Hopkinton High School boys hockey coach Joshua Potter acknowledged that the season started slow for the Hillers. It took three games for the Hillers to find the win column, and they still sat below .500 heading into February. But the team rattled off seven straight wins to close out the regular season and earn a spot in the Division 2 state tournament, where they posted one win before falling to top-seeded Canton.

“We made some changes to our system, but I think it was about the kids jelling together,” Potter said. “Just realizing that they could do it was a big part of it. We got hot at the end of the year.”

Potter said the first goal for the program is to make the state playoffs and another is to be playing their best hockey at the end of the year. By any measure, the Hillers checked both boxes this winter. Hopkinton knocked off teams like Norwood, Holliston and Dedham who had beaten them the first time through the schedule.

“It was great to get some revenge on those teams,” Potter said.

Matt Pedroli and Connor Merkle led the way in scoring this winter, with Will Iantosca not far behind. The offense proved to be a key part of the Hillers’ late-season surge.

“We started scoring goals,” Potter said. “We were always good on defense; we were just not scoring. We really started focusing on hitting the net, and that was big for us.”

The defense was a mainstay all winter. Sam Spavento provided some scoring punch, and Cory DeCosta and Carter Moore were “calm and steady” on the blue line, Potter said.

Hopkinton also benefited from two strong goaltenders. Colton Spavento boasted a save percentage of 95%, among the best in the state. Connor Harris was not far behind, stopping about nine out of every 10 shots he saw.

“Our goaltending has been incredible,” Potter said.

Potter said the team was a bit disappointed by its middle-of-the-pack finish in the Tri-Valley League but noted that the league was particularly strong and HHS always was competitive.

“Every game was tight,” the coach said.

Hopkinton also benefited from strong leadership among its captains, which included DeCosta, Merkle, Moore and Jack Resnick.

“We had a good leadership group,” Potter said. “It’s a good mix of guys.”

That combination helped Hopkinton turn around what could have been a subpar season.

“We always expect to do well,” Potter said. “We started off slow, but I think by the end of the year, we were playing where we expected to play.”