Buzzer beater decides Massachusetts state championship hockey game between St. John's Prep and Winchester
BOSTON – St. John's Prep and Winchester played an instant classic Sunday at TD Garden in the MIAA Division 1 state championship. But the buzzer-beating goal that decided the contest was a controversial one.
St. John's Prep's Johnny Tighe scored with less than one second remaining, giving his team a thrilling 3-2 win over Winchester High School.
Many in attendance believed Tighe's shot came after time expired. Video replay is not used in Massachusetts high school sports. The referees conferred briefly after the final horn sounded, but the goal stood.
"Tough way to lose. I feel for the kids," Winchester coach Gino Khachadourian told the Patriot Ledger. "To lose a game like that, it's just not right. … They're all distraught in [the locker room], and now with social media, [the replay is] all out there. That's what makes it worse. I wish nobody saw it and we could say, 'The game's over, we lost.'"
Boys Hockey loses a heartbreaker to St. John’s Prep 3-2 in the Division 1 State Championship. I have never been more proud of the way a team has played, and the way the student-athletes and coaches handled themselves when a decision at the highest level didn’t go their way.
— Winchester Athletics (@Winch_Athletics) March 18, 2024
St. John's Prep head coach Kristian Hanson told the Patriot Ledger the controversy was "not staining anything."
Hanson pointed to a call earlier in the game that resulted in a St. John's Prep goal being wiped off the board.
"That's the call the officials have to make on the ice in real time and I'm confident they got both of them right," he said.
In a statement, the MIAA said it has not adopted the use of video replay in any of its championship events. "According to Rule 17 of the MIAA handbook, 'All results shall be final when the contest has been concluded by the game officials,'" the MIAA said.