The Swampscott boys hockey team has had upset fever this MIAA tournament season.
The Big Blue, who snuck into the final spot in the Division 3 North tournament as the No. 13 seed, have knocked off two of the top five teams in the tournament en route to the Division 3 North semifinal. First it was No. 4 Essex Tech, who the Big Blue shut out 2-0 behind two goals from Drew Olivieri and a stellar goaltending performance from freshman Jack Russo. Swampscott then moved on to take down No. 5 Watertown 2-1 in the quarterfinal thanks to a last-minute goal from Ronan Locke.
One of the keys to Swampscott’s run to this point has been the play of its first line, which is made up of Olivieri, Locke and Conor Donovan. The trio have a lot on their plate every single game, getting onto the ice every other shift at times during the playoffs.
Russo has also been a key contributor to the Big Blue’s success, only giving up one goal during the entire tournament to this point.
All of this has led to Thursday’s Division 3 North semifinal, where Swampscott will take on No. 9 Lowell in a battle between two opponents who have become very familiar with each other over the past few years. Lowell came in and upset the No. 1 Big Blue back in the 2017 Division 3 North tournament, then Swampscott returned the favor in 2018 by knocking off the No. 1 Raiders in the very same round.
Lowell is coming off of its own string of upsets, having beaten No. 8 Somerville and No. 1 Bedford on the path to Thursday’s game. The Raiders play in a tough league in the Merrimack Valley Conference, and the Big Blue know that Thursday will be a tough battle.
Swampscott and Lowell will drop the puck Thursday evening (5) at Chelmsford Forum.
