You know what I’ve been thinking? A lot of things happened in 1976: Jimmy Carter was elected President, Apple was formed, Lynn Swann was named Super Bowl MVP, and Winthrop’s boys hockey team captured the state championship.
It had been a while, but Sunday morning at TD Garden, Winthrop skated to glory and won its first state title in 49 years. The icemen took down Dedham, 3-0, in Division 4 action behind Michael Holgersen’s hat-trick performance (talk about timely).
“I couldn’t be more proud of these kids,” said Winthrop Coach Dale Dunbar, whose group began 0-2 in the regular season. “You know, they weren’t given much of a chance and last year’s team was supposed to be the team. They listened and they sacrificed.”
Michael Donahue recorded a shutout between the pipes – stopping several point-blank chances from the slot – and Philip Boncore delivered the first assist of the game via a cross-crease pass.
“Honestly, I love the pressure and it makes me play better,” Donahue said. “You’ve just got to relax and stay calm.”
After Holgersen’s late third goal, hats came flying over the boards as he went to hug his teammates on the bench. The moment finally set in for the Vikings, who seemingly had the entire city behind them.
“It’s just crazy and I never thought this would come,” Holgersen said. “I never thought a hat-trick in the TD Garden would happen. It’s to my team around me – I thank all of them.”
