What are your goals for the season and how do you decide them as a team?

Thomas Ackil: “As a team we sit down and talk about what we want to accomplish and how we accomplish it. They are constantly changing. Either you reach them or you don’t, you plan accordingly and adapt to them. As for our goals, obviously we want to win the state championship, but more than that become better hockey players.”

Nathan Anderson: “We sit in a room and yell stuff to write on the board. We combine them to make a big list. I think everyone’s main goal is obviously TD Garden and winning the state championship. Also to create a good culture and friendship with the team. That way if we win states, we can look back ten years from now and still want to talk to each other about it.”

Do you have any highlights from this current season?

Ackil: “So far, winning the Boros cup has been a highlight of the season. It was a point where the team chemistry really started to build… everybody gelled together and realized we could win it all.”

Anderson: “The Boros Cup. We haven’t won it in two years, and the last time we won it we went to TD Garden. The seniors, when we were freshmen, never even won it. For us to win it twice in our career is a big deal.”

What about in the past four years?

Ackil: “Going to TD Garden sophomore year was the most memorable experience I’ve ever had, even throughout my whole sports career in general. That team as a whole cared so much about each other we were like brothers.”

Anderson: “Sophomore year as a whole. Winning Central Mass made Algonquin history and the experience of playing at TD Garden is something I will never forget.”

On the opposite end of highlights, have there been any problems or situations that you have had to overcome as leaders?

Ackil: “Definitely trying to please the team yet going in a direction that everybody wants to go. You have to make decisions in the best interest of the team…not what just I or Nathan wants to do. In some instances it is impossible… some people will be mad and others will be happy. It is hard to realize that you can’t please everyone.”

Anderson: “At the end of the season last year there was a sleepover incident. Ten kids were suspended from the team. It was tough pulling up JV kids who have never played varsity to suddenly play in varsity playoffs against the best team in the state. I just had to rally them up and tell them that it might not turn out the way we want it to, but it’s all about the effort and having pride.”

On the topic of leadership, have there been any specific captains or leaders that have made a lasting impact on your high school careers?

Ackil: “Justin O’Connell (2016) and Jake Kelleher (2016). I always looked up to Jake Kelleher because he was never the best player on the ice. He barely played but was probably the most influential person on the entire team sophomore year. His words were meaningful and stuck with everyone. Justin was a true leader. He lead by example but spoke his mind when he needed to and everyone would listen.”

Anderson: “The biggest one for me was Paul Luongo (2015). He was my [defense] partner and captain freshman year and he was my example of what I thought a captain should be. He made everyone feel comfortable and showed me the ropes.”

How do you offer what they showed you to underclassmen on your team now?

Ackil: “I try to understand that anyone can be watching me and that my actions reflect the team and the school as a whole. Showing that hockey is just the foundation of what I’m trying to teach them…being mature and owning up to your mistakes is a lesson that I try to show them.”

Anderson: “To be someone that anyone can talk to if they need to. Definitely just showing them what we do and being familiar with leadership and Algonquin Hockey as a whole. That way when they become leaders it cycles back.”