Anthony Marchant: Norwood Hockey

Norwood’s Anthony Marchant came across hockey by somewhat of a mistake. It really wasn’t something that he was looking for at the age of eight, but when a neighbor who was involved in Learn to Skate invited him to bring a friend one day, he decided to tag along. Next thing you know, he’s playing hockey for the Norwood Youth Hockey Program.
Marchant found that by playing hockey he was exposed to building friendships as well as learning the team aspects of the game. While now a senior captain for the Mustangs, the Norwood native never strayed from local hockey.
“All of the friends that I made through hockey were still playing in the youth program and at one time I thought about joining a club team, but my uncle talked me out of it,” Marchant said. “My uncle told me there was nothing better than playing for your hometown, so I decided to keep playing for the Norwood program.”
When he entered high school, Marchant knew that he wanted to don the uniform of the Mustangs, but found himself very anxious as he began tryouts.
“Making the move from youth hockey to high school hockey made me very nervous,” Marchant said. “I was about 5’ 3” and about 115 pounds, a tiny freshman, but the seniors were very supportive and helped me get through that first year. They gave me the confidence that I needed to play on this level.”
Making the jump not only to high school hockey but playing the sport for the varsity team was tough at first for the Norwood native. Being as small as he was, the physical part of the game was where he was going to have to make adjustments if he wanted to continue to play hockey.
During that first season with the team, Marchant would either hit the gym or work out in his home and lift weights as much as he could depending on how he felt after practices and games. His freshman campaign found him playing with senior Charlie Gover. According to Marchant, Gover was the goal scorer of the line and it was his job to get him the puck. Coming into his sophomore year, Marchant grew a bit and was able to put on some weight and felt that his confidence level had grown. He was also switched from the left-wing position, which he had played his entire life, to center.
Despite playing center, he still didn’t see himself as a goal scorer.
“To me, an assist is just as good as a goal,” Marchant said.
As a junior, he found the back of the net only once and helped his teammates with 22 assists.
Prior to this his senior season with Norwood, Coach Chuck Allen sent Marchant and Jake Russo, his line mate on the ice, to a Massachusetts club team to play in a tournament in Minnesota against the likes of teams from Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and North Dakota.
“It was definitely a different experience,” Marchant said. “The way those teams worked and their dedication to the game was just unbelievable. It was crazy; these kids love and eat hockey up and man did they have puck skills.”
Marchant noted that the hockey teams his Massachusetts club had to go up against were fast and you literally had about 2-3 seconds to get rid of the puck before someone was on top of you. It was here that he knew that he was going to have to learn to move the puck a lot quicker than he was used to.
In addition to working on his puck handling and releasing the puck at a much quicker pace, Marchant also worked on his shots during that off-season. Needless to say, the tournament competition, along with all his work, has paid off this season. The senior had tallied 8 goals while adding 18 assists. At the time of this writing, he was tied with Russo and Harry Gover leading the team in points.
Over the last two season Norwood has managed to advance into the Division 2 South Tournament only to have been eliminated. During his sophomore year, Marchant and the Mustangs were bested By Medfield in the Quarterfinals and last year Canton, the number one seed and eventual champion, defeated Norwood in the Semifinals. Marchant and the rest of his teammates are looking to rebound from last year’s loss and prove they belong in the tournament.
“Last year we had a good run, but we know that this year is going to be a battle each and every game having lost some key players form that team,” Marchant said. “Our goals are to make the tournament; we’ve already done that (Norwood was 10-1-2), and individually I want to be a big impact on the team. Making the team a s freshman, the leaders and captains helped me get through it, so I want to return what they did for me to the best of my ability.”
Coach Allen, who has seen Marchant grow during the last four seasons, knows that his captain is not only a strong player on the ice but is one that gives back any way he can off the ice.
“Anthony has been one of the most coachable kids that I have ever had,” the Norwood Coach said. “He’s a hard worker and leads by example every time that he steps onto the ice. He does everything that a captain is expected to do, and you don’t have to tell him to do it.”
While the Mustangs are still battling it out for a high seed in the tournament, Marchant knows that his future in hockey may be best suited playing junior hockey once high school is over.
“One option I’m looking to pursue is playing for the Worcester Railers, a junior team,” Marchant said. “I haven't gotten any college looks so by playing for the Railers I may get noticed and in a year or two then look at college.”
While the future is unsure at the moment, Marchant and the Mustangs are sure they’ll be playing in the Division 2 South Tournament and then hopefully into the States as long as they continue to play solid hockey under Coach Allen.