By John Orrell, Contributing Writer
Marlborough – Victories have admittedly been hard to come by for the Marlborough High School (MHS) varsity ice hockey team in recent times, but suddenly this 2016-2017 squad has clearly turned the corner and no longer can be considered easy targets in the Quinn Conference standings.
The Panther skaters vaulted into the season with a springboard effect after winning their first of five contests, part of which included capturing the Daily News Cup Tournament championship last month with wins over solid opponents Leominster and Hudson after earlier defeating Auburn and Westborough. The team has hit a bit of a speed bump in the road – three successive losses since – but this is clearly not the makings of past teams where a winning culture was all too often absent.
“After our early-season win streak we got a little too confident, but now we just have to calm it down and move forward,” said senior co-captain Jake Hardy. “We can get down on ourselves but we try not to.
“We’re working so much harder than last year. Last year we got into that mentality where we were going to lose games and this season no matter what we’re working hard in practice and games and know we can win.”
“We have a lot of talent up front. In years past we started the season not looking good and it was always downhill from there,” echoed fellow senior co-captain Pat McCarthy. “We had a losing mentality and that’s how the season went. With the first couple of wins this season it felt much better and gave us more confidence and we’re building off that. It feels good. We know what it feels like to win, we like it and we want to keep doing it.”
The team has coalesced nicely, according to sixth-year head coach Mike O’Brien, who clearly has this squad motivated, committed to success and willing to work hard. Teamwork and mutual support are critical as was the bounce and infusion of confidence received after capturing the Daily News championship.
“It’s been a number of years since we’ve won (2011) and for this group as seniors it’s definitely a great way for them to go out,” said O’Brien. “I’m certainly proud of them all for achieving that because it has been a tough road for most of those kids. We want these guys to have success on the rink and in the classroom and in their personal lives as well. When they come to the rink and they’re having success, it makes everything in their lives a lot better for them.
“The kids this year are really supportive of one another. That’s the biggest difference from the past couple of years. Even in the games we’ve lost they still have each other’s backs and they battle to the end and that’s the difference that I see why this year has really turned around for these guys.”
“We have a lot of seniors on this team that have played together a long time and it really feels like the chemistry is coming together,” added senior co-captain Ryan MacGlashing. “This year we have some size, we have some numbers and it’s helped us a lot from past years.
“We’re all friends on this team. We’ve been together since middle school. We’ve got each other’s backs all the time and we’re there if we need it. Instead of us fighting all the time, we try to help one another get through tough times and figure things out talking instead of arguing.”
A significant element of the team’s reversal of fortune this season has been the effective leadership of captains McCarthy, Hardy and MacGlashing. They have not only stabilized the core group of veterans but the younger players who need the edge into assimilating into the role of varsity hockey players.
“We try to talk to the younger kids and just calm them down and tell them it’s just another game of hockey and go out there and have fun and play the game they love,” said McCarthy. “It’s nothing to get nervous about playing with your friends.”
“Having the right attitude and supporting one another starts with the captains and our captains this year have done a great job of making everyone feel that they’re included,” O’Brien explained. “The older guys are doing a great job with the younger kids in the room. The younger kids feel very comfortable around them. They feel like they fit in on this team and have right from the start. That’s a good sign for the program’s future.
“These kids all enjoy each other’s company. They’re tight with one another. The season’s going to be measured in wins and losses, but when they’re older and they’ll look back on their high school careers and those are the memories that they’re really going to remember. They’ll remember the big games and their goals scored but mostly it’s the friendships they’ve made and to me that’s the most important thing for these guys.”
Members of the 2016-2017 Marlborough High varsity ice hockey team are seniors Tommy Gatzunis, Ryan MacGlashing, Jake Hardy, Christian McKinnon, Matt Allen, Luke Goulet, Pat McCarthy, Nick Melanson, Mike Alonzi, Joe Leonard, Jesse Flynn; juniors Joe Landry, Owen O’Brien; sophomores Jerry McCarthy, Tino Pizzarella, Andrew Sullivan, Ben Johnson and freshmen Kyle Carroll, Kyle Cassie, Joe LaFolletee, Cam Sinopoli and Will Fantasia.