Two local senior hockey players are among the top eight in Maine and have been recognized as semifinalists for the 2013 Travis Roy Award by the Class A Hockey Coaches’ Association.
The award is handed out annually to a senior playing in Class A boys’ high school hockey that is not only a great hockey player on the ice, but a character individual off the ice.
This year, Lewiston goalie Evan Bourassa and St. Dominic Academy goalie Grant Carrier are among the semifinalists from Class A East, joining Cony’s Dallas Clark and Bangor’s Parker Sanderson.
Class A West semifinalists include Nick Bagley of Scarborough, Spence Cowand and Gorham, Hugh Grygiel of Falmouth and Cameron McLain of Cheverus.
Bourassa has been the Blue Devils’ backstop all season, and shared time as a junior a year ago. He has consistently been one of the top goaltenders in the state and this year led Lewiston to the Class A championship game. During the regular season, Bourassa appeared in 18 games for Lewiston, finishing with a 14-3-1 record while posting four shutouts and a 1.78 goals-against average. In four playoff games, Bourassa allowed five goals and posted three wins and one shutout.
Carrier spent less time between the pipes for the Saints, often splitting time with fellow senior Austin Christopher. In 10 games in the regular season, Carrier posted a 6-3-1 record with a 2.08 GAA and a .930 save percentage while recording three shutouts with wins over Scarborough (1-0), its only regular season loss, Brunswick (1-0) and Thornton Academy (4-0).
Bagley, Scarborough’s top defenseman, led all Maine Class A defenders in scoring with 13 goals and 22 assists for 35 points.
Cowand is a letterman in soccer and hockey for Gorham, and he’s led the Rams in scoring each of the past three seasons, finishing the 2012-13 campaign with 21 goals and 18 assists.
Grygiel led the Class A champion Falmouth Yachtsmen in scoring this season with 19 goals and 17 assists, and added a fistful more in the playoffs in leading the team to the Class A crown.
McLain notched 40 points in his senior season with the Stags to cross the 100-point threshold for his career, and helped lead Cheverus into the regional semifinal round for the first time in four seasons.
Clark led Cony with 42 points, 20 of which were goals, and was named to the KVAC All-Academic team. He is also a standout on the tennis courts.
Bangor’s Sanderson was one of the more dynamic players in Eastern A this season, posting 25 goals and 26 assists for 51 points in only 14 games after being limited by a leg injury late in the season. He returned for the playoffs, though and had three points for the Rams as they ousted St. Dom’s in the regional semifinal round, 3-2 in overtime.
The Travis Roy Award was first handed out in 1996 after its namesake, Travis Roy, was paralyzed 11 seconds into his first collegiate game with Boston University. Roy, a native of Yarmouth, attended Yarmouth High School and later North Yarmouth Academy before moving on to Tabor Academy in Marion, Mass., where he awarded with a scholarship to attended Boston University.
The four finalists will be announced within the next week, and the winner will be named at the Class A Coaches’ Association banquet later in March.
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