This week’s student-athlete of the week is Max Ward, a Senior on the boys hockey team. He has been amazing this year, leading the team to a record of 13-5-1 (13 wins, 1 tie, 5 losses) so far, beating some very tough teams along the way. As a Senior, he is one of the leaders on the team and one of their go-to players. He plays center and had the game of his life this past Saturday, scoring 3 goals on the way to a very easy win against Brockton.
Even with the team’s outstanding performance last game, Max still doesn’t think it was their best game of the year. He said “I think our best game was against Mansfield. We went into it as the underdogs and played a complete game. We did a fantastic job of staying out of the penalty box and had everyone step up and play their roles.” I was there, and can attest to that. They played their hearts out to win somewhat easily, dominating the second and third periods that game.
With 3 games left, the Tigers are looking head on at a great seeding for the playoffs. However, Max and the rest of the team still are not satisfied. “As a team I know we are not satisfied with our record. We dropped two games we should have won, but we were simply outplayed and lost. We lost to Canton, Franklin, and Hanover all by a couple goals. When we look back, those games were all decided by a few simple mistakes that happens over the course of a few minutes.” He thinks ¨We very well could be undefeated, but all we can do is learn from those mistakes and make sure they don’t happen come playoff time.”
I asked Max what his favorite moment was of his high school hockey career and he said it wa the first time he experienced a playoff win. “The whole atmosphere of the game was completely different than the regular season. Everyone on the team played their absolute best and it was a perfect example of why we all play the game. Nothing beats playoff hockey, and playoff hockey wins are even better.” Max and the Tigers have a great chance to give themselves more of those memories in a season none of them will soon forget.
Max is not just all about hockey. Although it is his only sport, he is involved in the OA community and will be attending Wentworth Institute of Technology and majoring in architecture. His favorite class is history, as he said “I have always loved learning about what happened before and how the world got the way that it is today.” It helps that his favorite teacher is teaching history this year for him. He told me “I have a lot of favorite teachers but Mr. Gillis consistently keeps the entire class involved and makes a hard subject very enjoyable. He is also my advisory teacher and we have created a strong bond the last 4 years.”
Max clearly has a bright future, not only in hockey, but in life. Come out and support him as well as the rest of the team in their final 3 games and in playoffs!!