When the stakes were at their highest and tension between teams so thick you could cut it with a knife, Londonderry Boys’ hockey, led by seniors Matt Boyon, Owen Carey and junior Brett McKinnon were able to pull out the performance of a lifetime. Beating the Windham Jaguars with a dominant 5-2 win led the team to become state champions for the first time in school history.
“The first ever ice hockey state title in Londonderry history is ours to claim, and it’s something unique,” Boyon said. “Going into the season ranked in 6th place by Hockey Night in Boston, we were never looked at as a powerhouse until the wins started to rack up.”
In preparation for this “huge championship” game, McKinnon tried to “lock himself in.”
“I prepared by getting some rest the night before and just picturing myself and the team holding the plaque,” McKinnon said. “The next morning I got good food in me, stretched, and listened to music.”
Going into the third period down 1, McKinnon realized this was going to be some of his teammates’ last hockey game ever.
“Mentally, after the 2nd period in the locker room I was just telling myself and my teammates this is our last 15 min of our season and our seniors last hockey game,” McKinnon said. “We all just knew we had to give everything we had left in our tanks and fight for all our brothers.”
For McKinnon, becoming a champion is a “dream come true.”
“It makes me feel so proud of myself and my [teammates] that we are the first ever Lancer Hockey state champions,” McKinnon said. “Knowing since day one how much work we put into this season and now knowing it all came together at the end and being able to call ourselves champions means everything to me.”
Senior team member Owen Carey prepared for this game “just like any other.”
“We had to prepare like any other game, nothing special as it was just another hockey game,” Carey said. “Just refresh our systems in practice and work on shrinking the ice for them.”
Carey knew they were going to have a chance to come back after being down 2-1, and they were going to have to cap off on scoring chances in order to do so.
“After getting frustrated with not finishing through the first two periods the mentality was to lock in and keep putting pressure,” Carey said. “We had 15 minutes of hockey left in our last time on the ice, so empty the tank. I was very confident going into the third we just needed to finish our chances.”
For Carey, this championship caps off a great season, and it “means a lot” to him.
“Londonderry hockey has never won a state championship before so to be a part of the first one is great,” Carey said.
Being the captain, senior Matt Boyon was looking to go out on top, and tried to keep him and his teammates “locked in.”
“The main goal was to keep everyone focused, but that wasn’t a problem with the maturity and leadership this group had,” Boyon said. “The upperclassmen led by example on and off the ice when it mattered most, and everybody gave it their all to leave everything out on the ice for our last game of the season, and the last competitive hockey game for most seniors.”
Boyon’s goal going into the third period was to “stay confident and play for the win.”
“The talk in the locker room was about how we will never get an opportunity like this again,” Boyon said. “It has been 10 years since Londonderry’s last state finals appearance, and the odds of the underclassmen to get back to this spot was near impossible. We stayed level headed, even though we were down a goal, and played knowing what was at stake. I’m very proud of the way my teammates handled themselves and battled adversity throughout the past 3-4 months.”
For Boyon, being named a champion “means a lot for himself, his teammates, and the Londonderry community.”
“My four years of high school hockey are some of the best years of my life,” Boyon said. “To have a storybook ending like this will always be a golden memory.”
