In the middle stages of their season, during a five-game losing streak, Lancer hockey stood at 4-7, forcing them to plummet to the bottom of Division I. Yet despite that mid-season struggle—one filled with sighs, moans, groans, anger, and frustration—this Lancer squad never gave up on one of their main goals: The playoffs.

Senior captain Nick Donnelly said the hockey team had three goals coming into the season: To have fun, to make the playoffs, and to win our final game, so that they would end up making the playoffs.”  He had faith though—even during the five-game losing streak— that their playoff goal was possible.

“I knew that we could turn things around and that we were just going through some growing pains,” Donnelly said. “We needed to realize that if we didn’t change our style of play and attitude, our postseason opportunity would fade.”

So how did the Lancers stay focused and determined despite the roller coaster of a season they had? Senior forward Andrew Morrissette believes that fixing the issues and problems on all levels was the solution.

“The lines were constantly being shuffled, which led to a lack of chemistry between the players,” Morrissette said. “We also worked a bunch on communicating—our breakouts, our passing and our movement of the puck.”

After the team addressed the problems that needed to be fixed, Morrissette said the team was able to “find that solidarity in our top three lines.”

“Working together as a team with everything we do on and off the ice was key, too,” he said.

Although the losing streak was “incredibly tough on all of us, including the coaches,” according to Morrissette, after making the necessary adjustments, the hockey team knew they could turn their season around and get on the right path.

Assistant captain Merrill Neiman said he knew before the season even started that this team could accomplish anything they set their minds to—including making it to the playoffs.

But he also knew it would require “a lot of hard work and trust between every player.”

This resolve helped the team turn their losing streak into a winning streak as they won six out of their final seven games—five of those games being shutouts.

As they climbed their way up into the playoff structure of the Division I standings, they clinched their ticket to the 2015-2016 NHIAA postseason finishing the regular season at 10-8.

The Lancer squad has now shifted their focus to the playoffs.

“The team’s goal in the playoffs,” Donnelly said, “is to make sure that no matter how we perform, we stick together and know for sure that we gave it all on the ice and played our hearts out.”

Morrissette has his eyes set on just getting “that first round win.”

“Not only would it mean that we’d move onto the next round,” Morrissette said, “but it’d pump up all of us to the point that’d makes us even hungrier for that state title.”

Starting goaltender Cody Baldwin has very high expectations for this team coming into the playoffs. He believes this team is capable of conquering the Division I championship.

“I’d be lying if I said we had any other objectives besides winning it all,” Baldwin said. “At this point in the season, if we lose in any way, form or fashion, it doesn’t matter how hard we tried, we’re still eliminated.”

The last thing seniors Andrew Morrissette, Jax Theriault, Nick Donnelly and Colby Austin want is elimination. According to these four players, it is “emotional and unbelievable” to be at this point in their athletic high school career.

The fact that “any game from now on could be [our] last one as a high school player,” is tough to think about for seniors like Morrissette.

“Each game means more than anything we’ve worked for,” he said. “I plan on playing my heart out not only for the team, but also so I can say I did everything within my own power in case it ended up being the last game I got to spend with [the seniors] on the ice.”

Morrissette said he is having a tough time wrapping his head around the fact “that I could possibly be playing in my last varsity game.”

“To think that it could be all over in one ‘do or die’ game is heartbreaking,” he said.

Theriault said for the guys who’ve been playing the game together for a long time, it’s very sad to see the end of the season approaching.

But that is why he and the rest of the seniors “will be telling the rest of the team to go all out.”

“Because I know for sure the seniors will be playing their hearts out,” Theriault said.

Donnelly said playing in what could be his final game in high school is “sad but exhilarating at the same time.”

“I know that this is it,” Donnelly said. “And I’m going to leave everything out there on the ice until that final buzzer sounds.”