A few years ago, the Wachusett ice hockey team was bumped up from Division 3 to Division 1 and over the years the Mountaineers have been trying to increase their regular season schedule with some tougher teams. Last season Wachusett was able to put together a 15-4-1 season that got them into the Division 1 State Tournament where unfortunately they had to square off with the number four seed, Catholic Memorial, in the first round. The Knights, who would go onto capture the State Championship, shut out Wachusett 5-0 and sent them home sooner than they would have liked.

Three seniors graduated from that team, and 17 players came back, including 10 seniors. The Mountaineers are looking to improve upon that season’s record, especially in the playoffs.

“This year we are looking to win as many games as we did last year and although we are on pace to do that (at the time of this writing Wachusett was 6-1-1) it’s going to be a challenge playing only 20 games,” Coach Matt Lane said. “We are also hoping to reduce our goals against average and get it below 2.0.”

The team’s main objective, according to the players, is to host a Division 1 Tournament game, but to do that they will need to be seeded 16 or lower when the regular season comes to an end. Wachusett is currently ranked 16th.

Lane is looking for senior captain and the team’s only four-year player, Cody Penniman, to lead the team back into the post-season. With an assist against Grafton, the senior forward eclipsed the 100-point mark for his illustrious career with Wachusett. Coming into the season, Penniman sat at 86 points and through the team’s first eight games scored 10 goals while handing out eight assists to put him at 104 total points - with over half the season still on the dockets. 

“Cody is the first player in six years to accomplish the feat, there have only been six players in the school since 2000 to do so,” Lane said. “This year I am looking for him to continue to lead us offensively and thus far he has been all over the ice and meeting our expectations.”

Penniman will play on the red line with Ryan Flaherty and Travis Laidlaw, the team’s high flying, move the puck, number-one line offensively. Flaherty currently has six goals and eight assists for 14 points, while Laidlaw has netted two goals and assisted on nine others for 11 points.

The green line consists of three role model players; the trio are gritty, hardworking, blue collar in the corner players. They also consist of four, five and six scorers. Center Matt Brousseau (three goals, seven assists) and wingers Caden Lane (four goals, five assists) and Brayden Allaire (three goals, three assists) compose the green line for the Mountaineers.

Senior Aiden Boyce is the anchor to the white line and according to the coach, he is a two-way hockey player who can play all three zones on the ice. 

“Aiden is a really solid role player and had a shorthanded goal for us against Scituate,” Lane said. “He has two goals and one assist, but that is not indicative of how he plays and has represented the team.”

The defense is made up of six players who could be paired with one another on any given night. Leading the Mountaineers on the blueline is Jake Penniman, twin to Cody, who has notched 10 goals through the early part of the season. Other defensemen are sophomore Colin Carson (four points); junior Ethan Bennett, a three-year player with excellent skating abilities and an offensive-minded defenseman; sophomore Owen Ambach, junior transfer Erik Nordahl and junior Pat Vallee, another three-year player who is a stay-at-home defenseman. The coach is extremely happy with how all six of his defensemen have played so far.

Playing behind the talented defensemen and in between the pipes, Lane has not one, but three goalies - any of whom can play the position on any night. Currently, senior Kevin Shaw is the top dog in net having played in five games posting a 3-1-1 record while allowing only 10 goals on 118 shots, while posting a 1.96 goals against average and a .915 save percentage. Shaw also has the team’s only shutout thus far.

Sitting behind Shaw is sophomore keeper Reed LaBaire who is undefeated with two wins, allowing four goals on 56 shots for a 2.00 goals against and .929 save percentage. Rounding out the netminders is senior Trevor Staiti, who has allowed only one goal in his only win, posting a 1.00 goals against and a .909 save percentage.

Although Shaw is currently the team’s number-one goalie, Lane is not afraid to put any one of the players between the pipes and expect the same results.

“Typically, we’ll go with the goalie who has been playing the best during practice leading up to the game, who has the hot hand,” Lane said. “It’s a challenge to get all three playing time, but a nice problem to be in.”

Since making the switch from playing in the Division 3 to the Division 1 State Tournament, Lane and his coaching staff have been dropping the D3 teams that they had been playing and picking up some D1 teams during the regular season in order to improve their strength and get themselves a better seeding for the post-season.

Lane is pleased with where his team currently finds itself although they were unable to finish off Shrewsbury.

“Not being able to finish has been a thorn in our side on occasion,” Lane said. “We control our destiny and if we can play our game for a strong 45 minutes then I am confident that we can beat just about anybody.”