Waltham High boys hockey falls to Needham High, 5-1

The Waltham High School (WHS) boys hockey team has proven to be a formidable force this winter and is primed to make a deep run in the MIAA Division 1 tournament in a few weeks.

However, the Hawks fell flat at the Babson Skating Center on Saturday afternoon, dropping to 13-6 on the season with a 5-1 defeat at the hands of Needham High School.

“Not a good game for us,” WHS head coach John Maguire said. “We got behind early, gave up a few early goals that set the tone for the game. A little frustrating that we didn’t compete. We had a couple guys get hurt which didn’t help, but it’s not what we wanted.”

Goalkeeper Garo Gebeyan, a sophomore who is trying out the position for the first time this season after playing defenseman on the junior varsity in the 2023-24 campaign, was under siege throughout the tilt. Gebeyan managed to make 24 saves, but it was not enough to stifle the Rockets’ barrage.

“They were the better team today, for sure,” Maguire said.

Waltham’s Brendan Losier provided his unit with some momentum early on, making a big clear on a Needham breakaway to keep the game knotted at 0-0. The Rockets managed to break through from there, with captain Tommy Peabody and Joey Saratella netting goals to give Needham a 2-0 lead to conclude the first period.

The trend continued in the next stanza, with two Hawks penalties leading to Peabody’s second tally of the game along with a goal from Matt Ledbury.

Needham grabbed another goal early in the third period, but Waltham did respond with some fight. Brian Fleming put the Hawks on the board with 13:17 left, knocking in a nice shot on the right side of the ice after receiving a feed from behind the net. WHS played with intensity over the final 10 minutes of the contest, as the likes of Fleming, captain Connor Chiasson, assistant captain Carlo Attardo, and Alex Carrafiello seated Rockets players with some powerful hits.

Waltham will have one more tune-up prior to the postseason.

“Hopefully we’ll bounce back,” Maguire said. “We play at Bentley on Tuesday against Newton North. It’s our last game before the tournament, and hopefully we turn it around.”

Puck drop will be at 1:45 p.m. from Bentley Ice Arena as WHS enjoys its February vacation this coming week.