Alumni from the Martha’s Vineyard Regional High School’s 2000 state championship hockey team were honored on Saturday for their 25th anniversary of their hard fought Island victory.
The alumni celebrated on the ice prior to puck drop in the MVRHS rivalry game with Nantucket.
Former players stayed to watch the Vineyard team defeat Nantucket 4-1 before culminating the events at the Wharf Pub Saturday night with food, drinks, and shared memories.
The 2000 Vineyard team won the state championship after defeating North Middlesex 3-1 at the TD Garden in Boston.
Erik Bruguiere, equipment manager and goalie coach for the 2000 team, organized the event, and called the championship an important moment in Island sport’s history, reflecting on how far the program has come.
“I was on the first Island hockey team ever and we didn’t win a single game,” recalled Bruguiere. “Then my senior year, we won like five and just that was a big deal.”
“The championship win solidified hockey as a sport that should be reckoned with on the Island,” he added. “It’s also for all the guys that played here, built the program, and never won anything.”
Mike Jackson, head coach of the 2000 team, was part of the festivities. He said that it was a huge moment when they arrived on the Island carrying the trophy with families, first responders and everyone else waiting for them.
“Everything possible was waiting for the boys after the game on the other side of the ferry,” said Jackson. “It was a good thing there wasn’t a fire that night!”
The 2000 team, coached by Jackson and Matt Mincone (current head coach), included seniors Andrew Phillips, Alex Baynes, Ryan Mundt, and Jack McGroarty; Juniors Mike Jackson, Dan Bettencourt, Geoffrey Phillips, Elliot Coutts, Eric MacLean, and Erik Vanlandingham; Sophomores Tim Bettencourt, John Gibson, Jeremie Rogers, Todd Vanderhoop; and Freshmen Curtis Chandler, Derek Avakian, Dan Merry, Ben Gunn, Matt Seeman, Max Sherman, Taylor Ives, Jeff Smadbeck, and Dan Vanlandingham.
