This past June, ABRHS boys varsity hockey coach Bob Lavin emailed players on his team about opportunities to compete over the summer.

Rising senior Aaron Witty decided to try out for the regional Bay State Games team that Lavin mentioned.

“I thought it would be fun,” Aaron said.

Little did he know then, but all eyes would be on Aaron in the last seconds of the final game.

With gold medals on the line, Aaron and the rest of the Northeast squad played to a 4-4 tie in a rematch against their Metro counterparts.  he game went into overtime when the clock ran out.

After two overtime periods, the score remained unchanged.

Then came the shootout.

Coach Bobby Conceison chose five players to face the Metro team’s goalie. One was Aaron.

Aaron scored the only shootout goal in what Conceison called “a great move.”

“The coaching staff had a lot of confidence in Aaron's ability,” said Conceison. ”He came through for his teammates.”

“Our team had done well in the tournament so I knew we had a good chance to make the finals. I was very happy we won,” Aaron said.

Aaron, who’s been playing hockey since the age of 7, was one of twenty players who comprised the Northeast team. After attending a series of tryouts and three practices, the newly formed squad garnered three wins in as many days, beating the Southeast, Coastal and Metro teams.

“As a team, we improved with each game, and really dug deep in the gold medal game after playing a lot of hockey over the weekend,” said Conceison.

“It was a very exciting tournament,” he said.

Conceison had high praise for Aaron.

“He is a hardworking, talented hockey player and a really nice person. He was willing to do anything the coaches asked including playing defense when we needed him to,” Conceison said.

Aaron, who will be entering his third year of varsity hockey for AB, downplayed his role in the win and concentrated on the overall experience.

“I got to meet and play with some great kids,” he said.  “I hope to see them in the regular season.”

“It has been a lot of fun playing for the ABRHS varsity team the past two years, “Aaron said. I’m really looking forward to playing my senior year.”

As far as competing on the ice after he graduates, Aaron said he was unsure of the future.

“I also play golf, so I hope to do one or the other after high school,” he said.