He’s back at Xaverian to settle his business
Cole Pouliot-Porter had a decision to make: stay at Xaverian, as the starting goalie, or pursue another opportunity to play hockey.
The preps came calling — Cushing, Winchendon, Tilton, and Frederick Gunn, as well as full-season junior programs such as the Long Island Gulls, New Jersey Rockets, and North Jersey Avalanche. He was accepted to the Gunnery. But one image kept replaying in his mind: Pope Francis scoring the winner with 25.6 seconds left to capture the Division 1 championship over Xaverian, 3-2.
Pouliot-Porter knew that there was unfinished business. So the 17year-old senior from Franklin opted to continue his journey in Westwood, a key component in a Hawks team that returns 17 players from last year’s run.
“Honestly, the most important factor that led me to staying was what happened on March 19 and how hard that hit,” said Pouliot-Porter.
“I’ve never experienced something so personal during a hockey game until then. Just to see my teammates crying, seeing how that team took something so special away from us, something that we worked so hard for, it made me so upset.”
In his first season at Xaverian, Pouliot-Porter posted a 1.96 goals against average, a 93.5 save percentage, and a 15-8 record en route to being named a Catholic Conference All-Star.
“His athleticism is off the charts,” said Xaverian coach Dave Spinale. “I smile when I see some of his splits. What’s he going to do next? A headstand?”
His character, too, is off the charts. Pouliot-Porter comforted Reading goaltender Chris Hanifan instead of rushing to his teammates in the wake of an overtime semifinal win.
“To me, he’s a very genuine human being,” said Spinale. “He’s a dedicated, focused young man. I think when he puts his mind to something, whether it’s doing something at school or athletically, he’s so driven that he puts himself in a different category.”
At 14, Pouliot-Porter dedicated himself to play at the highest level.
He arrives an hour early to practice, stretching and rolling out and sitting in the stands, meditating before the upcoming skate. After practice, he stays for 10 minutes while the Zamboni cleans the ice to hone his skating skills.
“He’s a guy who gets upset at practice when he lets goals in,” said co-goaltending coach Kyle MacDonald, a Xaverian grad (Class of 2010) who went on to play at St. Lawrence. “That’s something that can sometimes get lost in this generation — there’s always another puck coming, just get the next one. He competes for every shot at every practice.”
Pouliot-Porter cherishes every detail of the game, from visiting MacDonald daily during free periods and breaking down film to using Sense Arena, a virtual reality training method, prior to each game.
“I don’t like letting up goals — not at all,” said Pouliot-Porter. “I don’t care if it’s a practice or a game. My confidence comes from preparation. What do I do off the ice, before the game, off the ice — what am I eating, what am I drinking, how was my sleep? I know what I’ve done to prepare. I’ve done the little things right — I’m ready for that game, always. Just giving the team a chance to win is everything.”
Pouliot-Porter played half-season for the Buffalo Regals, trekking to different states to compete. He also suited up for the Massachusetts District U-17 team at the national festival, making the team and representing the state against the best players in the nation from June 22-28 in Amherst, N.Y.
No matter where he suited up, all Pouliot-Porter thought about was suiting up with the blue X with gold trim adorned across his chest.
“The practices, the workouts, the team dinners, everything had a factor in me staying here and how much fun I was having playing hockey at Xaverian,” he said. “I found myself here at Xaverian.”
Ice chips
■ In the new divisional alignments, the number of boys’ hockey teams competing in Division 1 has dropped from 49 to 41.
Among notable moves down: Malden Catholic, a five-time Division 1A (Super 8) champion between 2011-16, heads to Division 2. The Lancers have one winning season since 2016-17.
The Lynn co-op dropped two levels, from Division 1 to 3. Other schools moving to Division 2: Billerica, Bridgewater-Raynham, Falmouth, King Philip, Milton, North Andover and Woburn. Medford moved up from Division 2 to 1.
Hanover, which won a Division 3 state title as recently as 2021-22, slides to Division 4. The Hawks had appeared in or were declared cochamps in Division 3 five times over the last decade (2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022).
In sum, the number of teams competing in Division 2 dropped from 42 to 40 while Division 3 increased from 44 to 50 and Division 4 expanded from 52 to 56.
There are five fewer hockey programs. Matignon and St. Joseph Prep permanently closed at the end of the 2022-23 academic year while three others joined co-ops: Hamilton-Wenham (Rockport), Mount Everett (Taconic) and South Hadley (Chicopee).
■ Essex Tech, which won a program-record 20 games last winter, jumps from the Commonwealth Athletic Conference to the Cape Ann League and Sandwich, the Division 4 runner-up last winter and champion two seasons ago, moves from the Cape & Islands League to South Shore League.
Awaiting the Blue Knights in their new digs? Norwell, which defeated Sandwich in last season’s state final.
“Aside from the obvious rivalry with Norwell that’s gifted the Massachusetts hockey world with some epic games, I know the other schools have their own rich hockey history,” Sandwich coach Jordan
Mohre said of the move.
The Blue Knights were able to keep each of their former C&I Atlantic foes (Barnstable, Falmouth, and Nauset) on the schedule.
In the three-tiered Dual County/ Merrimack Valley league, Lincoln-Sudbury moved up and Waltham moved down from Tier I to Tier II.