End of year Awards and Achievements for the 2019-2021 Season
Dear Comets Family:
It is with mixed feelings that I write this message. When we made the decision as a Board to follow the steps of the school district to put our season on pause, each of us were hopeful and optimistic that there would be a return to the rink (and High School Auditorium) prior to the Summer to bring closure to the 2019-2020 hockey season. With the progression of state closures and the most recent order for the schools to remain shuttered until September, it quickly became clear that we needed to look ahead to the upcoming season. As such, the Board agreed last week to bring some closure via this message to the 2019-20 season by announcing our individual team awards. In lieu of a closing ceremony, we ask that individual teams conduct their own end of year online “party” to bring that element of conclusion to the season and to recognize the great accomplishments of our teams over the course of the season. We would ask the team parents to organize (or coaches) and to keep our Team Parent Coordinator informed (Diane Howard). If you would like to have any member of the Board join, please let us know, and we are happy to support your efforts.
While this message could quickly creep into the realm of mourning, none of us should entertain that feeling. As a community, our Hockey Club excelled beyond any of our collective expectations, and we should all be extremely proud of our players, coaches, and parents. We started off in an environment of increased scrutiny for player safety which introduced a previously unheard of frequency of major penalties, but the organization quickly moved past that brief period of friction and excelled. As a family and a community, each of us had every reason to walk from rink to rink with some spring in our step. Our teams competed, our players gave every bit of their devotion and passion, and we won. And we won often. And where our teams didn’t win, they won in the arena of sportsmanship and development: as teammates, lifelong friends, and students of the sport. I will undoubtedly miss some of the impressive accolades we racked up as an organization, so please forgive me if any accomplishment is overlooked in this note. Here are some highlights from one of the most impressive seasons I’ve ever had the pleasure of observing during my involvement with the Comets:
U10 won the Bill Chase Tournament in January
PeeWee B1 won the Annual David W. Hoffman Tournament, 2nd year in a row, with a thrilling win in overtime
PeeWee B1 also won the Deep Freeze Tournament in Waterville Valley in December
Cranberry Classic – U14, U12A, and U10 all won their divisions during the annual tournament held on Cape Cod over Thanksgiving Weekend
PeeWee C2 won the Waltham February Vacation Tournment
Community Awareness
During Natick Days, many of our players and volunteers helped completely outfit dozens of skaters with recycled equipment, an annual tradition
In October, most of our teams participated in Breast Cancer Awareness Month with taping their sticks with pink tape. Brody Whalen raised money for every save he made (>$1,000)
Multiple teams collected food, raised money, and volunteered at the Natick Food Pantry
Mite A and B participated in an intermission skate during a Boys’ Varsity game at Chase Arena
With respect to State Championships, we dominated…pure and simple. If it weren’t for the season ending due to the virus, I have no doubts that this would have been the most successful year for the Comets as an organization. When the final curtain came down, we had 12 teams that had earned berths in the State Championships. The girls’ teams had not yet skated in their championship games, and we firmly believe there would have been additional State Champion teams in our program this year given their dominance throughout the season. With respect to 12 of our travel teams making it to the big show this year (44%), many on the Board believe it to be a record in our program, but without a historian, we can’t say for sure. The teams that earned a spot in States:
Girls
U18 A
U14
U12 A
U10
Boys
Midget A
Midget B
Pee Wee A
Pee Wee B1
Pee Wee B2 (State Champion)
Squirt A (State Champion)
Squirt B
Squirt C
We have the banners in hand for PeeWee B2 and Squirt A and will plan for hanging them up in the rink at a later date. As for VHL and MYCGL Playoffs, several teams were positioned at the top of their divisions going into the league playoffs ready to chase additional championships.
There is good news. We get to do it all again next year, and we get another opportunity to excel. Please tell your players that we are all proud of their impressive list of accomplishments. I personally had the opportunity to watch a spectrum of development: from former Learn-to-Play and House players scoring their first goals through former Mites/U8s seeing lifelong goals come to fruition by making their Varsity High School Teams. We have a lot to be thankful for and to celebrate, and losing a couple weeks of hockey should not deter our celebration of those accomplishments.
