Doucette keeps family Bulldog hockey bloodline going

CHS Boys Hockey team in either 1927 or 1928
with Charles Peter Callery in center of back row

With the CHS winter sports season now a wrap, we wanted to share a cool story of family tradition here in Canton.

On Sunday, in front of a huge Canton crowd at the Boston Garden, our CHS Boys and Girls Hockey players played their hearts out fighting for a state championship. Many of those Bulldogs on the ice Sunday were playing in their final games wearing the green and white jersey. One of those graduating seniors was Ryan Doucette- class of 2022.  

Doucette, who was a key defensemen for the state finalists this season, took the ice each day of his Bulldog career with quite the legacy of Bulldogs past.  That is because Ryan Doucette is the 4th generation of his family to be a member of the storied Canton High School Bulldog Boys Hockey program. 

CHS Boys Hockey team 1964

Although the legacy and tradition of the CHS Boys Hockey program is well known, Ryan's family tree of Bulldogs is extra-impressive. 

Here is the Callery/Doucette Bulldog Hockey family tree-

Charles Peter Callery (Ryan's great-grandfather) skated for the Bulldogs in the mid-1920s- graduating CHS in 1928, before heading to Boston College where he was on a full baseball and football scholarship.  He was even offered a contract with the Boston Red Sox.  He is in the Canton Hall of Fame. 

Clippings from local Canton papers in the 
1960s and 1980s showing Ryan's uncle Chuck
Callery and Grandfather Brian Callery

Brian Callery (Ryan's grandfather) skated for the Bulldogs in the early 1960s'- graduating from CHS in 1964. He was a track and field star as well and, like his father, was inducted into the Canton Hall of Fame. He also followed in his dad's footsteps heading to BC after his days as a Bulldog.  

Chuck Callery (Ryan's uncle) skated for the Bulldogs in the late 80's- graduating in 1989 before also heading to BC.  Callery was a key player on many great Bulldog teams of that era, helping to build the foundation of success later experienced by his nephew Ryan. His sister Mary is Ryan's mother. 

Ryan Doucette just finished up his senior season for the Bulldogs- culminating in a trip to the Boston Garden for a state finals appearance.  He finished his career with 21 assists as a defenseman for the Bulldogs.  

CHS Bulldog coach Brian Shuman had this to say about Ryan and the Callery family legacy-

Ryan Doucette in action for the Bulldogs
in this historic season. 

“Ryan has been a steady force on our blueline for these past two seasons. He consistently was asked to play against the opponents’ top players, and with his grit and toughness, Ryan often shut them down. Ryan’s hard work and selfless play were a major factor in contributing to one of the greatest seasons in Canton High School hockey history. Thanks in large part to the solid foundation set by his great-grandfather, grandfather, and uncle, the proud tradition of Canton High School hockey continues today, and Ryan has certainly added to his family’s legacy.”

Let's keep an eye out a quarter century from now to see if this proud tradition extends through the next generation. 

NOTE- If you know of any other bulldog family trees like this one, let us know so we can share! 

Hockey teams return to the State Championship games

Tickets to the game are available for sale on Ticketmaster.  One ticket is good for both games. 

Exactly two years ago this week, the Bulldog boys and girls hockey teams advanced to the state finals only to be denied their earned trips to the Boston Garden due to the early days of Covid-19. 

Fast forward to today and BOTH teams have run through the D2 State Tournament brackets- once again advancing to the state championships. 

CHS Girls Hockey after advancing to Final 4

The games will be played on Sunday, March 20th at the Boston Garden-

Girls- 1:00pm vs. #10 Algonquin (Click Here for Bracket)

Boys- 3:15pm vs. #1 Tewksbury (Click Here for Bracket)

The team's paths to the Finals were impressive to say the least-

Girls- 

Round of 32- Defeated #24 Watertown High School- 4-2

Round of 16- Defeated #8 Andover High School- 2-1 OT

Round of 8- Defeated #1 Duxbury- 3-0

Round of 4- Defeated #5 Natick- 2-1

CHS Boys Hockey after punching Garden ticket

Boys- 

Round of 32- Defeated #30 Plymouth South High School- 3-0

Round of 16- Defeated #14 Plymouth North Nigh School- 4-1

Round of 8- Defeated #6 Walpole- 3-2 (OT)

Round of 4- Defeated #2 Gloucester- 6-3

Sport-specific Spring Sports info

Registration is open for all spring sports. See blog found at this link to register. 

For those already registered, here is important information for you to be ready for first day action on Monday, March 21st. 

See info on your sport below:

Boys Lacrosse - Boys Lacrosse tryouts will start on Monday March 21 with a preseason meeting in the lower parking lot at 5:00PM. Tryouts will follow at 6:00PM and run until 7:30PM each night. Please plan ahead and inform your ride about the 5:00PM meetings on 3/21,3/24 and 3/25.  Player meetings/rosters announced PRIOR to Thursday’s practice.  Players should bring reversible jerseys if they have one.

