After being the class of the Wright Division for years, the Greenfield hockey team is taking a step up in competition this winter. 

The Green Wave are making the move up to the Berry Division this season, which featuring the likes of West Springfield, Longmeadow, Minnechaug, East Longmeadow, Westfield and Ludlow. Greenfield will be testing itself against higher division squads: Minnechaug and Westfield compete in the Div. 2 state tournament while West Springfield, East Longmeadow, Longmeadow and Ludlow are all in Div. 3. The Wave are the lone Div. 4 team in the league. 

Combined with a challenging non-league slate that includes games against Agawam, Southwick, Amherst, Gardner, Lunenburg, Monty Tech, Hudson and Oakmont, Greenfield is looking at its toughest schedule on paper in program history. It’s the type of challenge head coach Adam Bouchard and his club are embracing, wanting to prove they can compete with the best of them. 

“The Green Wave hockey program is very excited about moving up to the Berry,” Bouchard said. “We feel we’ve earned that opportunity but understand we’re moving up in divisions. We’re looking forward to the challenge and everyone is excited and pumped up about it. We have a fantastic schedule and it’s probably the hardest schedule we’ve had here in the last 20-25 years.” 

It’s not just the step up in competition that’s motivating the Green Wave heading into the season. 

Greenfield didn’t close the season the way it would have liked. The Wave fell to Taconic in the Western Mass. tournament which snapped a three-year Western Mass. title reign. In the Div. 4 state tournament, Greenfield fell to eighth-seeded Martha’s Vineyard, 10-0. The Wave finished the season with an 11-8-1 record, sharing the Wright Division title with Easthampton. 

“The boys are locked in,” Bouchard said. “They didn’t like how last year ended. We still had a phenomenal season. Of course you want to win the last one but we had an amazing experience taking the ferry to the Vineyard and getting to play in that environment. The result wasn’t what we wanted but it was another piece of experience for these student-athletes to know what it takes to win in that type of setting in the playoffs. They’ve come back with a focused mindset and a lot of that has to do with the veteran experience on the squad.” 

That experience is plentiful. The Green Wave roster is comprised of seven seniors, seven juniors, one sophomore and one freshman. Six freshmen, one sophomore and seven juniors are bubble players between JV and varsity. 

Senior Loki Rhodes will captain Greenfield, with Bouchard noting he’s shown tremendous leadership both on and off the ice. Jake Jurek and Anson Prunier will serve as the alternate captains. 

Matt Garvin, Jurek and Chase Zraunig — the only freshman to make the varsity roster — will head up the top line to open the season. Jurek comes into the year needing 19 points to hit the 100-point mark for his career while Garvin, another senior, has taken his game to another level according to Bouchard. 

Luca Siano, Shawn Baumann and Shawn Beckwith return to comprise a formidable second line while Rhodes, Cam Hopkins and Jake Knight start on the third line. Junior Brady Poreda will serve as the 10th skater. 

Defensively Jack Laurie and Prunier will make up the top pairing while Porter Hall and sophomore Kaleb Betit will work as the second pairing. Will Petrin starts the season as the fifth defenseman. 

Cooper Smith returns in goal after taking over between the pipes last season. He’ll have competition however, as Logan Caron, Taiven Linnus and Ben Johnson will be pushing him for minutes. 

Nico Siano, Chayton Maffa, Bryce Drowski, Noah Poreda and Wade Bardwell round out the bubble players looking to earn varsity minutes. 

“There’s a different vibe in the rink,” Bouchard said. “It’s business. The Green Wave way is back and it’s a great feeling. We’re a veteran heavy group and those student-athletes went into the offseason and set the tone of what it takes to be a Green Wave hockey player. From day one of tryouts, you’ve seen the different mindset they’ve had. This team is built on size, speed and has a great veteran presence to it.”  

With plenty of talent on the team, Bouchard has been emphasizing practicing hard to prepare for the grueling schedule ahead. 

“Our team philosophy this year is that details matter,” Bouchard said. “We have to minimize our mistakes and really focus in practice. We’re working hard to execute our practice plans and making practice harder than the games. So far, the student-athletes showed up to camp ready to go to prove we belong.” 

The Green Wave have big goals for the season. It all starts on Saturday, when Greenfield gets its season underway on the road against Southwick at 3 p.m. at Amelia Park Arena in Westfield.

“We’re looking to compete in the Berry Division and show we belong,” Bouchard said. “We want to be top four in our respective playoff [division] to participate in the Western Mass. tournament and our ultimate goal is to earn home ice advantage for state games. We want to make a nice run in the state playoff and the ultimate goal is always to raise a banner at the [TD] Garden. 

“Our parents’ association puts in a ton of hard work to give us a great space to play hockey,” Bouchard added. “Come down to Collins-Moylan and watch some amazing hockey here through the season. Bring your Chicken Dance [the team’s goal song] because we’re planning on having many of them.”