When Caeden Herrington was in a scoring drought during the fall hockey season with his Neponset Valley River Rats 16U team, he sent future Holderness teammate Tommy Duane a text expressing he was upset with himself.
Duane (Framingham, Mass.) checked his phone three hours later to see another text from Herrington: he pulled off the “Michigan” goal. His scoring problem was over.
“That’s a pretty good way to get out of a drought,” Duane said.
So, when Holderness found itself in a scoring drought in its season-opening game with Hebron on Wednesday night, Herrington, in his first game at his new school, found himself in a spot to pull out the goal of all goals.
PREP SCHOOL PREVIEWS: ISL | Housatonic | Lakes | Independents
Holderness was approaching 60 shot attempts toward the Hebron net midway through the third period, but couldn’t escape the 1-1 tie. Nothing seemed to be working.
Head coach Alan Thompson (Gilford, N.H.) instructs his defensemen to play aggressively in all three zones so with just over five minutes to play in the tied game, Herrington wasn’t straying from the gameplan when he pinched down the right-side wall to snag the puck. He got it, carried it down below the goal line and initially tried to create a scoring chance with a teammate. When that didn’t work, Herrington stayed low, and grabbed the puck again.
This time, the “Michigan” instincts kicked in.
“I kind of noticed that I had some space and took the guy 1 on 1 and was able to chip it over,” Herrington said. “I kind of realized the puck was laying flat and I could get it up and I had the time to do it. I got it up quickly and next thing you know, it’s in the back of the net.”
https://twitter.com/holderpuck/status/1598147605728743427?s=20&t=PUg0C50-CXGky5vXN0BCzg
And how did it feel?
“Unbelievable,” the new Holderness student said.
Duane, an assistant captain, was beelining from the bench to the high slot as Herrington was behind the net. He found himself open and initially called for the puck. Once he saw what Herrington eventually did, he knew his teammate made the right choice.
“The kid was going to do it at some point,” Duane said. “I knew he was able to do it…just a really cool moment to experience that live and be on the ice for it.”
The goal caused the Holderness student section to go wild. It was the eventual game-winner and Herrington’s second instance of breaking a scoring drought in the last couple of months.
“We needed it,” Thompson said. “Talk about a big-time moment for a big-time goal. That was it.”
It’s been quite a week for Herrington. On Tuesday, the defenseman announced his commitment to Vermont, which is just over a two-hour drive north from his hometown of Manchester, Vt.
BEST OF THE BEST: Preseason All-NEPSAC Teams
“I’ve always had the dream of going there,” Herrington said.
Herrington raised his profile quite a bit this summer when he skated for Team Navy in the U16 national camp. The skilled blueliner posted a goal and six points in five games, which was tied for his team’s lead with Mount Saint Charles’ JJ Monteiro (Hudson, Mass.) — a Providence commit.
Initially, Herrington was going to repeat his sophomore year. But because of his great play at the national came, Thompson decided the 16-year-old should just enter as a junior since he was most likely going to do a maximum of two years in prep school.
Thompson found out about Herrington last year through David Pavlik, the founder, president and head coach of the Vermont Flames. While Herrington played for CP Dynamo, a hockey team in Clifton Park, N.Y., he trained with Pavlik in the offseason.
“He’s obviously a very skilled player,” Thompson said.
Thompson points to Herrington’s skating, physicality, gap control and offensive upside as his new defender’s biggest strengths.
“In today’s game, that’s kind of what you’re looking for from a defenseman and it checks all those boxes,” Thompson said.
Next up on the development docket will be establishing some more consistency with points. He quarterbacks the Holderness power play, so Thompson expects his name to be all over the scoresheet with time.
But for now, the focus is on an incredible week for Herrington.
“A couple of the boys are saying I’m on top of the world right now,” Herrington said. “But I don’t look at it like that. It’s been a great week, it’s been a ton of fun.”
