WORCESTER — The injury bug can strike hard in all aspects of sports, and perhaps feeling it more than others currently is the Wachusett Regional High varsity ice hockey team. The squad is playing through absences, but still has vaulted their way to the top of the Roy Conference, posting an 11-5 record as the conclusion of the 2023-2024 regular season draws near.
Missing from the Mountaineer lineup are senior forwards co-captain Parker Meyer (illness), Ayden White (sprained thumb) and Will Vallee (broken wrist). The three combined this season have a total of 27 points.
But the show must go on, as the tired expression goes, and that it did when Grafton High welcomed Wachusett to Worcester’s Buffone Arena on Feb. 7. The host Gators wasted little time getting on the board, popping home a trio of goals in succession to grab the early lead, which they would not relinquish. Grafton would go on to win this one, 6-4, but not without a strong second and third periods from their opponent.
“We’ve been shorthanded quite a few games, but no excuses,” said WRHS head coach Matt Lane. “The kids worked hard. I was happy with our effort in the second and third periods. We wound up out-shooting them 39-24. For some reason, we didn’t have a good first period. We have to play all 45 minutes to be successful. They just dominated and outworked us.
“I thought we were the better team, and their goalie (Mason DeCaire) came up huge when we had opportunities. We just couldn’t put it away.”
“Our coaches really motivated us, telling us from the bench to keep going,” said sophomore forward and prolific scorer Cody Penniman, who tallied on a power play in the second period along with teammate Thomas Willman. “We’ve been in this kind of situation before. We knew we had to fight hard and get back into it.”
“It all starts in the locker room before the game,” said senior Jason Flaherty, who leads the Roy Conference in scoring and recorded the first goal of the night, an unassisted shorthander for Wachusett. “We have to come ready to work, and obviously we didn’t do that. We thought this was going to be an easy game, and the first period showed it. We had to bounce back.
“We have to have good practices and focus because the playoffs are right around the corner. Hopefully, there’s a championship out there for us.”
The Mountaineers closed the gap and, were it not for some clutch saves by DeCaire, the outcome of this matchup might have been different. Tanner Watkins, assisted by Flaherty, made it a one-goal game, but the Gators answered back, burying a pair of third period goals to put this away for Grafton.
As the team awaits playoff scenarios, they know they must take care of business and finish the regular season strong. Players, coaches and team supporters all remain optimistic.
“We lost a lot of seniors from last year, so we were probably expecting a bit of a setback. But the new guys who have come in here have really done well and helped us,” said Penniman.
“We’re playing it one game at a time,” Willman, a defenseman, said. “We knew Grafton from before when we played them earlier in the season (3-2 Wachusett victory).”
Members of the 2023-2024 Wachusett Regional High varsity ice hockey team, which includes five sets of brothers, are Kevin Shaw, Ayden White, Brayden Allaire, Jake Penniman, Thomas Willman, Nick Brousseau, Clark Gardula, Shea Whalen, Travis Laidlaw, Matt Brousseau, Parker Meyer, Ethan Bennett, Tanner Watkins, Ryan Flaherty, Cody Penniman, Patrick Vallee, Jason Flaherty, Will Vallee, Caden Lane, Matt Bjorkman, Stone Lane, Trevor Staiti and Connor Dugan. Captains are Thomas Willman and Parker Meyer.
