A year ago, Hampden Academy hockey standout Marc Thibodeau decided to give the Maine Moose junior program a shot.
It meant commuting to Augusta to practice twice per week from August until the high school hockey season began in November.
“I remember wondering if I had made the right decision to leave my Bangor-area team and travel an hour each way for practice,” said Thibodeau, who is a junior at Hampden Academy.
He has no regrets, especially now that he is a national champion.
The Moose Under-16 team, comprised primarily of players from central Maine, beat the Armstrong Arrows from Pennsylvania 7-4 in the Tier II junior championship game on Monday in Wayne, New Jersey.
That capped a 6-0 showing in the tournament. During the round-robin competition, the Moose beat the Delaware Ducks 5-2, Team South Dakota 4-1 and the Nashville Junior Predators 7-0.
They went on to eliminate the Charlotte (North Carolina) Junior Checkers 4-2 in the quarterfinals and the Alaska Oilers 2-1 in the semis to earn a berth in the title game.
Thibodeau centered a line between Lewiston High School sophomore Joe Bisson and Cony of Augusta/Hall-Dale/Monmouth junior Cam Wilson, and he said “our line clicked right off the bat.”
Thibodeau had four goals and four assists in the tournament including a goal and an assist in the championship game.
“I felt I played well,” said Thibodeau. “It was a fun tournament. I think the team as a whole clicked together. We had plenty of scoring up and down the lineup. We had skill from top to bottom.”
Thibodeau was among the team’s top scorers. He played on the power play and penalty-killing units.
Tanner McClure of Buxton, who played for the Massabesic of Waterboro/Bonny Eagle of Buxton/Old Orchard Beach coop high school team, led the way in the tournament with six goals, and Bisson and fellow Lewiston High product Jeromey Rancourt had five apiece.
“We were the fastest team there,” Thibodeau said. “We also played with a lot of tenacity, defensively. We were hard to play against. We finished our checks. We outworked every team we played.”
Eight of the top 18 scorers during the 18-game regular season schedule were from Class A state champion Lewiston High including Rancourt, who had 11 goals and 21 assists to pace the team, and Bisson, whose 13 goals were tops. Bisson also had four assists and was the third-leading point-getter behind Rancourt and McClure (7 & 14).
Thibodeau (4 & 9) was tied for fifth in points with 13 on four goals and nine assists. He was tied with Wilson (6 & 7) and Houlton/Hodgdon/Katahdin/Southern Aroostook’s Josh Malone (5 & 8).
St. Dominic Academy of Auburn’s Gavin Bates (7 & 7) was the fourth leading point-getter.
The coach was Ben Gray, and Thibodeau called him a “real good coach.”
The two-time state champs went 1-2 in the last year’s national tournament in Dallas and failed to advance. But they gained valuable experience.
“We were the youngest team in the tournament. It was a learning experience for us. We realized we could win it this year,” Thibodeau said.
He still can’t believe they won it.
“It was crazy,” said Thibodeau who added that he has learned a lot in his time with the Moose.
“It has helped me so much. I get to practice and play with the best players in our age group. And we all push each other to be the best players we can be,” he said.
“It’s a great team to be a part of,” he added.