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02/27/2018 11:00 PMGriffin Fitzmaurice is emerging as a strong and steady scoring presence for the Hand boys’ ice hockey team this season. Griffin, a junior, plays center on a productive line that also features wingers Paul Gagliardi and Brendan Ryan and, together, they’ve produced more than 30 points since becoming a unit on Jan. 24. Thus far for the year, Griffin has 24 points on 12 goals and 12 assists for the Tigers, who have secured conference and state playoff bids.
“I’ve been watching a lot of professional and college hockey on television, so that has definitely helped with my hockey IQ. My line-mates have also been really good. We have a good team chemistry that helps us get those goals,” says Griffin, who was the starting goalie for the Hand boys’ lacrosse team last spring. “Being a goalkeeper in lacrosse, it’s a bit different from hockey, but my reaction time as a keeper helps with my reflexes and be quicker in hockey.”
As a hockey player, Griffin says that he enjoys blasting a hard shot past the opposing goalie. However, he finds that the goals where everyone pitches in are the most rewarding ones.
“I guess I like nice snipes, because those are always fun, but the team goals with a lot of passing involved are really nice,” Griffin says. “It’s really fun to get goals with your friends.”
In a recent four-game stretch, Griffin scored six goals and had two assists for the Tigers, including a hat trick in a loss against Lyman Hall/Haddam-Killingworth/Coginchaug on Jan. 31. Griffin says that his productivity stems from taking pride in his preparation and then putting that into action once the puck drops.
“It’s just about working hard in practice and translating that into the game,” says Griffin says. “The Lyman Hall game was a tough one, because they beat us by a good margin in the first meeting. We knew we were the underdog going in, so we tried to do our best. It was nice to get the hat trick, and the loss stung, but we rallied in the third period, so we can learn from that.”
Hand has been going through a learning process throughout the 2017-’18 season. Along the way, the Tigers have not only improved their skills on the ice, they’ve also developed some important intangibles.
“We were a much different team at the beginning of the year. Our work ethic has improved and our intensity has gone up,” says Griffin. “We still need to work a full 45 minutes in a game. We can be better at the end of the year.”
First-year Hand boys’ ice hockey Head Coach Luke Galvin says that Griffin, otherwise known as ‘Fitz,’ is a coach’s dream when it comes to all the characteristics he brings to the rink, including his drive to succeed in a sport that he’s passionate about.
“Watching him, he is unusually disciplined and even-tempered. He is intelligent and he displays an ever-expanding hockey IQ. Fitz possesses all of the personal, academic, and athletic traits that the highest-caliber teams seek in players and leaders,” Galvin says. “Guys like me, who coach, we relish the opportunity to meet, connect, and coach with young players like Griffin. It is our obligation to foster his love of the game in a way that allows him to enjoy the pursuit of maximum potential. Sky’s the limit for Fitz.”
As his club gets ready to compete in the postseason, Griffin says the Tigers are a better team than what their record says on paper. Now, they’re determined to show everyone why that’s the case.
“We just need to play a full game and, if we do that, we can beat anyone...We have something to prove here in the postseason,” says Griffin.