Girls Lacrosse-  Practice/tryouts will begin Monday, March 21st. The week of 3/21-3/25 will be 4:00-5:30 at CHS turf. Please be prepared for the session by having googles, mouthguard, a stick and the correct shoes (sneakers/cleats). Please email bradleyc@cantonma.org with any questions.

The Boys Tennis team will begin practicing on March 21 at 2:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The first week we'll focus on assessment, ladder matches and fundamentals. We'll be alternating starting times with the girls team this season. For Week 2 we'll go from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.  On Tuesdays Coach Hughes will join the boys and girls teams for conditioning drills, including an emphasis on footwork, a very important skill in tennis. We're looking forward to another super season.

Girls Tennis- Girls trying out for the tennis team should be at the CHS tennis courts on March 21 at 4:30 PM, ready to go in athletic dress and with a tennis racquet. Practice will end on Monday and Tuesday at 6 PM. Please watch the weather and dress appropriately for the temperature!

Softball- All girls interested in trying out for softball should report to the Walsh field at 3:15 on Monday March 21st.  Tryouts will be held until 5:15. If either field conditions or weather is a factor we will hold Tryouts inside from 4:30-6:30. Please meet outside the main gym at 4:30 and Tryouts will begin promptly at 5. This will be the practice/ Tryout schedule for Monday, Tuesday,  and Wednesday.

Baseball-  If Weather and/or fields are not good to go:

Baseball Tryouts:

Monday, March 21st- Wednesday March 23rd

• All Students report to Rodman Gym (3:00-5:00)
• Any changes will be sent out on the Remind App and on Social Media

If we are outside:

Baseball Tryouts

Monday, March 21st- Wednesday March 23rd

• All Students report to Ruane Field at JFK Elementary (3:15-5:15)
  Any changes will be sent out on the Remind App and on Social Media

Boys and Girls Track and Field- All student athletes registered for track and field should report to the high school track Monday March 21st for our first practice. We will practice 3:00-4:45. Please bring your own water bottle and dress for the weather. 

Detailed schedules will be handed out at our first practice. If you are not in the team google classroom please email Coach Amico amicoa@cantonma.org 

We are excited for a great season! 

Gallery newest member of 1,000 point club

Fay Gallery with her family in a brief
ceremony upon joining the 1000 point club

Fay Gallery- class of 2022- poured in 11 first quarter points on her way to a 19 point night, with the 14th being the 1,000th of her illustrious Bulldog career.  The team went on to defeat the Tewksbury Redmen, 56-49, advancing to the the Round of 16 of the D2 MIAA State Tournament. 

Gallery becomes just the 3rd Bulldog to reach the 1,000 point mark in the history of the program (Eileen Morneau-1996 and teammate Kiara Cerruti- 2022.  She has been a huge force for the Bulldogs over her career.  The team has improved each year she has been here and things are looking good for the team as they make their way onto the Sweet 16. 

Gallery will soon have
her name hanging
from the rafters

Making the milestone achievement even the more impressive is the fact that the 2020-21 season (her junior season) was drastically cut short due to Covid-19. 

To watch Fay take the court tonight with such a confident swagger and then just execute at such a high level was something every young basketball player can learn from. Despite being on the biggest of stages, and in search of such an elusive goal, she stepped up and was money from the first whistle. Mental toughness at its best. 

Her coach Jimmy Choquette- who recently surpassed the 100 victory mark as a coach, had this to say about Fay's achievement- 

"When you look at four years of work that goes into an accomplishment like 1000 points, Fay really showed that you could get there by getting better every year.  She added ball handling, quality free throw shooting and of course her shooting from behind the arc. She put it all together and gritted it out. Years of hard work pays off. We are all really proud of her."

The team will face the winner of Westwood and Northampton in the Round of 16 next week. 

CHS Statement on Boys Basketball MIAA Tournament Situation

Below is a version of a letter that was sent to our Boys Basketball players and families earlier today.

We are writing to provide a summary of the information we shared with the boys basketball team this afternoon regarding our MIAA post-season tournament status. We share in their disappointment and felt it necessary for them to hear from us directly.

On Saturday, February 26, the MIAA published the preliminary D2 Boys Basketball brackets for its postseason state tournament.  We were made aware early in the day that our team was not among the teams to qualify after having been ranked #20 in the previous power rankings and winning the final 2 games of the season. The updated rankings were announced Saturday as well, where we were ranked #33- missing the tournament cutoff of the top 32, and those teams with better than a .500 record. We finished the season at 9-11. 

 

Upon receiving this news, we (Mr. Erickson and Mr. Sperling) arranged an immediate conference call with the MIAA Tournament Director and administrative staff on Saturday morning to hear how this drastic change in rankings took place. We were informed that one of the factors that led to our drop in the rankings was that one of our opponents (who we played twice) was forced to retroactively forfeit many games, including ours. This did not impact our record as we beat them in both games. However, the MIAA power rankings adjust a team’s status for forfeitures, and because this MIAA member school had to forfeit many games, their ranking went to the lowest possible number. That also means any team that played this school would have their ranking adjusted to reflect the “weakness” of this opponent. I can assure you this rationale did not put us at ease, and we continued to request both the metrics/formula used for the power rankings, as well as a formal appeal/review of our situation. We certainly understand that there will be shifts to rankings as the season winds down, but this massive drop due to the infractions of an opponent did not seem logical. 

