Somerset Berkley ice hockey advances to the Final 4
The Somerset Berkley ice hockey team traveled to Loring Arena to face West Springfield in the Division 3 Elite 8 contest. The Raiders won, 3-0.
FRAMINGHAM — The Somerset Berkley boys ice hockey came into Thursday’s night Division 3 Elite game with a heavy heart.
The Raider players were told prior to taking the ice against 20th-seeded West Springfield that head coach Kevin Snyder’s dad, George, died at the age of 95 after a long illness. From there, the theme in the locker room became “Do it for Coach.”
“We absoutely can not lose this game for [Coach],” said Nate Melo, who scored the game’s first goal and eventual game winner in SBR’s 3-0 win over the Terriers. “This game was for him. He is what inspires us every game. I know every game we played for different stuff, but this game we knew we were playing for coach and his dad.”
The 12th-seeded Raiders (18-2-2), who scored three times to break a scoreless tie in the third period, advance to the Final 4 for the first time in school history. They will face No. 1 seed Nauset on Sunday at 5 p.m. at Gallo Arena in Bourne.
“This side of my family [in this locker room] excelled right here, my team,” said Snyder when he was asked about how his team responded with the sad news. “Incredible, I love these kids. It’s incredible. It really is.”
Senior goalie Brandon Silva proved why he is one the top goalies in the state of Massachusetts. The Raider netminder posted his second straight shutout after making 33 saves, including two big stops on breakaways from the Terriers’ top scorer — Gauvin Hall.
“We had a job to do and we could not come out with a loss today on the day of his father’s passing,” said a somber Silva after the game.
Senior Kein Stafford, who is a Houston, Texas native, said he was heartbroken before the game.
“I’ve only known coach for a few years but really he has become family for me,” said Stafford, who scored a pair of goals, including an empty netter in the third period. “I was really heartbroken and upset but I knew we had a job to do. We had to do it for him.”
Both teams had ample opportunities to score goals in the first two periods but came away empty-handed. During the intermission before the third period, Snyder had some words to his team.
“We needed a push,” Snyder said. “We had to start off that period with a push. I thought the first two periods we were flat. We did not look good at all in the first period. It was not our game. The second…
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