Calvin Roman's vocal leadership carried Dover-Sherborn/Weston hockey to final at TD Garden
WELLESLEY - The Dover-Sherborn/Weston coaching staff poured over its roster once the state tournament started. They knew the Raiders would potentially face overtime or a shootout and drilled their lineups every practice. Only, Alex Marlow and Co. couldn't decide on five shooters they could trust with their season on the line.
Senior defenseman and captain Calvin Roman's name emerged.
"We finally realized we knew he had lots of skill, but we didn't know if a shootout-type moment was his," Marlow said. "When we were making the list we decided we needed someone that the moment wasn't too big for him. The moment is never too big for him. He's always calm, cool and collected."
That decision, in part, saved D-S/Weston's season in the Division 4 Final Four against top-seeded Winthrop. Neither team broke the 1-1 tie after two overtime periods, sending the matchup to a shootout to decide a spot in the state championship game. Raiders goalie Andrew Goldstein stopped four of the Vikings' five attempts, and Brayden McKenna tucked away a goal in regulation and the shootout to match Winthrop.
Roman shot third, varying the position of the puck as he approached. The Winthrop goalie dove right. Winthrop brought the puck back around and deposited it into the net for the winning goal.
"He's without a doubt positive in everything he says. He might get down on himself, and honestly, when he does, you can see that the team that things shift. We learned that early on that he needs to flush things and keep himself in the right mindset," Marlow said. "Because once he does that, everybody just follows him."
'He steers the ship'
He hasn't scored much this season, putting the puck in the back of the net just three times in 24 games. But what Roman has done both on and off the ice is provide answers for a D-S/Weston program that had questions. The Raiders knew who would lead the team on ice by example but weren't sure who would become the voice in the locker room.
"From the beginning, (Roman has) been that guy when we need someone to get the boys back up in the locker room or calm them down on the ice, without fail he's the No. 1 voice in our locker room," Marlow said. "He steers that ship in the right direction."
Before the shootout and before the overtimes against Winthrop, Roman was the rudder between periods. He reminded the Raiders of the reasons they were in that position. They'd faced tougher challenges in a stacked Tri-Valley league season and emerged victorious.
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"The second anything's going wrong, he keeps everybody on the bench positive, lifts everyone up," Marlow said. "Even when we're not playing and having a light moment, he's the voice. He's the loudest one that you'll always hear first."
His game is quieter. Roman is a defenseman's defenseman. Paired most of the season with fellow senior Sawyer Garzone, Roman regularly stayed home and covered Garzone's forays forward.
"Just rock solid. It's always nice to know someone's there for me even if I make a mistake," Garzone said.
Roman prefers to set the tone with a hit or making a defensive play or breakout pass.
"When I leave a hit like that, I feel like it just gets our team going and gets them into the game," Roman said.
From the pond
The Dover-Sherborn senior honed that style on Dover's Channing Pond and in a backyard rink playing with three older brothers. They could form a mean penalty kill unit with two defensemen and two forwards in the group. The puck was hard to come by in those games, so Calvin Roman fought for it.
"They set the path for me," he said. "It was tough growing up. They were always bigger than me. We were all very aggressive and it started from there. That's where I had to start working harder."
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Roman also followed his brother's example in the D-S/Weston locker room. His older brother Marcus was a senior during the 2021-22 season when Calvin was a sophomore.
"I started a role when I was younger, I'd use my voice when I was younger," Calvin said. "It just kept going."
That voice only got louder, and more people listened.
"People just naturally migrate to him because he's got a great personality," Marlow said. "When the game starts, he's locked in. I've been so happy for him this year because it shows everyone he is a leader."
Contact Kyle Grabowski at kgrabowski@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @kylegrbwsk.
This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Dover-Sherborn/Weston's Calvin Roman a vocal leader for hockey team