Without further adieu, it is my distinct pleasure to announce to individual winners of this season’s Travel Team awards. I would encourage each team to hold their own online end of season “parties” to applaud all of these dedicated players. And the winners are….
Girls Program
Format is team) award name-recipient
U18A) Bobby Orr- Jacqui Poulack, Justin Bailey-Molly Fair, James Galvin-Erin Quirk, James Yancey-Nicole Schnair
U18B) Bobby Orr-Julia MacDonald, Justin Bailey-Casey Chan-Smutko, James Galvin-Caitlin Ryder, James Yancey-Keelan Boyle
U14
Bobby Orr -Makenna Doucette
James Yancey - DanielleShutt
U12A) Bobby Orr - Maggie Connors James Yancey-Morgan Boyce
U12B)Bobby Orr-Margot Geiger, James Yancey-Rayne Nelson
U10
Bobby Orr-Jordan DiGiandomenico, James Yancey-Lauren Danahy
U8
Bobby Orr-Brooke Geiger, James Yancey- Gabriella Coligliano
Travel Teams
Midgets A
Bobby Orr- Steven Schneekloth, Justin Bailey-Mikey Guiney, Milt Murray-Logan Pfahler, and Arthur Schofield- Teddy Flynn
Midget B
Bobby Orr- Quinn Pinkham, Justin Bailey- Brent Sirafos, Milt Murray-Jackson Balcom, Arthur Schofield -JD Cogliano
Bantams
A) Bobby Orr-Jack Hubbard, Morris/Rooney-Jeff Tavares
B) Bobby Orr-James Schnair, Morris/Rooney-Robert Midura
C) Bobby Orr-Michael Lavelle, Morris/Rooney-Reid Campbell
Pee Wee
A) Bobby Orr- Sam Hubbard, Paul Robsham Will Fair
B1) Bobby Orr-Hunter Hourihan, Mel&Silvia Goodwin-Andrew Connors
B2) Bobby Orr-Luke Ritchie, Mel&Silivia Goodwin-Declan Buckler
C1) Bobby Orr-Michael Zahornacky, Mel and Silvia Goodwin-Jed Nijensohn
D) Bobby Orr-Tom Siggers, Mel&Silvia Goodwin-Ethan Chambers
Squirt
A) Bobby Orr-Brendan Howard/James Dempsey, Leon Glazer-Jake Bosworth
B) Bobby Orr-Luke Hernandez, Dan Clifford-Sam Gerst
C) Bobby Orr-Nick Meyer, Dan Clifford-Ryan Aronis
D)Bobby Orr-Jake Guarnieri, Dan Clifford- Mick Vickery
Mites
A) Bobby Orr-Ryan Howard, Ray Valente-Sarah Vose
B)Bobby Orr-Owen Young, Ray Valente-Jack Washkowitz
C)Bobby Orr-Ashton Nill, Ray Valente-Declan Donovan
D)Bobby Orr-Kellan Tinsley, Ray Valente-Zack Fortune/Liam McArdle
As a Board, we realize that this message does not answer all of your questions. In the upcoming week, we will follow up this message with more details on the upcoming season. As with everything during these uncertain times, there are usually more questions than answers. Tryouts, next season’s teams, Summer programs, coaches, adult awards, etc, these are all things that we are working on, and we will be following up in short order with more details. With respect to tryouts, we are working a few options and will provide some of those thoughts next week, and much of those decisions will be based on when we can get back to the rink. Please stay tuned.
I would encourage everyone to take a moment and celebrate the amazing season we had the opportunity to enjoy as a community and to congratulate our players for their impressive accomplishments, both large and small. To the parents and volunteers, thank you for all you have done and continue to do. You are the backbone to the success of this organization, and without you, the program would not run. We owe you a debt of gratitude. As is always the case, virus or not, our “off season” is always too short, and we will be back at Chase Arena before we have ample time to enjoy the full benefits of Summer. Given the current situation, I think we will all be more appreciative come late August to spend some time together around the blue bleachers and high top tables of the rink lobby.
We hope this message finds you safe and healthy, and if we as a community can do anything to help you and yours, please do not hesitate to reach out to any member of the Board. Congratulations to all of our great teams and players, and Go Comets!
With Gratitude for an Amazing Season,
Chris Boyer, President
On Behalf of the Board of Directors