Stoneham Nearly Shocks Defending Champ Wilmington

The Stoneham boys hockey team easily outshot defending state champion Wilmington. But unfortunately for the Spartans, they couldn't outscore the Wildcats.

While Stoneham, the No. 14 seed in the North Division 2 bracket, fell behind 3-0 in the opening period, the Spartans peppered Wilmington goalie Drew Foley with shots before slicing the deficit to 3-2 early in the third period.

Foley was up to the task, saving 36 shots out of the 38 he faced. Stoneham goalie Bobby Giordano made several critical saves of his own during the game, but Wilmington added an empty net goal with 26 seconds left before closing out the game with another tally with 6.5 seconds left to seal a 5-2 win.

The loss ended Stoneham's season at 7-10-4 while Wilmington advanced to face Boston Latin in the quarterfinal round on Friday night.