Back on New Year’s Eve, the Central Catholic hockey team felt as if déjà vu was happening all over again.
The Raiders fell to a 2-4 record after being shut out for the third straight game.
It seemed like the trend of subpar records – 4-19-0 last year and 7-14-2 the year before – was about to rear its ugly head once again.
But Kyle Byron, Owen Hardimon, and Jake Morowski weren’t about to let that happen. The tri-captains vowed during the off-season that this season would be different.
And since the start of the new year, it has.
The Raiders have gone 9-4 since that 4-0 loss to ArchBishop Williams, including winning five of their last six games. Saturday’s 7-4 win over Chelmsford gave the Raiders (11-8-0) the MVC/DCL Division 1 league title, the first since the 2022-’23 season.
“It’s a huge turnaround. We’ve had such good chemistry this season,” said Hardimon. “We had a lot of ups and downs, but we’ve had a good locker room and have kept the boys moving (forward). We wanted to make it the best year possible, especially for us seniors, being our last year. We wanted to make it the best locker room.”
The three admitted the entire team was not on the same page a year ago.
“The leadership has been the biggest difference this season,” said Byron. “Last year, we had (internal differences), so we couldn’t really click on the ice. This year, it’s a peaceful and fun locker room. The boys are buzzing, and the three of us captains are leading them on the ice. Last year was so bad that it woke us up. We all said that it can’t happen again. We took a step in the right direction.”
That giant step forward happened on January 3rd when Logan Haley’s overtime goal gave Central a 4-3 win over Shrewsbury, snapping the three-game losing streak and over 135 minutes without a goal.
“That overtime win was the turning point of the season,” said Byron. “This team doesn’t give up. We battle.”
The turnaround hasn’t just been about team chemistry. There were some X’s and O’s involved, as well as a learning curve, an increased sense of urgency, and most of all, a different philosophy — less finesse and more physicality.
“We have changed the terminology from ‘finishing checks’ to ‘just playing the body’ and bringing a more physical presence,” said head coach DJ Conte. “Communicating better, working together better, and working more effectively defensively as a unit have been much more consistent than in the past. And right at the right time of the season, they are starting to figure out that (increased) physical play leads to more offensive opportunities.”
The Raiders have also learned how to win. Of the team’s 19 losses a year ago, nine were by one goal.
This year?
Zero.
“Instead of finding ways to lose (this year), we are finding ways to win,” said Conte. “We have won three games in overtime, and it just shows the character of the kids in the room. They don’t get down on themselves, and that’s the character of the room. They work well with each other.”
While the three OT wins have been instrumental in the team’s run to the league title, there have been losses to some of the top teams in the state, such as No. 3 Xaverian, No. 6 Hingham, No. 8 Pope Francis, No. 11 BC High, and Tewksbury, the No. 2-ranked team in Division 2.
“We are just persistent in practice and have battled through adversity. We just kept our heads down and went to work,” said Morowski. “All the returners said we weren’t going to let last year happen again. We needed to work harder, take things more seriously, and dedicate ourselves more in the off-season. We wanted to lead the new guys by example.”
That example has paid off in the win column.
“The seniors have done an incredible job bringing up the younger guys and showing them the way and instilling the culture that we’re trying to build here,” said Conte. “They have been great leaders. The three captains may not be the most vocal guys, but they lead by example and let their actions speak for themselves.”