WESTBOROUGH — It’s seen as an annual precursor to a new and challenging season for the Wachusett Regional High varsity ice hockey team, and for this year’s Borough’s Cup, its circle of competitors shone once more.
The Mountaineer skaters swept their tournament rivals (2-1 versus Algonquin Regional and 5-2 in the finals against Marlborough) to return the trophy to Wachusett for the 11th time, and now all eyes turn to regular season play. Fresh off their notable Boroughs sweep, it was on to face Nashoba Regional at NorthStar Ice Sports on Dec. 20.
In this one, sophomore Cody Penniman notched a hat trick while senior co-captain Parker Meyer scored a pair of goals to lead the green and white to an 8-3 victory. The win improved the team’s record to 3-1 while the Wolverines fell to 0-3.
This matchup had it all: an onslaught off offense, stout defense and a first victory for sophomore goaltender Trevor Staiti, who recorded 25 saves for the Mountaineers. Meyer scored the first of his two goals while Penniman struck twice for the first of his three scores on the night to make it 3-0 Wachusett.
Wachusett’s lead would not hold for long, as the Wolverines struck back with three tallies of their own, making it a 3-3 deadlock heading into the game’s final 15 minutes.
But it was here that the Wachusett offense would unleash a torrid attack, scoring five unanswered goals to put this one squarely into the win column. Caden Lane, Travis Laidlaw, Meyer, Penniman and Jason Flaherty each scored to put this one away for the Mountaineers.
“We cycled the puck down low, and it got to the point, and I was screaming and I tipped the top corner,” said Penniman in describing his third score on the night.
“We kind of let our foot off the gas and got too comfortable with our lead. We’ve done that a couple of times this year already,” Penniman explained. “Before the third period, Coach Lane told us what to do better, and we executed.”
“In the second period, we came out kind of flat,” Meyer admitted. “We thought we had the game in-hand, so we came out flying in the third after we let up three straight, we put up five.”
Fly they did, scoring five goals in rapid succession.
“We came out in the first (period) and went up 3-0, and the guys kind of think it’s over at that point,” said head coach Matt Lane. “I give credit to Nashoba. They really stepped up their game and had a couple of powerplay goals. We hurt ourselves being in the (penalty) box, but I was proud of them in the third. They played hard, they played clean, and we took advantage of some opportunities.
“We have an explosive team with three lines that can score at any moment. Our defense is sound with (senior co-captain) Thomas Willman out there leading the way. He’s an offensive defenseman, so we have a lot of opportunities to score. That was evident in the first and third period. I don’t know where it went in the second,” Lane said, smiling.
“Trevor Staiti, our sophomore goalie, had his first start in goal, and he buckled down, so I’m really happy for him. Our goalies (Staiti and freshman Kevin Shaw) coming into the season having no high school experience made it a question mark for our team, but they’ve both proven that they can play the spot.”
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.
Head coach is Matt Lane, assisted by Paul Connors, Tanner Drawbridge and Mike Putnam. Team managers are Sydney Carlson, Anabel Joslyn, Ava Moran, Maya Nicoloro and Julia Willman.