 

On Sunday afternoon we received notice from the MIAA that our attempted appeal was denied, and that we will not be involved in the MIAA tournament. This came after two conversations between our Interim Superintendent Derek Folan and the Executive Director of the MIAA regarding the appeal. Further, we (Mr. Erickson and Mr. Sperling) facilitated a conference call with the Executive Director and other MIAA administrative staff this morning. We inquired about the appeal process as we were never presented with the opportunity to speak to the concerns before receiving the response from the MIAA. We also asked again if it was possible to obtain the metric/formula used for generating the latest power rankings, but were not provided with that information. 

 

At the conclusion of this conversation the result remained the same -- the power rankings would remain as published and Canton would not be participating in the tournament. We have since found out that other schools have been similarly impacted by the MIAA power ranking system, specifically the penalty for forfeits and negative impact on opponent rankings. Our stance remains that the misconduct of an opponent resulted in us being ‘ranked’ out of the tournament --  this was through no fault of our own as we did nothing wrong. I understand the importance of adhering to posted criteria but the request for the MIAA to reassess given this unprecedented incident with a member school seemed reasonable and prudent. 

 

We felt compelled to provide you with the most accurate information, and want to commend the players, coaches, and families for their hard work and dedication this season. It is an understatement to say our situation has garnered the attention of many in the sports community, and the least we can ask for is that this situation will lead to a change in the ranking/weighting process in future seasons. Seniors, congratulations on your career as a CHS Bulldog basketball player, and we certainly wish your season and career ended under better circumstances. 

Respectfully,

Danny Erickson, Athletic Director

Jeff Sperling, Principal

Hockey and Basketball MIAA Tournament Information- updated 3-15-22 at 8:17 am

We will update this blog entry throughout the post-season tournament with information regarding games including locations, dates, times, ticket info and any live-stream info. 

Best of luck to all of our teams in action!

Boys Hockey- 21-2-1 Hockomock Davenport Champions

Seed- #3 in division 2 tournament- Click Here for Bracket

Previous Games- Round of 32- Defeated #30 Plymouth South- 3-0

Sweet 16 Defeated #14 Plymouth North, 4-1

Elite 8- Defeated #6 Walpole High School- 3-2 in OT

Next Game Info- State Semi-Final vs. #2  Gloucester High School- Tuesday, March 15th at 5:30pm at Tsongas Arena, 300 Arcand Dr., Lowell 

Live Stream Info- Games expected to be Live-Streamed on the NFHS Network for a fee. 

Ticket Sales Info- DIGITAL ONLY- NO CASH. Click Here for Tickets

Girls Hockey- 18-6 Hockomock Champions

Seed- #9 in division 2 tournament- Click Here for Bracket

Previous Games- Round of 32- Defeated #24 Watertown High School- 4-2

Sweet 16- Defeated #8 Andover in OT- 2-1

Elite 8- Defeated #1 Duxbury- 3-0

Final 4- Defeated #5 Natick- 2-1

Next Game Info- State Final at the Boston Garden on Sunday, March 20th

Live Stream Info- Games expected to be Live-Streamed on the NFHS Network for a fee. 

Ticket Sales info- DIGITAL ONLY- NO CASH. Link will be available here. 

Girls Basketball- 16-7- Season Completed. Great run!!!!

Seed- #10 in division 2 tournament- Click Here for Bracket

Previous Games- Round of 32- Defeated #23 Tewksbury High School- 56-49

Sweet 16- Defeated #7 Westwood in OT- 52-49

Elite 8- Lost to #2 Medfield High School- 67-36

Spring Sports Registration now open

Anyone interested in trying out for a spring athletic program MUST have a parent/guardian register you prior to doing so. The easiest way to register is to visit the CHS Athletics website and complete the online registration available there. See link below.

The following sports programs are offered at CHS in the spring season:

Boys-
Tennis (Varsity)

Track & Field (Varsity)

Lacrosse (Varsity, JV)

Baseball (Varsity, JV, Froshmore)

Girls-

Tennis (Varsity) 

Track & Field (Varsity)

Lacrosse (Varsity, JV)

Softball (Varsity, JV, Froshmore)

COED-

Unified Track and Field (An MIAA and Special Olympics program)

User Fees- 
There are three ways to pay the User Fee for CHS Athletics:
1. Submit a check with the User Fee Form
2. Pay through the FamilyID registration process at the time you register. (You may not want to choose this option if you are not sure your child will be on the final rosters.)
3. Pay through the FamilyID site at a time after you register but prior to the deadline.

User Fee payment deadline for the spring season is April 6, 2022. 

DEADLINE TO REGISTER to be eligible for the first day of tryouts/practices is SUNDAY, March 13th. 

Register early and cross it off the list!

First Day Information for each sport will be updated at this blog as it becomes available.

Click here to Register today!