It didn’t take Belmont coach Tim Foley long to see what kind of player he had in Liam Guilderson.
“Just a very skilled player. Great hands, great skater. Very high hockey IQ, just understands the game really well,” Foley said. “He has gifts that most players don’t have, but what he’s not as good at, he works really hard to improve.”
Smaller in size? Sure. But the sophomore forward has been all that Foley described and then some, helping the No. 5 Marauders climb into the Division 1 upper echelon with their 15-6-1 record this season.
Guilderson posted 10 goals and 18 points as a freshman, but he has already shattered those marks while playing alongside senior Adam Bauer and junior Leo Packard on the team’s top line. As a result, he has 21 goals and 46 points this winter, joining the ranks of the state’s best players entering the postseason.
Like most players following their freshman year, adding strength has been a big key to his year-over-year progression.
“Just adding a few pounds of muscle has really helped,” Guilderson said. “I’ve been a lot harder on the puck this year and just tried to hit more. It has also helped with my shot, just getting harder. (That added strength) gives me more confidence.”
A year ago, Foley saw a hard-working player with plenty of potential and room to grow.
Now, it’s all coming through in numbers and leading to wins for a team that finished just 8-11-3 last season and lost in the first round of the tournament as a No. 17 seed.
Just as importantly to the coach, he does it all. Power play, penalty kill, you name it.
“He was very good, obviously. He was very steady, very competitive,” Foley said, reflecting on Guilderson’s freshman season. “This year, he had an extra jump in his step right from the outset, not in a cocky way, but in a confident way.”
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With their star now reaching an elite level, the Marauders’ expectations are much higher. All hopes are for a climax to be reached as the season ticks into late February and March.
Where has Guilderson’s turbo shot of confidence come from? Foley believes that competing at last summer's USA Hockey Select 15 Camp in Amherst, N.Y., had plenty to do with it.
For Guilderson, playing with and against some of the nation’s best players at his age group was an eye-opening experience and has helped him raise his own game. The results are showing.
“It’s definitely a really big privilege that I didn’t take for granted,” Guilderson said. “It was really cool being around all those good players, so you learn to keep working hard every single day and just try to outwork as many people as you can.”
That hard work, too, has always been one of Guilderson’s strengths. The entire Belmont team is better for it.
“I really do think that (USA Hockey) experience instilled some confidence in him and a little bit of drive to work even harder,” Foley said. “And he certainly came in this year ready to play and certainly is fulfilling the potential that was seen. He’s skilled, he’s highly intelligent out there, and he’s driven as well.”
Guilderson points to his two Marauder linemates — both high producers themselves with 88 points between them — as key figures in his transition to the high school level last season. Now, the trio has formed great chemistry and strikes fear into their Middlesex League opponents.
“I’ve always been a pass-first player, always trying to make the play whenever I get the puck on my stick,” Guilderson said. “I think I’m a good playmaker and a good skater. Both of those guys have good shots and can make plays as well. The combination of us works really well.”
The Marauders have already had some success playing big-game hockey this season, beating Middlesex League rival Arlington to win the Ed Burns Coffee Pot two weekends ago. Guilderson scored a goal in that championship game victory. Belmont also upset No. 1 Pope Francis, 2-0, on Wednesday night with goals from Bauer and Packard.
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If there are a few more big wins down the road, Guilderson will have to be a major part of them.
“We rely on that whole line, but a player like Liam, obviously having him on our team, he’s someone I’m sure (all of our opponents) will be looking out for,” Foley said. “You give him a tiny space, and it’s done. He can just move, find that soft area, and with his speed, he’s gone before you realize what happened.”
