For many observers, it wasn’t really a matchup to think twice over.

While last year’s Archbishop Williams boys hockey team thought highly of itself, an up-and-down regular season pinned it to a middling 16th seed entering the Div. 1 state tournament. A first-round rout for the Bishops was great, but matching up in the second with top-seeded defending state champion St. John’s Prep – which was the clear favorite to repeat – seemed like an obvious end of the road.

Naturally, the Eagles took a 1-0 lead less than 10 minutes in. Shots were well in favor of SJP all game, finishing with a 40-15 advantage.

Yet, the Bishops labored and held the deficit to just one goal until tying things up in the second period. Though the Eagles regained the lead heading into the third, all they would get was that one more goal. Archbishop Williams nearly tied the score again, but ultimately fell, 2-1.

It’s always hard to find moral victories when your season ends, especially when you’re that close to an upset. But it was a clear, major building block for a group of 10 returning seniors – one that was sure to stick.

At 12-2 this year with the No. 2 rank in the latest MIAA Div. 1 power rankings entering the weekend, it certainly has.

“A lot of people were like, ‘Oh, well, (SJP is) going to crush them,’ ” said third-year Archbishop Williams head coach Chris Cunningham. “I think that (final score) was huge as far as gaining confidence, that maybe we can play with anybody. I think that was a huge turning point last year.”

Seniors Ben Sylvester and Matt Deminico were asked in separate interviews what a successful season this year means for them. Without hesitation, Sylvester mentioned TD Garden and Deminico brought up a state title. The Bishops are well in sync with lofty expectations, and a big reason behind that is the buildup of a group that’s been through the wringer together.

Of the 10 Archies seniors, 2022-transfer Justin Watson is the only player who hasn’t been on the team since their sophomore season – when Cunningham was promoted from assistant coach. And in each of the past two years together, the Bishops have gone 12-8-1 in the regular season before bowing out in the second round of the Div. 1 state tournament. The first trip, as the 21st-seed, had the team feeling like it was headed for a bigger leap last year than it was. So while the tournament loss to St. John’s Prep was encouraging, it was also crushing.

“We know we can play with anybody in this league,” Deminico said. “Last year, it was really painful because we thought we were right there and for it to come down like that, it definitely motivated a lot of us.”

“That just really built the character of the team,” Sylvester added.

Ever since, Archbishop Williams has played among the best in the state.

It’s no coincidence that its only two losses are to the two teams that made it to TD Garden last year, and both were only by one goal (4-3 to Xaverian, 5-4 in overtime at Pope Francis). The Bishops swept St. Mary’s of Lynn and Arlington Catholic to secure the Catholic Central League title for a second straight year, and logged notable nonleague wins over Canton, Braintree, Central Catholic, Milton and Needham.

Skill and athletic development are obvious benefits to having 10 seniors on the team – the most Cunningham has had yet. Balance also bolsters the group, with nine different players notching at least 10 points and three have at least 20 (junior Finn Kelly, Sylvester and senior Casey Kelley). Against Pope Francis, three goals came from the Bishops’ third line.

Yet, experience and chemistry has vastly shaped this group.

“You need guys that have been through it before and can kind of pull you through when things get tight,” Cunningham said. “It was just huge because you can’t teach that. They have to have experienced it before, so it’s been really big. … We’ve kind of grown together in the last three years. It’s been a really tight group.”

“We’ve learned a lot, we’ve battled through a lot of adversity,” Deminico added. “We’ve been together for four years, we’re a very close group. I think that helps a lot. … All around it’s just been special this year.”

The tight games are evident with a quick glance at the schedule, as Archbishop Williams has needed to gut out overtime wins against Milton, Canton and Arlington Catholic. Pope Francis was the Bishops’ only overtime loss, which was very discouraging for the players after leading 3-1 over the defending champs at one point.

But unlike in years past, there was a big response. Archbishop Williams has a tendency to start slow, but rolled out to a 3-0 first-period lead in the next game against St. Mary’s.

“The past few years we’ve had some letdown games, games we were close to winning,” Sylvester said. “We use to let those losses weigh down on us and hurt us more during the season. But this year we understand that we’re going to lose a game every once and a while, and we’re just going to have to battle through it.”

The tests will keep coming for the Bishops, as they still have dates with Div. 1 contenders Catholic Memorial and Franklin to go before playing in the Buddy Ferreira Classic. They look forward to them all.

After building themselves up on matchups like those entering the year, why wouldn’t they?

Dylan Picard of the Archbishop Williams boys hockey team during practice this week. (Matt Stone/Boston Herald)