WESTFIELD – Six years ago, then St. Mary High School senior Nick Masciadrelli became the first player from Division 3A to capture the Amo “Betts” Bessone Award, presented to the best high school hockey player in the region.
That season, Masciadrelli led all of Western Massachusetts with 36 goals in leading St. Mary to a sectional tournament appearance.
It was a huge leap for the school’s hockey program.
Masciadrelli joined the team in its infancy during his freshman year. The previous two years, the team’s first, St. Mary recorded just three wins.
St. Mary will be tasked with another resurrection of sorts after the school officially announced Friday that the varsity program has been temporarily eliminated due to a decrease in participation.
“When other schools co-op, they get like 25-30 kids for hockey,” said St. Mary High School athletic director Billy Lamirande. “We got 10.”
While five players at the school signed up to play this season (out of a possible 45), the school’s co-operative hockey program only managed to recruit an additional five from a pool of some 565 boys from Westfield Technical Academy, Gateway, and Monson.
“It was a safety concern,” Lamirande said. “In the long run … by going from varsity to JV … this keeps us going in our goal for only a one-year (hiatus).”
Although their opponents may change, St. Mary plans to keep all of its announced dates for the regular season as they play out a JV schedule this year.
“We didn’t want to completely cancel,” Lamirande said. “Our seniors wanted to skate. This is the best for everybody until next year.”
