If you close your eyes, you can probably still hear the booming sound of racing heartbeats.

What. A. Year.

Div. 1 boys and girls hockey coaches pointed out all season how the fields were wide open. Naturally, 14th-seeded St. John’s of Shrewsbury shook off a 1-9 stretch to close the regular season with two overtime wins, and another in double-overtime, to reach TD Garden. And the No. 15 Bishop Stang girls not only won their first playoff game ever, but also became the lowest seed since Woburn in 2010 (No. 22) to reach a state final in girls hockey.

Neither of them won, but after a 2-5 closeout to the regular season, the 13th-seeded Medfield girls (16-7-2) made sure at least one Cinderella emerged victorious. Goalie Kamryn Perachi flipped a switch to become unbeatable, and followed a semifinal shutout of No. 1 Westwood with a shutout of No. 6 Milton for the Warriors’ first state title.

Win or loss, all three embodied part of what made this tournament such a thrill to follow – new faces with stunning finishes. By the end of the day at TD Garden, none of the six state champions had won a title in over a decade. Four of them hadn’t won at all or in nearly 50 years.

Teams like the No. 1 Hingham girls (24-1-1) in Div. 1, the No. 1 Nauset boys (24-0-1) in Div. 3, and the No. 1 Billerica boys (23-1-1) in Div. 2, were seemingly teams of destiny. Seniors Caroline Doherty (234 points) and Addy Garrity (100-plus points) capped off impressive careers with a title for the Harborwomen. It was no surprise for Danny Viscione (40 goals, 19 assists) to score twice and assist on the double-overtime winner for Billerica to outlast Canton, winning a title for the first time since 1977. And then there’s 85-point man Logan Poulin (this year alone), who led a star-studded Nauset lineup to exorcise the demons of last year’s loss at TD Garden with a win over Medfield for its first title.

After three straight years of early exits via upset, No. 5 Winthrop (16-6-2) finally hoisted its first state title since 1976 off a hat trick from Mike Holgersen and a shutout from Mike Donahue – beating a No. 6 Dedham team making its first finals appearance. And while No. 4 Catholic Memorial leads the state in titles, its 16-year drought was snapped with a third-period comeback over St. John’s that seniors Luke Long and Tommy Hurst put the final touches on.

Combined with the rest of the tournament, 48 boys games (36.3 percent) came down to two goals or less. On the girls’ side, there were 40 (63.5 percent). Billerica and Canton’s double-overtime rock fight was the 24th boys game that went to at least one overtime, and the 16th that went at least two.

Much of it will be revered for years to come.

Bishop Stang’s goal in the final minute to force OT with Methuen/Tewksbury girls in the Div. 1 state semifinals. Hurst’s game-winner with 21.3 seconds left for the title. St. John’s senior Daniel Menyalkin’s golden goals against Winchester and Arlington. A triple-OT goalie clinic between Belmont’s Ethan Bauer and Winchester’s Graham Emerick. Tewksbury’s game-tying goal with 00.9 seconds left in the Div. 2 state semis. Woburn’s double-OT win over Westwood. Braintree’s double-OT win over Marshfield – in the first round. Xaverian escaping both No. 25 Central Catholic and No. 24 Barnstable in double-OT.

Utter chaos, in the best way. The countdown to next season starts now.

The Nitty Gritty

It’s damn hard for some programs to even make the state tournament, and damn hard for anyone to advance. It’s a blessing and an honor.

The conditions for student-athletes and their support systems should reflect as such.

Shawsheen Tech played East Longmeadow in the Div. 3 first round on a Thursday, to then play Melrose on Friday in the second round. In the Round of 16, it was the only program forced to play a back-to-back.

Luckily, it didn’t need overtime or an emotional rollercoaster to get past the first night – a luxury the Dennis-Yarmouth boys didn’t have when their four-goal comeback win over Taconic in the Div. 4 preliminary round was followed by a date with Hanover the very next day.

Rink time will always be a concern, and that’s valid. But in the framework of the state tournament, there should never be back-to-backs – these all-out games are too tough on the heart and the legs.

As teams go deeper in the playoffs, higher-quality officiating should accompany them. Arlington’s John Messuri sparked conversation for his irate reaction to an interference call that gave St. John’s a 5-on-3 it used to rally from down two goals. It was the fourth game of the night at Tsongas Center, and none of the previous three matchups had any penalties issued. Arlington and St. John’s had eight.

There’s a fine line the MIAA walks with its conversations to officials on how to call a game. That’s when fingers start pointing. But on a night with no calls through three games, an interference for a typical engage and release on a faceoff would be tough for anyone to swallow.

Bring back the Super Eight. As soon as possible.

Advocates for leaving the system as is have plenty of fuel. If we were to have a Super Eight with the top-10 teams in the power rankings, Billerica would’ve been pulled from Div. 2 and Nauset from Div. 3. At least one wouldn’t have won a deserved title. Beyond that, three of the Div. 1 teams in it lost in the current tournament to teams that wouldn’t have qualified.

And yet, the optics aren’t great. Private schools have won all four Div. 1 state titles since the Super Eight was put on suspension. Only once (Winchester) has a public school even made it to the TD Garden. Just four of the 16 Div. 1 Final Four spots (25 percent) have been earned by public schools, and private schools are 45-14 (.763) against public schools in the Div. 1 state tournament over the last four years. The Catholic Conference, plus Pope Francis, has an even higher win percentage (.860).

Kind of chilling, no?

Great changes were made from last year. The first goal at TD Garden was overturned now that replay tech has been deemed available to use. Coaches raved about the switch to triple-overtimes instead of a shootout round, too.

Time for a few more.