By Chris Villani

Sports Writer

After more than 20 seasons of participating in a co-op boys’ ice hockey program with Grafton, Blackstone Valley Tech has its own team this winter for the first time. The Beavers knew they could generate enough interest to field a varsity team, but with nearly 40 athletes trying out, were able to field a JV program as well.

“The kids have embraced it,” varsity head coach Turk Chambless said. “They have really enjoyed the fact that they are playing for their school.”

Chambless said Valley Tech athletic director Mike Dense explored the possibility of starting a new program during the offseason. After discussing it with the principal and the superintendent, the decision was made to raise the funds needed to have a program that is just for BVT.

Despite being a first-year program, the Beavers have held their own on the ice through the first half of the season. BVT posted a .500 record and every game has been competitive, Chambless said. 

“That’s all I asked for at the beginning of the season, to have the kids buy into it,” he said. “There is not one game where I look back and say that we did not compete.”

Senior captain Lukas Petone is the team’s top point scorer and one of the primary drivers of the offense. Fellow captain Nick Laflamme led the team in goals through the first half of the year. Junior Joseph Manzi has excelled and shown his versatility on the ice.

“He is a great kid, he works very hard and I have moved him back and forth from playing defense to playing forward just to shake things up a little bit and he’s been playing great,” Chambless said.

Colin Chambless and Thomas Liddy are two more captains and leaders for the Beavers this winter and have added depth on both ends of the ice. 

After an encouraging start, Chambless said the goal for his team is to remain competitive heading down the stretch, with the ultimate goal of making it to the state tournament in the program’s first season.

“A lot of these kids have never played varsity hockey before, so we want to be playing our best hockey at the end,” the coach said. 

If Valley Tech is in the tournament, Chambless wants to make sure his team is a “tough out.” The first half of the year gives him confidence that his will be a difficult squad to match up with come playoff time.

“We know we can compete with anybody,” he said.