WHS Ice Hockey Team to Watch UNH

The Westborough High School varsity ice hockey team will study college hockey soon for the second straight season.

The Rangers will leave for the University of New Hampshire on Nov. 30 and return Dec. 1. The school committee approved the trip Wednesday night after meeting with head coach Tom Temple and Athletic Director Johanna DiCarlo.

The team visited the University of Massachusetts Amherst in 2011.

 “The primary thing was trying to build the program and get it back where it really belongs. I think the team did a great job. We ended up in second place last year. There was a better camaraderie, better mix of the players,” said Temple, who’s in his third year leading Westborough.

The Rangers learned from the college coaches, he said.

“What they had to say reinforced what we had to say. It was a great fit. And they also got to see what the college was other than a regular tour,” Temple said.

After arriving in New Hampshire, the Rangers will attend UNH’s warm-up before it plays the University of Massachusetts Lowell, he said.

The next morning, Westborough will practice, then scrimmage with a Division 2 team, then watch UNH practice, “and then the coaching staff is going to talk to us” and lead a tour of the team’s facility, Temple said.

DiCarlo said the bus trip is “no more money than if the team was to stay home and continue to use our home ice, and have an away scrimmage” Students and parents will fund the rest. Participation in the trip is voluntary, she said.

“Last year, we had 100 percent participation, no issues with the funding from the families,” DiCarlo said.

“I thought it was a real positive experience for the kids and the program.”