Another great season for Oakmont Boys’ Hockey. Ending their season with a record of 11-7-1. The team’s lead goal scorer and captain Evan Thibault ended his senior season with 14 goals and 20 assists. Sophomore forward Nate Hylan tops off his season with 14 goals and 4 assists. Along with junior forward Blake Riggins who closes his season with 13 goals and 7 assists. The boys are led by coaches Mike Duteau, Aaron Testa, and John Thibault.

When asked how he would describe the team’s identity for the season, head coach Mike Duteau responded, “This year was a special one because these Seniors were Freshmen when our coaching staff took over. I’m beyond proud of this group of young men. How they’ve grown and really care about the program and most importantly, one another.”

It seems that the players had the same thoughts about the season as the coaches did. Evan Thibault stated, “We played well this year as a team, we bonded as a group and that showed on the ice in some of our big games. We never gave up and we were always in it until the end”. The teamwork on the ice pushed the boys to victory in their games. Good passes, shots, and goals. Captain Izak Hannula says this about the season, I think we played very well, the team camaraderie was amazing. Off and on the ice we were always bonding and having a good time. On the ice all of our lines stepped up every game and put up points on offense and locked down on defense. Even though we didn’t make it all the way I couldn’t have asked for a better team to play with”. Along with being asked what he thought was the most important game of the season, “I think the game against Fitchburg that we won because going into this game we lost to them the first time and they were on a 8 game win streak and had the best record in our division. Going into that game the tension was very high and so were the emotions. There was a lot of fans and they all wanted a win so we had to do it for them too. Winning in OT was huge because it boosted our moral by a lot and it gave us momentum going on”. 

Looking back at the season as a whole we think about the big wins. The boys played in the CMADA state tournament against Gardner High School. They pulled off a good 4-2 win. Among many of the players, this was one of the most important games of the season on their schedule. Goaltender Cathal Wells ends his 3rd season on the Oakmont team with a record of 6-3-0 and a goal save percentage of .884%. After being asked: What was going through his mind when he was on the ice during the game, Well’s responded with “In the final seconds of the game, I was overwhelmed with emotions. I can’t even begin to describe the way I felt after the buzzer went off but it was an incredible feeling, something I’ll never forget. The feeling lasted days after and was definitely a bonus to the District Title”. To hear more from Cathal Wells on his season click here.

The student section at the hockey games did not disappoint. Especially the senior night crowd. The event had a huge student section to celebrate the 6 seniors (Kaleb Jakola, Evan Thibault, Izak Hannula, Zach Sarasin, Drake Nelson, and Sean Colangelo) and their amazing hockey accomplishments. The roars of excitement as the boys stepped on the ice elevated the energy in the rink. Sophomore Parker Johnson says this about the crowd in the stands, “It felt pretty electrifying stepping out onto the ice, it gave us a boost of energy”. After the tough 3 periods against the undefeated Fitchburg/Monty Tech, the boys were sent into overtime with a score of 1-1. Nate Hylan scored in overtime securing the win for the boys. Sending the Oakmont fans into hysterics.

As the season comes to a close we reflect on the accomplishments of the team and we look at what some of the seniors plan to do after high school. Izak Hannula plans on continuing his hockey career at the Winchendon Prep School. We congratulate the boys on a great season and we look forward to next season.