In the preseason, Holderness coach Alan Thompson (Gilford, N.H) emphasized the need for his team to play with a balanced scoring approach. Three games in, the Bulls have done just that, winning their first two contests by a pair of nine-goal margins.
Eleven different players found the back of the net in the team's 12-3 season-opening victory over Hebron Academy. Three days later, six different players scored at least one goal — junior forward Aidan O’Connell (Wilmington, Mass.) potted three — as Thompson’s club defeated Pingree, 9-0. Junior goalie Evan Plunkett recorded the shutout in net.
“Obviously, we don't expect to win any game by that score, but it just speaks to our offensive depth this year,” said Thompson, a Holderness and UNH alum, who is in his third season behind the Plymouth, N.H., bench.
“All four lines scored at least two goals in the Hebron game. In terms of balanced scoring, that's probably the best game that we've had since I've coached here. We really have four lines that can go, which in the past we've had usually one or two and then there's typically a big drop off to the third. We don't have that this year.”
The Bulls improved to 3-0 on Wednesday, knocking off Brewster Academy, 4-2, in their first official Lakes Region matchup of the season. They trailed by two goals in the second period before getting four unanswered tallies from four different scorers to secure the win and a pair of league points.
According to senior co-captain Cooper Boulanger (Barre, Vt.), the team’s explosive, yet balanced start has been a product of a healthy culture budding within the group.
“Out of my four years, I think, personally, this is the most tight-knit group that we’ve had,” said Boulanger, who leads the team in scoring with nine points on seven assists.
“I’ve seen a lot of different clicks in the locker room over the years but everybody really loves each other. We have a great group of guys. Some guys that can really play, too.”
The biggest positive of the strong start, Boulanger added, is the wave of confidence the team has gained early on.
“We’re just focused on playing a full game, starting hard and not taking any shifts off,” the uncommitted ’03 said. "That’s kind of been our mentality even throughout the first couple of games. Winning by such a large margin is nice, but those games are in the past. It was good to get two points, but we want the two points that are in front of us now.”
In addition to Boulanger, fellow seniors Nick Messina (co-captain) and Sean Senier are forwards who have made key impacts in the early going, recording six and five points, respectively. Senier, an ’02 from Melrose, Mass., leads the way in goals with four.
Sophomores Kaden Freelove (Tyngsboro, Mass.) and Jake Boulanger (Barre, Vt.) are some of the other forwards who have made positive contributions early on.
“They play together on the third line and they really could be a second line on most teams,” Thompson said of the 2005-born duo. “They're really good young athletes and I think they could definitely be players down the road that colleges will want to take a look at for sure.”
Senior defenseman Dave Brandes, an Ontario native, is leading the team in the back end, anchoring a unit that has allowed five goals in three games in front of Plunkett, who has stopped 67 of the 70 shots that he has faced.
Although the Bulls haven’t played the most difficult schedule so far, the emergence of the team's balanced scoring efforts are hard to ignore.
Tougher tests await upon the arrival of the pre-Christmas Groton-Lawrence Holiday Tournament. Things will get even more difficult when they return from their three-week holiday break at the start of the new year.
In the meantime, the team is focused on forming good habits as it moves deeper into its schedule, with the goal of securing a top-4 spot in the Lakes Region playoffs and a bid to the Small School tournament in March.
“When you're beating teams by eight or nine goals, it’s easy to get into bad habits in terms of defensive zone play and making sure you're not giving those higher-end teams time and space to make plays,” Thompson said.
“So, (we’re) just trying to tighten up defensively to make sure that we don't give too many teams second chances to make plays on us, and continue to finish our chances when we get them.”
Coming off a disappointing performance during last year's Covid-shortened campaign, it’s a group that has something to prove, Boulanger said.
“We thought we had a pretty good squad and then to go 1-5 was a real bummer," the captain said. "Me and Messina, especially, have been working hard to get the guys excited for the season. It’s been nice to start out with a couple of wins to get the ball rolling.
“We’ve all got something to prove, and I think everybody’s buying into that. We’re a team that wants to make some noise this season."
Holderness returns to action on Saturday for a Lakes Region matchup against Vermont Academy.
Puck drop is set for 3 p.m.
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