It isn't hard to figure out what kind of person Stoughton's PJ Sheehan is.
For example, Sheehan was on his way to Asiaf Arena for a big rematch against Taunton in mid-February when he found out it had been canceled. Though Stoughton is just a hop, skip and a jump away from Asiaf, there was no need for Sheehan to continue towards Brockton High and trek through the snow. But instead, he went to the rink anyway and while there, tweeted out compliments of fellow goalie/divisional rival Jimmy Tierney, who was making fantastic saves against Medfield.
Or maybe even more telling is when Sheehan found out he had been named the Hockomock League MVP, an accolade he admitted he didn't expect. He was in the middle of working on a robot for his science project with the science fair less than 24 hours away.
"Oh that's cool," Sheehan recalled thinking. "But I have to get back to my work."
Now remember, here's a very, very talented player, who could probably count Stoughton's wins in his four years on his fingers and toes, being told he was the league MVP. You'd expect a big celebration, maybe even a social media parade. But instead, it wasn't until the next day when head coach Dan Mark informed the team that it became a realty in for PJ.
"That was kind of when it actually sank it that I did actually win," PJ said. "I was kind of surprised. I mean it was my individual goal for the season but as things stood, I didn't expect it. It's just a huge honor to know that the coaches notice. It's not all about the wins. Even my goals against average isn't that good, but I stop pucks."
Sheehan posted a .908 save percentage this year, good to put him in the top four in the league. Though his goals against average finished at 3.76 per game, his 793 saves were over 300 more than the next goalie in the league. 300. If you really want to that number to stick out at you, Canton sophomore goalie Justin Slocum has made 332 saves total in nearly 18 games played, which includes a playoff game.
"I didn't even get a chance to nominate him, someone else nominated him before I could," Stoughton head coach Dan Mark said. "He just had some phenomenal games this year, especially against the better teams in the league, he seemed to really step it up. He averaged about 40-something shots a game, with some games in the high 50's. He was a dominate player in the league, I thought it was deserved."
As good of a goalie that Sheehan is, it wasn't the always the plan. PJ grew up watching his older brothers Tim (SHS '04) and John (SHS '06) successfully skate for the Black Knights, with John's senior year being the last time Stoughton went to the playoffs.
One a forward and the other a defenseman (and younger brother Mark is currently a forward for Stoughton), it was only fitting the Sheehan would grow up to be a skater for Stoughton one day, but around the time John was a senior, PJ was told it was goalie or nothing.
Sheehan has an enlarged spleen that forced him from the skating game into the net, preventing him from playing other sports like football. But it's a role that he has completely thrived in.
He recalled it was John's year - the 05/06 season - that really hooked him in. He remembers the stands being packed with students, which might sound strange to the current Hockomock hockey fan. But 2006 was the last time Stoughton qualified for the playoffs.
"I knew it was going to be a lot of work," Sheehan said of his expectations when he entered high school in 2011. "I knew that since my brother graduated that we've struggled, we haven't really had a large group of kids tryout since. I was kind of hoping we'd go to the tournament or something. I knew it was going to be a lot of work but also a lot of fun."
With hockey, and a lot of sports, there's often the option to explore other avenues besides high school. Prep school and juniors are two of the more popular choices and as intelligent as PJ is, he could have done whatever he wanted.
"I've been told a million times I should have played juniors," Sheehan said. "But I love my teammates. They're a great group of kids and they're the reason I show up to the rink."
There have been plenty of other times when Sheehan could have just stopped playing, and with games he's made 60 saves only to see zero goals scored for his team, not many could blame him. But that's not him. He's grown an immense amount since his sophomore year when Mark said he would get really down on himself for giving up goals.
"The biggest thing is that he puts it behind him," Mark said. "Now he just rolls it off and is ready for the next save which is a credit for him."
As for what Sheehan does now when one gets by him?
"I give the ref the puck and smile," he said.
Sheehan is hoping to continue to play but stressed the importance of academics. He said he's hoping to attend a prep school and if not, he'll play juniors and take classes at a local college.
Ryan Lanigan can be contacted at [email protected] and followed on Twitter at @R_Lanigan.
The following are the official Hockomock League All Stars as selected by the league's coaches.
Name | School | Position |
Andrew Campion | Attleboro | G |
Zach Larkin | Attleboro | F |
Travis Tanguay | Attleboro | D |
Tony Francescon | Canton | D |
Andrew Howlett | Canton | D |
Matt Lazaro | Canton | F |
Ben Lodge | Canton | F |
Kyle Sperzel | Foxboro | F |
Troy Donahue | Franklin | F |
Kyle Powers | Franklin | D |
Ryan Spillane | Franklin | F |
Derek Abramson | King Philip | D |
Adam Blackman | Mansfield | F |
Kyle Hurley | Mansfield | F |
Will Kelleher | Mansfield | D |
Jared Balzarini | Milford | F |
Brad White | Milford | F |
Marshall Blackman | North Attleboro | F |
Sean Young | North Attleboro | F |
Tyler Provost | Oliver Ames | F |
Jimmy Tierney | Oliver Ames | G |
PJ Sheehan (MVP) | Stoughton | G |
Nick Terry | Taunton | D |