By Christopher Tremblay

Staff Sports Writer 

The Hopedale-Milford co-op hockey team had its ups and downs last year and although they struggled defensively, the boys of the ice were still able to earn themselves a berth in the Division 3 State Tournament. 

Having made the post-season, the Raiders were able to secure one win, a 3-0 victory over Somerville in the first round, before having to take on the number two seed Shawsheen Valley Tech. 

“I am pleased with the way that we played,” Coach Mike MacQuarrie said. “I only would have liked not to have seen such a high seed so early in the tournament.”

Hopedale-Milford plays a tough regular season schedule in order to get themselves prepared for the tournament. According to the Coach, the majority of teams on the Raiders schedule advance into the tournament. Playing in the Quinn Conference where a majority of the teams are Division 2, while HM is a Division 3 team.

“Our overall record in terms of wins and loses doesn’t reflect how we played during the season because of the tough teams that we play,” the Coach said. “Playing these tougher teams works out well due to the power ranking system. Our strength of schedule is extremely strong.”

One of the things that MacQuarrie is looking to improve upon with this year’s players is scoring. Last winter goals were something that were hard to come by for the Raiders. HM averaged 3 goals a game but unfortunately were giving about an average of 4 with inexperienced goaltenders. The Coach is hoping that the netminders have matured and will bring their experience to the ice this season. 

Coming into the season it may not be that easy for HM to find the back of the net on a regular basis having lost seven seniors to graduation, including their leading goal scorer. 

Looking to keep the puck out of the net will be senior Nathan Morin and juniors George Miranda and Brandon Mills. Morin looks to be the number one goalie between the pipes this season with Miranda, who got into four or five games playing a period here and there, as the back-up. Mills will also be looking to see some playing time on the season. 

The entire defense will be back this year to play in front of the Raider goalies, whomever it may be. Sophomore Noah Smith was a solid d-man for HM last year and MacQuarrie is hoping that now with a year under his belt he will be able to step up his game.

The senior defensemen will be Joe Butler, Matt Lioche, Dave Fleming and Aiden Collins; all four are physical players who can move the puck. Butler is probably the best all-around defender ad was tied for the lead in goals last year while Collins, who is an offensive catalyst for the team, not only was the team’s leading point getter, but brings the energy to the ice.

Junior Charlie Gingras rounds out the defense as another physical player. He is also a very good skater that is committed to his play each and every time that he steps onto the ice.

Offensively, MacQuarrie will be looking first to Collins, who he is hoping can find the back of the net 15-20 times this year. Junior Ricky Nashwatty, if healthy this season, will be another main contributor in the opposing team’s end. According to the Coach, Nashwatty lost significant time last year, but if he can stay on the ice he is a fantastic set-up guy.

Two other players who should be able to help with the lack of goal scoring will be sophomores Joshua Balzarini and Caleb Falconer. Balzarini was coming into his own as a freshman last year when he got hurt and was forced to miss three or four games. The second-year player sees the ice well and hopefully will be able to get back on track and help the team produce this winter.

Falconer saw most of his playing time near the end of the season. He is a big kid who works hard and the Coach will be looking to lean on him this year hoping that he too can take the next step to helping this team. Nathan Whiteman and Owen Bullock are both inexperienced players but they have the skills. 

MacQuarrie is once again looking for his team to finish in the middle of the pack and make a return trip to the State Tournament, somewhere around a 12-18 seed. HM always seems to win one game in the tournament, but the Coach is looking for the squad to get past the second round this season.

“Doing that would require us to stay healthy, while getting timely goaltending and great defense,” MacQuarrie said. “Our size is an issue and teams like to take advantage of us physically so we’ll need to work on that too.”

If the Raiders can find some goal scorers while getting their netminders and defense to play better this winter HM should be able to once again get into the tournament and hopefully earn themselves a second-round win and accomplish their Coaches goal.