Young Varsity Hockey Team Striving for More Goals

BHS Bucs Varsity Hockey team lined up before game in Watertown — BHS Bucs Boys’ Varsity Hockey team lined up before a recent game in Watertown. The Bucs have started the season 2-5. Photo Credit: Karen Cox

All things considered, things are upbeat around the Bedford High School varsity boys’ hockey program, despite its 2-5 record. Consider:

Three of the losses were each by a single goal.
It’s on-the-job training for many key Buccaneers. The second and third lines are each composed of two sophomores and a freshman. Goalie Max Marchionna is a sophomore.

BHS Bucs hockey goalie on the ice — Bucs Coach Seabury reports that sophomore Max Marchionna is “getting some experience, and playing pretty well” between the pipes. Photo Credit: Karen Cox

“We’re in every game,” said Head Coach Brian Seabury. “It’s such a young group. They’re competitive, learning the system as they go and working at it.”

There are three seniors on the roster: Sam DiNitto, Nick Tatarczuk, and Chris Woo. The latter two are captains, along with junior James Naylor.

“We knew going in that we wouldn’t have a lot of scoring,” Seabury said. But he nevertheless moved his three best forwards to defense, because “we were overloaded with forwards this year.”

The coach said he is pleased with both the powerplay and penalty-killing efforts. Now “we’re looking for more broad scoring five-on-five.” Marchionna is “getting his feet wet, getting some experience, and playing pretty well.”

The team travels to Methuen for a Merrimack Valley Conference/Dual County League game on Saturday, then hosts Dracut next Wednesday at 4 p.m. at the Edge Sports Center, 191 Hartwell Rd. in Bedford.