It’s been a long time since the Greenfield hockey team lost a game.
The Green Wave captured their first ever state title in 2019 with a 3-2 win over Lunenburg and followed it up with a 10-0-1 campaign in the abbreviated 2020-21 season last year, meaning Greenfield hasn’t lost a game since the 2019 regular season.
Now the Green Wave look to continue the momentum built in the program the last few years as they turn their attention to the 2021 season, which gets underway on Friday with a showdown with Westfield. With the success the last few years, Greenfield has gone from the hunter to the hunted, knowing it’ll get each teams best shot.
“We’re coming into this season looking to work harder than we ever have before,” Green Wave coach Adam Bouchard said. “Having had the last two seasons be a success, every team that plays us is going to want to compete with us. We’ll have to work harder than ever before and play Green Wave hockey if we want to lead the pack like we have the last few years.”
Kyle Barnes, Jacob Bryant, Aidan Roche and Derek Lenois are part of the core that graduated last year, and while they’ll be tough to replace, Greenfield had a young roster last year that got game experience and are ready to step in and fill those roles left by the departed seniors.
Kevin Baumann and MJ Paulin will captain the Green Wave team, with both seniors bringing leadership and skill to the team. After being part of successful teams in the past, Bouchard is pleased with how the two have been able to work with the younger players and keep the winning culture going.
Shane Prusak — who tied for the team lead in points last season — and Sammy Knight will be the assistant captains, with both playing big roles the last two years with Greenfield and are expected to take a step forward in their junior seasons.
“We graduated some key student-athletes last year,” Bouchard said. “The good thing is we had a young core that is coming back this year. The bulk of our team is sophomores and juniors. The majority of everyone has been in the program for at least a year. It’s great to see the program continue to develop younger classes as we look to continue to compete.”
Up front, Brodie Gagne had a strong freshman season and will be leaned on to utilize his speed and skill. Trevor Kuchieski brings speed, skill and tenacity at forward while Matt Lavoine should see an expanded role. Jake Croteau is a strong power forward who should be a big piece on the penalty kill unit.
Hunter Smith will be a key player on defense with his size while Jayson Smith should see a bigger role as a potential top pair defenseman. Derek Wissman is a versatile sophomore who can see minutes on both offense and defense, Dylan Archer is a junior defender while Jacob Bryant’s younger brother, Ethan Bryant, will step up and play varsity minutes on the back end.
Gabe Voudren, RJ Grondin, Ben Given and Jamison Balino will have roles on the team while freshmen Matt Garvin and Jake Jurek will fight for varsity minutes.
Giovanni Grima, Preston LaFleur, Porter Hall, Jackson Lavallee and Jerry Scallion are young players who will play JV while fighting for varsity time.
One of the biggest pieces returning for Greenfield is Josh Bordeaux in goal. Bordeaux started all 11 games last year and was a major factor in the Green Wave not having a tally in the loss column.
Bordeaux is already working with Scallion, a freshman, in goal which gives Bouchard and the Greenfield hope that the goalie position will be locked down for the foreseeable future.
“He’s come in in the best shape of his life,” Bouchard said. “He took over that role his sophomore year and has continued to grow in between the net. He’s going to be one of the top goalies in our league. Having Josh come in and mentor Jerry to work hard and hone his craft, we’re excited about how we look between the pipes for the next four years.”
The Green Wave are once again in the Wright League and will compete in the Div. 4 state tournament field.
This is the first year the MIAA has gone to a statewide tournament for the postseason, with Bouchard excited to see how his team stacks up against the best teams in the Commonwealth as they look to make another run at a title.
“I’m a fan of it,” Bouchard said. “We were one of the last states to go to a full statewide tournament. After seeing it go through a couple seasons in the other sports and watching how it’s progressed, I think it’s a great thing for high school sports here. As long as the state has put the teams in the division they should be in, it’ll be great. You get to play teams you haven’t seen before and go to rinks you haven’t been to before. We’re excited for it as a team. It’ll be harder to win a state title now and we’re ready for the challenge.”