Edward Little High School senior captain Jack Keefe lines up on a faceoff during the second period of a Dec. 27, 2021 game against Saint Dominic Academy in Auburn. Daryn Slover/Sun Journal
AUBURN — Jack Keefe’s scoring ability led Edward Little to the Class A semifinals and the Red Eddies senior forward to be the Sun Journal All-Region boys hockey player of the year.
The forward led the Red Eddies with 17 goals, including four two-goal games, and 11 assists in 20 games this season. He was also a finalist for the Travis Roy Award, which Cullen Adams of South Portland/Waynflete/Freeport won.
“I had really good teammates and linemates — Wesley (Clements), Aiden (Gonzalez) and Campbell (Cassidy) — over the course of the season,” Keefe said after the Travis Roy Award ceremony.
Keefe added he didn’t expect to lead the Red Eddies in scoring this season, but tried to do his part to help the team.
He upped his scoring output from a junior season shortened because of the coronavirus pandemic. He had five goals and six assists in 12 games in 2020-21.
Edward Little coach Norm Gagne said Keefe did a good job of being on top of going to the gym to get stronger. He also took his work ethic of getting stronger in the gym onto the ice in practice, as well.
Edward Little’s Jack Keefe takes the puck up the ice ahead of from Greely’s Sean Allen during a January game in Auburn. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal
“He never wasted a practice, he’s always working hard to get better at scoring on Gage (Ducharme) or Camryn Dufour, our goalies,” Gagne said. “He’s always working hard, as well as of our goalies to stop him.”
Gagne said Keefe was the rock of the team this season.
“He has all the qualities of a great competitor,” Gagne said. “He just knows how to compete, and you look at his consistency, he’s just a consistent player. He does all the little things, he pays attention to details. He backchecks hard, he goes into the corners aggressively to get the puck and he seems to always come out with the puck, he’s strong on the puck. He always knows where his teammates are on the ice, he’s always looking up the ice, surveying his options. That’s the mark of a good hockey player.”
Another quality Keefe portrays on the ice is his unselfishness, according to Gagne.
Gagne noted that Keefe came through in the clutch a few times this season, including scoring a few game-winners in a 2-1 win against Greely on Jan. 26 and one against Falmouth in a 4-3 overtime game Feb. 5.
Keefe said what he will remember from this season is having fun and winning 17 games.
The 17 wins this season are tied for second in program history with the 2002-03 team, which won the Class A state championship. The 2003-04 team won 23 games to win the state championship for the second straight season.
Edward Little’s Jack Keefe, right, watches his shot tickle the twine for a goal during a Jan. 31 game against Saint Dominic Academy at Norway Savings Bank Arena in Auburn. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
Keefe will have off-the-ice memories that he will remember, as well.
“The things we do off the ice, such as the EL golf tournament that we have each year in the fall, the bottle drives — minus the 5-degree weather — the team dinners and the many UFC fight nights created a bond that helped lead us to a successful season on the ice,” Keefe said during his Travis Roy Award finalist speech.
Keefe also said during his speech that the entire Edward Little coaching staff helped him become a better player.
Playing with his brother Brody, a junior on the Red Eddies team, will be something that Jack will always cherish from his senior season.
Keefe said is glad to be a part of Edward Little’s climb back up to prominence in Class A.
“We were 1-10 and we turned the ship around,” Keefe said after the Travis Roy Award ceremony, of his sophomore season.
The Red Eddies finished that season winning nine of their final 10 games and reached the semifinals, losing to Lewiston.
Central Maine Community College announced Thursday that Keefe has committed to play for the Mustangs’ hockey team next season.
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