeling again.”
As a refresher, Norwell outscored its opponents 133-38 in 23 total games, breezing to a 22-1 overall record including the regular season and the tournament. The team scored an average of 5.7 goals per game and surrendered 1.6.
“The offseason (cherishing the title) has been great, but it’s over. We closed the door. We’re going to be a different team, like every year is a different team," Casagrande said. "We might have to win a different way. Maybe we don’t score as many goals, but if we can play great D, it won’t matter too much.”
Among the changes this season, Norwell will send out a sophomore goaltender in Donovan's vacancy – it'll come down to either Mike Dalia or Will Devany, neither of whom has varsity experience. But, as Casagrande noted, Donovan didn't either heading into his senior year and Norwell still posted 14 games of surrendering one goal or fewer, including four shutouts.
“We’re trying to repeat the same results," said Booras, "but we’re going to have to take a different approach to it: completely different team, different way to attack the year.”
THEY SAID IT
CASAGRANDE ON ARRIVING TO LAST YEAR'S FINAL: “We lost some players going into last year. We had excellent players but we lost some and we weren’t really sure (how the season would go). A lot of kids stepped up and we were like ‘OK, we’ve got another shot at this.’ … To know that (Ward) finished it off with his brothers in the stands made everything about last year more magical and special. You couldn’t have written it better.”
Games to circle
MARQUEE OPENER: Friday, Dec. 8 – at Duxbury, 3:30 p.m. (at The Bog in Kingston).
HELLO, HAWKS: Monday, Jan. 1 – vs. Hanover, 12:30 p.m. (at The Bog in Kingston). Norwell took last year's meeting, 3-0.
FACING DIV. 3 RUNNER-UP: Monday, Jan. 15 – at Scituate, 11:10 a.m. (at Hobomock Ice Arena in Pembroke). Norwell took last year's meeting, 4-3. Scituate ended the season with a loss in the Div. 3 title game.
This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Norwell High boys hockey in a new position as the reigning champ
