Pats ready to compete for title in new division

By Matt Metcalf
Posted 12/1/16

The Pilgrim boys' hockey team hopes to contend for a championship this season, and it should have a legitimate shot. The Pats are in a new division with a new head coach, but the expectations couldn't be higher. We're"

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Pats ready to compete for title in new division

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The Pilgrim boys’ hockey team hopes to contend for a championship this season, and it should have a legitimate shot.

The Pats are in a new division with a new head coach, but the expectations couldn’t be higher.

“We’re hoping to eventually hang a banner in here,” first-year Pilgrim head coach Mike Boyajian, Jr., said while sitting on the bench at Thayer Arena. “That’s our goal. It’s unfortunate that the team got moved down (to Division III), but we have some high hopes. We have a lot of talent, some great leaders, so we don’t see why we can’t push for a banner this year.”

Boyajian, Jr., spent the last few seasons as the head coach at Vets, leading the ’Canes to consecutive nine-win campaigns in Division III over the past two years.

Now, he’ll take over a Pilgrim program that the Rhode Island Interscholastic League dropped from Division II to Division III for this winter after the Pats won four games last season and went winless the year prior.

Under new tutelage, some teams take time to gel and adapt to a new system. But, for the Pats, every transition has been seamless thus far.

“It’s been very smooth, the kids have welcomed me with open arms,” Boyajian, Jr., said. “They’re a group of kids that want to work hard and learn the sport. They know that’s why we’re here and they’ve really bought in. They’re a good group of kids.”

In terms of D-III play, Boyajian knows what to expect, but the majority of his players only know the D-II level.

Having a coach that knows the competition and tempo of the D-III game should pay dividends for the Pats.

“For me, I know the territory, so it’s up to me to get these guys ready for what they’ll experience this year,” Boyajian, Jr., said.

It doesn’t hurt having seasoned leadership in the locker room to ease the transition either.

Pilgrim will return two of its top three scorers from a season ago in seniors Pat Reilly and Ty Morgan.

Reilly was the Pats’ leading scoring with 17 goals and 27 points, while Morgan was third on the team with 20 points.

Without a ton of experience on the blue line, Boyajian, Jr., has decided to move Reilly back to provide some stability on defense, while leaving Morgan up front to spearhead the Pats’ top offensive line.

“Pat’s going to be our stud defenseman this year,” Boyajian, Jr., said. “We decided to move him back because he has great vision and great speed, a nice shot. We were light on defensemen and heavy on forwards, so, at tryouts I said ‘Let’s give this kid a shot back there and see what happens.’ So far, so good. He’s made a great adjustment to it.”

Boyajian, Jr., wanted to have a leader at both ends of the ice. With Reilly making the move to defense, Morgan emerged as the obvious choice to lead the group of forwards.

“Morgan is going to be our leader up front,” Boyajian, Jr., said. “Our big goal as a staff was to have a leader on the back end and a leader up front. We looked at it and didn’t have any seniors coming back on defense. We knew Reilly would be able to lead back there.”

Pilgrim will be looking to fill the skates of M.J. Rocheleau in net after the junior jetted to play juniors this season.

Kyle Dimascio will be the netminder that will take over in the crease, as he had a tremendous performance against Toll Gate in the injury fund over the weekend.

“[Dimascio] was the fourth-string goalie last season, didn’t dress a game, and then went out and pitched a 3-3 tie against Toll Gate,” Boyajian, Jr., said. “The kid’s got a lot of gumption, he has a lot of heart. That’s who we’re rolling with as our starter this year.”

Ronald Minear, a senior who will serve as an assistant captain, is another player who should log a lot of minutes up front at forward, while juniors Andrew Canning and Derek Plowman will join Reilly in stabilizing the defensive unit.

Boyajian, Jr., also has several younger players that he’ll be looking to for production. In particular, he’s hoping sophomores Matt Pacheco and Jack Clements play beyond their years and provide some additional leadership.

Boyajian, Jr., will have a great deal of experience alongside him behind the bench as well. His father, Michael Boyajian, Sr., who coached the Cranston Co-op boys’ hockey team last season and knows the high school game inside and out, will help the Pats this season. Ken Fogarty, who served as an assistant for Boyajian, Sr., during his stints as head coach at Barrington and Cranston, will also assist the staff.

Between those three coaches, Pilgrim should be in great hands.

“Working with that guy is going to be pretty weird this year,” Boyajian, Jr., said with a laugh while pointing at his father. “It’s awesome. Kenny and dad are two guys I’ve learned the game from my whole life. For me, it’s really cool. For years, I was the kid carrying the sticks around for my dad’s teams, and now it’s time to do some work together. Hopefully we can make the city proud.”

Pilgrim will get its league slate underway on Friday night with a good test against West Warwick/Exeter West Greenwich Co-op, which was the D-III runner-up last season. The two teams will drop the puck at Thayer Arena at 7:30 p.m.

The Pats will then be back at it Saturday evening when they take on Mt. Hope at the West Warwick Civic Center at 7:30 p.m.

Pilgrim has already sustained some confidence after playing Toll Gate to a 3-3 tie on Saturday night, and Boyajian, Jr., was impressed with his team’s resolve in a game that many pegged it to lose.

If that’s how Pilgrim is going to play over the next four months, then a banner in the rafters at Thayer Arena come springtime shouldn’t be ruled out.

“These kids have a lot of drive,” Boyajian, Jr., said. “They don’t quit or hang their heads. They’re resilient and we’re going to see that as the year goes on.”

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