OAKLAND — Though just a junior, there is very little Jared Cunningham has not accomplished in his career with the Messalonskee High School boys hockey team.
Through three seasons he has a career record of 59-5-0, and over the past two years he and the Eagles have lost just a single game en route to back-to-back Class B championships. According to the junior centerman though, this year’s title felt just a little bit more special.
FIRST TEAM
F — Cody Martin, Lawrence/Skowhegan
F — Jared Cunningham, Messalonskee
F — Brandon Nale, Messalonskee
D — Dylan Burton, Messalonskee
D — Andrew Rodrigue, Waterville
GK — Elija Tuell, Messalonskee
SECOND TEAM
F — Andrew Carpenter, Lawrence/Skowhegan
F — Jake Dexter, Messalonskee
F — Nick Denis, Waterville
D — Spencer Buck, Cony/Monmouth
D — Sam Bell, Messalonskee
GK — Andrew Beals, Winslow
HONORABLE MENTION — Cony/Monmouth: Cam Wilson (F), Tommy Small (GK). Lawrence/Skowhegan: Curtis Martin (GK), Trey Michonski (F), Adam Littlefield (D). Gardiner: Michael Poirier (GK), Logan Peacock (F). Maranacook/Winthrop: Peter Prescott (F). Messalonskee: Dustin Brown (D), Dylan Brown (F), Connor Smith (D). Waterville: Matt Jolicoeur (D), Michael Oliveira (F). Winslow: Jacob Trask (F), Jimmy Fowler (F), Jake Larsen (D), Alex Berard (F). Winslow girls: Hillary Libby (D), Paige Veilleux (F).
Cunningham credits his older brother, Chase, for helping him become the player he has, yet this year’s championship run proved to him that he could still win and play at a high level without his brother.
“He’s a huge part of what type of hockey player I am today,” Jared Cunningham said. “I had him by my side last year, but this year it was just me and the boys. We just had to come out here and we got the job done.”
Jared Cunningham amassed 79 points (32 goals, 47 assists) this season to bring his career total to 222 (93 goals, 129 assists) in helping lead his team to the Class B title along with senior Jake Dexter and sophomore Branden Nale. He will go into his senior season just 34 points behind Chase for the all-time points lead in Messalonskee history.
For his performance this winter Jared Cunningham has been named the 2014-15 Morning Sentinel Hockey Player of the Year. Lawrence/Skowhegan senior center Cody Martin, a finalist for the Travis Roy Award, was also strongly considered.
“He’s amazing. He has hands, he has speed, he has hockey sense and he has just a little bit of everything that makes him just a standout player,” Messalonskee coach Joe Hague said of Cunningham. “(He’s) a junior and he’s averaging (74) points a year is just unbelievable. He has good sense, he works with the team. He’s just a great captain.”
What Cunningham did this season for the Eagles went beyond just the numbers though, as he often elevated his play in Messalonskee’s biggest games of the season.
The team got off to a rough start this winter and in a 6-1 loss to Eastern Class A semifinalist Bangor in the third game of the season Cunningham had his team’s lone goal. The Eagles did not lose again from that point forward, however, and Cunningham was often a big reason why.
In a 4-1 win on Jan. 7 over Lewiston — who lost 5-3 to St. Dominic Academy in the Eastern A finals — Cunningham scored all three of his goals in the final period. On Feb. 2 in the rematch with the Rams he had two goals and two assists in a 4-2 win for the Eagles.
Cunningham opened the playoffs by scoring a goal and assisting on seven others in a 12-1 drubbing of Brewer in the Eastern B semifinals. In the regional championship — an 8-3 win over Winslow — he had one goal and five assists.
The Eagles faced their toughest challenge in the Eastern B championship and trailed Gorham 2-1 heading into the final period. In the third, however, Cunningham scored three of his team’s six goals to seal a 7-2 win and another Messalonskee hockey championship.
“At the beginning of the season we really worked hard and as soon as we got our legs underneath us we started to go at it,” Cunningham said after the game. “We worked hard every day in practice and I think that’s what got us here.”
Evan Crawley — 621-5640
ecrawley@mainetoday.com
Twitter: @Evan_Crawley
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