BOSTON — Somewhere, Wes Tuttle is smiling.

The former Marlborough High boys hockeyplayer and assistant coach, who died unexpectedly in 2020, was Mr. Hockey in Massachusetts. A longtime general manager of New England Sports Center, Tuttle bled Marlborough black, orange and white.

On Sunday, the top-seeded Marlborough boys hockey team played third-seeded Hanover in the Division 3 state championship at TD Garden. And even though the Panthers lost, 5-3, they know that Tuttle would be proud.   

“He would be impressed, amazed really,” Marlborough senior captain Mark Evangelous said. “All the hard work, knowing us since little kids and seeing us do (nearly) what he did as a coach when he won a state championship, I think he would just be amazed and so proud.”

“Wes would be so giddy. So happy,” former Marlborough head coach John Butler said. “I think the hockey gods (were) watching the city of Marlborough.”

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For the first time since 2005, when Tuttle was an assistant coach on Butler’s staff, the Panthers played in a state championship game. With the loss, Marlborough finishes its season with a 21-2-1 record.

“I couldn’t be prouder of them or happier that they’re the ones who pushed Marlborough High hockey back up front,” Marlborough head coach Mike O’Brien said. 

Things didn’t start well for Marlborough on Sunday as Hanover scored two goals to take an early 2-0 lead. But scores from AMSA sophomore Luc Masse and Marlborough senior Marcus Chrisafideis tied it at two apiece going into the first intermission.

Both teams traded goals to open the second period with Hanover’s Michael Munroe tallying his second score before Chrisafideis found Evangelous with a nifty pass as the senior forward found the back of the net to make it 3-3.

But back-to-back penalties from the Panthers led to an eventual Hanover goal from senior captain Max DaSilva as the Hawks took a 4-3 lead into the second break.  

“They battled back twice from behind,” O’Brien said.

Marlborough almost tied it again with less than five minutes to play. On the power play, Chrisafideis nearly snuck the puck past the Hanover goaltender. Chrisafideis even raised his right hand in celebrate but it was to no avail as Hanover still held on to the lead.

“It was under the pad,” said Chrisafideis, who scored 38 goals this season. “I thought I was going to sell it but the ref didn’t see it.” 

With 42.7 seconds left in regulation, Hanover's Robbie Hanna scored an empty-net goal to hand the Hawks the win.    

“We were still pushing to get that last goal at the end,” said O’Brien, a 1989 Marlborough High alum. “There was no let down from those guys. They really fought all the way to the end.”

Marlborough senior Jeremy LaCroix came back to the Panthers this winter – after playing with the U-18 Junior Bruins last year – so he could suit up with his younger brother, Matt. For LaCroix, playing in a state title alongside his sibling validates his decision to return.  

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“It feels like it was worth it,” LaCroix said. “There are no regrets playing.”

“Him coming back, making the decision to play for us, I’m sure the season is exactly what he imagined,” O’Brien said. “We all set our goals at the start of the year and for him to come back his senior year and (play in) a state championship is a great story, too.”

The Panthers would’ve preferred to pen a different story on Sunday in their state championship game. But even with a loss, Marlborough knows Tuttle would be pleased with how his former Panthers played this season. 

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“I’d assume he’d be proud,” said Chrisafideis, who played for Tuttle for eight years. “We had something to play for other than ourselves.”

Wes had a big influence on not just Marlborough but a lot of players across New England,” O’Brien said. “He had a big impact on some of the guys in that room. So I’m sure he’d have a big smile and he’d be patting these guys on the back, telling them to get back (here) next year and don’t settle for anything less.”