Trust the process: Archies girls hockey continues its reinvention with trip to D1 semis

KINGSTON -- Of the 66 total teams that qualified for the MIAA girls hockey playoffs, 17 finished the regular season with more losses than wins.

One of those things was not like the others, though.

That would be Archbishop Williams.

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The other 16 sub-.500 clubs all have finished their playoff runs, having combined for a predictably poor 4-16 record. Meanwhile, Archies is still going strong with three postseason wins and counting. The latest was Thursday night's thorough 4-0 victory over No. 14 Belmont/Watertown in the Div. 1 quarterfinals at The Bog Ice Arena.

Archies had a tough act to follow, taking the ice after Falmouth had beaten Canton in a double-overtime instant classic. The Bishops' game had comparatively little drama as coach Doug Nolan's team rode a pair of goals from freshman Catherine Lacey, of Braintree, back into the semifinals.

No. 11 Archies (12-10-2) will face No. 2 St. Mary's-Lynn (21-3-1) in Sunday's next round (details TBA).

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The Bishops' sub-.500 regular season was deceiving since they started 1-6. They're 11-4-2 since then and have steeled themselves by playing virtually every other top team in the state. Consider that eight of their losses came against teams that earned top-10 seeds in either the Div. 1 or Div. 2 tournament.

The MIAA power ranking formula loved them -- no other sub-.500 team was seeded as high -- and they've proven to be more than legit.

"We put together a tough schedule and we challenged these kids every day," Nolan said. "Obviously, it wasn't ideal starting off 1-6, but we knew we were getting better and better, week by week, month by month, game by game. You have to have trust in the process."

Archbishop Williams' 2023 playoff run ended in the semis. A Number 1 seed back then, they fell to Canton, 1-0, on a late goal to finish 19-4-1. Now they're back as a cleverly disguised underdog.

"These kids battled through some tough times and we got on them a little bit, but they stuck together," Nolan said. "They enjoy each other's company. Last year we might have been a little more talented, but these girls love being with each other."

Lacey began and ended the scoring. She had the only goal of the first period, stuffing in a rebound of her own initial shot, which had come on a redirect.

Juniors Shea Nolan (shorthanded) and Caroline Batchelder (power play) made it 3-0 in the second period before Lacey completed the scoring early in the third.

Nolan credited her line -- Lacey at left wing, sophomore Kate O'Toole at center, freshman Colleen Sanson at right wing -- with boosting the Bishops' playoff chances.

"I thought last year we had two very good lines, but when we played Canton [in the semis] we were gassed in that third period," he said. "This year, with the addition of some young players, [we've put together] a good third line that has been good on the forecheck. They're big bodies, they can all skate. ... Since a month ago when we put that line together, they've been clicking."

"We have really good chemistry together," Lacey said of the trio. "We work really well down low together and we can crash the net."

Archies' offensive output was impressive, given that Belmont/Watertown (15-3-3) had conceded just 15 goals across 18 regular-season games. The Bishops also produced their first low-stress playoff win. They had a 4-1 lead late against No. 22 Waltham in the first round but took a slew of penalties and had to hang on for a 4-3 win. Against No. 6 Methuen/Tewksbury in the Round of 16, they needed goal from freshman Emily Fleming (Hull) with 29.7 seconds left to escape, 2-1.

"I think we're just getting more confident as we keep going," Fleming said.

St. Mary's will be a test in the semifinals. The Spartans lost back-to-back games to Notre Dame Academy and Hingham to end the regular season, but they've knocked off No. 31 Weymouth, No. 18 Boston Latin and No. 7 Shrewsbury to get here.

St. Mary's beat Archies, 4-1, back on Dec. 16 to kick off a six-game Bishops losing streak after a season-opening win over Bishop Feehan. Of course, Archies is a different team now.

"I feel like both teams are better [now], right?" Nolan said of the rematch. "We both have young players who are stepping up and playing big roles for us. It's going to be a dogfight, it's going to be a heavyweight championship match. We're going to punch each other back and forth. And whoever's relentless enough, whoever battles adversity and sticks together is going to win."

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Once 1-6, Archies girls hockey now a step away from Div. 1 state final