Improvement has been the name of Winchendon’s game under Mike Busconi.
The Wapiti logged sub-.500 records for several seasons before Busconi’s arrival in 2023, and have increased their win total in each of the coach’s first three years at the helm, earning 15 victories last winter before their recent run all the way through to the 2026 Small School championship.
As Busconi reflects on this season’s journey, there were lofty expectations for where the team could go with 14 senior and postgraduate players leading the roster.
A 2-5-5 record out of the gates was not in the plans.
“It was definitely a struggle through the first half of the year,” said Busconi, a 2013 Winchendon grad who later played at Westfield State and Southern New Hampshire. “The season started, but we were looking towards the end of the road instead of just taking it game by game. … Once that (mindset) started to turn, it clicked for us.”
The team looked to have climbed out of its early funk by mid-January, rattling off a three-game win streak which included a whopping 18-goal outburst over Wilbraham & Monson and a complete 4-0 shutout at Pomfret.
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Instead, a 9-2 loss to a strong Dexter Southfield squad followed two days later. It was rock bottom, and a memorable turning point.
“We got run out of the rink (at Dexter). But that’s when our leadership took over, which is awesome to see as a coach,” Busconi said. “Obviously, it wasn’t the prettiest all year long, but they came together and played really well when it mattered most. They earned and got everything they deserved.”
The turnaround from a two-win start was nothing short of improbable. The loss to Dexter was one of just two in Winchendon’s last 23 games, as a 20-2-1 stretch culminated in their first New England title since 1999.
The Wapitis, who earned the No. 2 seed, allowed just four goals across three playoff games en route to the ultimate prize. They beat New Hampton (7-1) and Canterbury (2-1 in overtime) in the first two rounds before claiming the ultimate prize in a 5-2 win over top-seeded Holderness.
“We knew we had a good team (all along), but that doesn’t mean it was going to be easy,” said Cornell-committed senior Charlie Puglisi, who anchored the team’s top line alongside Vermont commit Jackson Smail (Milton, Vt.) and Cooper Ludwar (Chelmsford, Mass.). “I feel like maybe we thought it was going to be easy at the beginning, which kind of hurt us. Once we turned the page and started winning, we really couldn’t be stopped.”
Fellow forward Jake West (Billerica, Mass.) has seen it all at Winchendon. The lone player wearing a ‘C,’ West was a part of the program for Busconi’s first season and has grown into a leadership role for this final step on the ascension to a championship level.
“I honestly think (the large senior class) was the main backbone to why we wanted to win,” West said. “We all wanted to end on a high note…and give the school something to be proud of. … The first year, none of the recruits were (Busconi’s), and he turned the program around within a couple years. To be part of the team that finally won (a New England title), it’s really special and something we’ll remember for a lifetime.”
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There was always confidence in what the team could be at its best, and his play was instrumental in authoring the late-season turnaround.
Few players in the prep ranks were as prolific this season as Puglisi, who led all of New England with 50 assists and 76 points in 35 games. He also netted a pair of hat tricks, including one in the Wapitis’ playoff-opening win over New Hampton.
The Albany, N.Y., native’s season was emblematic of the team’s, as he recorded just eight points before Christmas before turning it up down the stretch. After the aforementioned Dexter game, he was never held off the scoresheet.
“He was just a different player from there on out. Over 60 points after Jan. 1? That’s just crazy,” Busconi said. “Last year he was around 5-foot-9 and now he’s almost 6-foot, so he took a massive jump physically. He was always a really good player…but he was the best player on the ice in just about every single game down the stretch. And it wasn’t really close.”
Of course, the key to this championship team is that it was not a one-man show.
Each of the team’s top 10 scorers was a senior. Smail scored a team-leading 30 goals, including the overtime game-winner against Canterbury that propelled the Wapitis to the title game.
The team’s defense was younger by comparison, but received great contributions from the likes of postgrad newcomer Anthony Pomarico (Brentwood, N.H.). When senior goaltender Brady Knode had a mid-season injury, junior Mackinley Dumais (Lunenburg, Mass.) stepped into the net seamlessly.
“Charlie’s line was a great line, but we were able to roll three lines most of the time that really produced,” West said. “Everyone was involved in most of the wins. Having so many guys contribute was a big factor in our success. When people are doing well, everyone’s happy.”
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As the seniors leave behind a legacy, Busconi hopes this title can be the start of something more.
“When you win and kids are moving on to good places, people want to come, right?” Busconi said. “We have great support at the school. They’re excited about hockey, excited about what we did this year. It helps build success. … It’s hard, but we want to continue to be where we are right now.”
