WELLESLEY – Alex Marlowe's high school hockey career ended with an overtime goal just before reaching TD Garden.
Savio Prep, which closed later that year, eliminated Weston in the 2007 Division III North final on an overtime goal.
“We got there. It was a bad bounce. That's hockey,” said former Weston coach Link Cornell. “It’s great that Alex is there now, it’s really great.”
Marlowe took over the Dover-Sherborn/Weston Cooperative Program in 2020 after spending three years as an assistant. The Raiders reached the Sweet 16 in each of the past two seasons and then reached the state finals for the first time. The No. 5 seed in Division 4 will play No. 6 Hanover at TD Garden at 11 a.m.
Hello neighbor:Former Bruins captain Zdeno Chara wishes Dover-Sherborn/Weston hockey good luck in the Final Four.
“It's a dream come true. It's every little hockey player's dream to go to The Garden,” Marlow said.
Since DS/Weston's dramatic shootout victory over top-seeded Winthrop in the Final Four, Cornell and other coaches and alumni have reached out to Marlowe. Former teammates have flown in from California and Georgia for the game.
“It’s cool that a lot of kids left the show and it was just DS or it was just Weston, but it’s cool that they were interested and that their program accomplished this and came together. It was really cool to see,” Marlowe said.
Creation of the program in Weston
This version of DS/Weston was started by Cornell University in the early 2000s. Weston brought back a varsity team that disappeared in 2002-2003 when Rivers School built the rink, and the town of Weston got ice time through them. Weston's team had previously skated in Natick, where Cornell coached youth hockey. He led the Pee Wee A team to a state championship, and Weston officials asked him to lead the program.
It began as a freshman program in 2002-2003. Marlowe was one of those new students. He served as team captain all four years and made his transition to the varsity team during his junior year.
Former Athlete of the Year:Alex Marlowe was a three-sport star at Weston College.
“Once we had the system in hand, we set out,” Cornell said.
Much of that system had little to do with skating or puck handling. Cornell often brought players to the bench to observe practices so they could see the ice through the eyes of the coaches.
“Part of my thesis was that if the system was operating correctly, you should be able to make decisions on the ice,” he said. “You don't have to put me on the bench. You'll figure it all out. That was the basis.”
Marlow laid the foundation for the program when he took over it in 2018, when it was born as a co-op.
“I learned a lot from him and his coaching, because with him it wasn't just X's and O's. It was building a team and building a program,” Marlowe said. I did. “He had to build this culture. When I took over, we had to leverage that culture. It wasn't just about who had the best skills. I We needed kids who were friends and got along with each other. It's more than just hockey. I learned a lot from him.”
Brick by brick:Andrew Goldstein was DS/Weston Hockey's final line of defense in D4 state final run.
Coach Cornell will be at the Garden on Sunday watching his players go on a journey he never got to take as a coach.
“It's like passing the baton,” Cornell said. “It's very nice. It makes me smile.”
Please contact Kyle Grabowski at kgrabowski@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter. @kylegrbwsk.
