ARLINGTON — Linemates Kevin Andriolo and Jason Shreenan had the exact same reaction almost in unison Sunday afternoon at Ed Burns Arena.
Tewksbury boys hockey star senior Tyler Bourgea collected the puck out of a faceoff in the slot, moved to his backhand as bait, quickly pulled the puck across to his right in a snap, and tucked it just inside the post past a kick-save atttempt.
It was his sixth goal of the game, less than two minutes into the third period, powering the No. 7 Redmen (12-0-1) past No. 22 Weymouth, 7-3, in the first round of the Ed Burns Coffee Pot Tournament’s upper Doherty Division.
Andriolo (five assists) and Shreenan (goal, three assists) about a half-second apart lifted their hands to their helmets in amazement while skating toward Bourgea.
“Yeah, it’s unbelievable,” said Andriolo, laughing. “We’re just on the ice watching him play out there, pretty much. Just feed him all the time.”
Just the day prior in the same building, St. Mary’s of Lynn head coach Matthew Smith Sr. – visiting Arlington Catholic – called Bourgea “the best high school player I’ve seen all year, it’s not even close,” after the Redmen beat the Spartans on Wednesday.
It took only 16 seconds into this one for Bourgea to make his mark, following a hard shot that Andriolo got on net and cashing in on the rebound.
Weymouth goalie Billy Lennon was tremendous despite allowing seven goals as he accrued 44 saves. He had 17 in the first period alone, but it wasn’t enough to stop Bourgea from scoring twice more in the frame for an early hat trick and a 3-1 lead.
“Six goals, that’s crazy,” Tewksbury head coach Derek Doherty said. “He’s a special player. You can try to target him as an opponent, but he’s too elusive. He’s big, he’s strong. … He’s going to play his game, and that’s it.”
Between Lennon and fast responses with their own attack, the Wildcats (8-4) stayed in the game for much of the way. After Bourgea netted his fourth goal early in the second period, Weymouth’s Ryan Ferguson (goal, assist) connected with Ryan MacDonald in the slot just 27 seconds later to cut the deficit to 4-2. Lennon stood on his head the rest of the period, denying several Bourgea chances with some highlight-reel saves.
It only took 20 seconds into the third, though, for Bourgea to add his fifth on another rebound off a shot from Andriolo, and a power play faceoff set up his epic finish.
“I couldn’t have done it without my linemates,” Bourgea said. “They feed me, they take great shots for me, give me great chances.”
“(Bourgea) was fired up tonight, and his line is good,” Doherty added. “It’s a good combination. … Their chemistry is crazy. They move the puck very, very well.”
Cole Abruzi held his own with some big saves himself as Weymouth ramped up the pressure down 6-2, though Colin Browning cut that deficit with 9:35 left. Shreenan capped off the day with 1:52 to go on a goal from the slot, assisted by Andriolo from the corner.
Much of the charged effort was attributed to the reaction of Tewksbury’s performance in its game Saturday, losing a three-goal lead in the third period to tie Acton-Boxboro after beating it 8-0 earlier in the season. The Redmen were also motivated by last year’s 7-2 loss to Arlington in this tournament’s first round last year.
“Tying (Acton-Boxboro on Saturday) was just a big blow,” Bourgea said. “We knew we had to come out today and play (hard).”
“It was just a reality check that we needed,” Andriolo added. “We can’t underestimate any team. So we came in today knowing that, and just came out ready.”
As for Bourgea’s day, it comes as little surprise – but still amazement – to Doherty.
“A lot of it (was a response to Saturday),” Doherty said. “Tyler took it upon himself with the response, with his teammates. Said, ‘Let’s go.’ It was all business on the bus ride here. … You could see it, we’re not losing this game tonight.”
