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By Michael Flanagan
Hometown Weekly Sports Editor
The 2017-2018 season saw Wellesley High boys hockey dominate the Bay State Conference and earn the No. 1 overall seed in Division I South. Following a quarterfinal round exit at the hands of No. 8 Xaverian on their home ice, the Raiders will look to build upon their 15-2-2 regular season record last year and make a deeper run in the tournament later this winter.
Leading Wellesley into battle will be a trio of senior captains in goaltender and reigning Bay State Conference MVP Drew Hubbard, forward Teddy Goss, and defenseman Aiden Green.
“A huge goal we have this season is to make the tournament,” said junior forward Drew Cohen on his team’s general outlook for the season. “We want to win the [Bay State Conference] Carey Division and make a run in the state tournament.”
Along with Goss and Cohen, some key names to watch out for on offense for Wellesley are senior forward Henry Gould and junior forward Liam Jensen.
Defensively, Wellesley will need Hubbard to again serve as a mainstay in net while Green and Joe Fleming headline the defensive pairings.
Pictured last year against Needham, senior forward Henry Gould (15) will look to build off of a strong junior season.
Senior captain Teddy Goss says he and his teammates are ready to step up and produce on a nightly basis on offense, all while his co-captain Hubbard does his part in net.
“We hope to get the most out of all our guys,” said Goss. “We have some really skilled players and we’re all going to have to step up to produce every night. We lost a lot of goal scorers from last year but I’ve seen a lot of improvement in our returning guys so putting the puck in the net will be a big thing for us. Drew [Hubbard] will always keep us in the game.
From a leadership standpoint, Goss says he and his two fellow co-captains understand how important their roles are and that the basis of their leadership will be holding each other accountable.
“As far as Drew, Aiden, and I, we need to make sure we’re always working our hardest and holding ourselves and our teammates accountable,” said Goss. “We need to make sure everyone is grinding every shift, because I know we’ll be in a lot of close games this year. Most importantly, we need to be good role models on and off the ice, and that’s something we all take very seriously.”
Wellesley will begin their quest for the state tournament on December 15 at Babson Skating Rink against familiar foe Weymouth.
For funny and incisive sports analysis, follow Mike Flanagan on his personal Twitter at @fLAno0.
