Nauset Boys Hockey Upends Medfield, Captures Program’s First State Title

BOSTON – Finally, the Nauset boys hockey team etched itself in the history books. 

One day before the one-year anniversary of the team’s state championship loss to Marblehead, the top-seeded Warriors mounted a third-period comeback to earn the program’s first state title following a 4-1 victory over second-seeded Medfield in the Division 3 state championship Sunday night at the home of the Boston Bruins. 

Senior Logan Poulin scored two goals and senior Colin Ward and junior Jake Eldredge also lit the lamp. With 6:48 remaining, Eldredge broke a 1-1 tie with a snapshot that snuck past Medfield senior goaltender Charlie Duggan’s glove to give the Warriors a crucial 2-1 advantage.

“Unbelievable,” said Eldredge, a Brewster resident. “It’s the best feeling in the world. We had a great regular season — undefeated the whole time — but we finally got it done. We lost [the state final] last year, so this feels great.”

The win marked Nauset’s first state title in three appearances. The 2004 team suffered a 6-0 loss to Saugus in the final before last year’s team lost 1-0 to Marblehead 364 days before this year’s squad hoisted the Division 3 crown. 

The Warriors finished 24-0-1 to become the Bay State’s first boys state champion to finish undefeated since Canton in 2019.

“It’s great for the community,” said Poulin, a Truro resident. “We have a great community behind us and we’re lucky enough to pull it off for them. I think we’ve had the best fans all year for hockey, so that makes it a lot easier to play.”

Medfield (22-2-1) jumped out to a 1-0 lead after senior Joseph Nee bested Nauset senior goaltender Zach Coelho 7:26 into the second period. The Warriors went into the second intermission with a 1-0 deficit, but Poulin gave the team a spark after netting the equalizer after burying a rebound with 11:17 remaining.

“It was the same situation as that Marblehead game [in the quarterfinals] — we needed that one goal to get over the mental hump against Marblehead,” Nauset coach Connor Brickley said. “Nauset had never scored a goal in a state championship, so we just needed to see that first one go in.

“It didn’t need to be cute, it didn’t need to be pretty. We just needed to find the back of the net.”

After Eldredge’s go-ahead goal, senior Colin Ward netted an empty-net goal with 2:07 to play before Poulin added another empty-net goal in the final minute for good measure. 

When the clock struck zero and the buzzer sounded, the Warriors leapt over the boards and stormed senior goaltender Zach Coelho, who finished the postseason with just two goals allowed compared to the 31 goals Nauset scored. 

“I just didn’t pay attention to anything around me besides the game,” said Coelho, a Truro resident. “I had that Tim Thomas mentality. I’ve got to thank my defense — Jack Martin especially, he was blocking everything in front of me.”

Ever since suffering a 1-0 loss to Marblehead in the 2024 state final, the Warriors spoke about their desire to not only return to TD Garden, but leave with a victory. 

The players attacked the regular season with passion and ferocity to prove that they and the program were the state’s best. 

Although the team fell behind against Marblehead in the quarterfinals and then again to Medfield in the title game, there was never any doubt in the players’ minds that they had what it took to stand alone among the greatest teams Nauset had ever fielded.

“We knew we had what it takes,” said Ward, a Chatham resident. “We had to work hard and to keep that same mentality we’ve had all year.”