Your Dad shared the highlights of your hockey banquet,including a video of assistant coach Craig Randall singing your praises. Wish I could add it to your blog but no-can-do. I transcribed what he said:

“Camden, you were polite and pretty reserved until you sat behind me at the BC-UNH game this week in a BC jersey and I saw a side of you I had never seen before which was fun. In all seriousness, I’ll never forget your transformation from Sophomore to Junior Year. You were a boy and came back a man with 20 lbs. of muscle. You really transformed as a player at that point.

“This year especially you became very strong on the puck, you were key in breakouts and zone intros. You created HUGE (he said it with great emphasis) first goals in both the Alvirne game in the semifinals and against Spaulding in the championship game with that pass to Moriarty. You also developed as a strong leader, which was huge for the success of our team.”

Your statistics from the Championship season are holy shits. Out of 19 scoring position players, you ended up third overall in points, second in assists and fifth in goals. As I’ve noted so many times in these blogs, you are an incredibly unselfish player, making things happen for the overall team vs. worrying about your own glory. So damn proud of you sir. You were a huge reason why the ORHS boy’s hockey season became historic!

Way to go Cam!!!!

Congrats on  your team’s historic Division 2 State Championship win this afternoon at Manchester’s SNHU Arena, 3-0 over #8 seeded Spaulding.

Who would have dreamed when you started playing organized hockey in 2011 that 14 years later you’d be a starting five Oyster River High School Senior standout collecting the first state hockey championship in school history.

Unbelievable

A storybook ending to your hockey career; no one could have scripted a better conclusion.  So happy you were able to experience a rare feat few high school athletes taste in any sport.

What a season. An 11-game winning game winning streak and a final record of 16-3-2.  OR gave up only two goals in three playoff games,  including back to back shutouts in the semifinal and final, outscoring your opponents by a combined 7-0.

OR was the hottest and winning-est among all 13 in your division.  Your team bonded, became one and were relentless.  Despite going into the playoffs as the #2 team, your team’s “job isn’t done yet” mentality kept everyone focused, expectations in line.  You had learned the lessons of your sophomore year when nine seniors got ahead of themselves and lost their focus.

Amazing watching you get the game winning assists in both the Semifinals (vs. Alvirne, 3-0) and again in the Finals today.

Only forty-seven seconds into today’s game you broke away from your defender, making a brilliant, uncontested left wing rush along the boards all the way into your offensive zone, spotted Braiden in the slot, and made a pinpoint pass at exactly the right moment who flipped a backhander into the net on the first shot of the game. Score? 1-0.

Thinking about how it played out is goosebump time:  our grandson personally orchestrated what turned out to be the game winning goal, THE most historic goal in ORHS history.

The last goal of your hockey career ended up being in the semifinals, a classic Camden-in-the-crease, determined-to-score beauty.

Proud of you #8! 

You’re a super smart player, one of the leaders in making things happen on both ends of the ice, thanks to your game knowledge and unselfish play.  Your defense was stellar, you scored a lot of goals, consistently inspired teammates, always knew exactly where to be on the ice and consistently found the open man with on-the-tape passes.  Grammy and I are most proud of how you always carried yourself with class, respecting all, a true leader by example.

I keep thinking about the dream ending for ORHS.  After four unsuccessful tries making it to the state finals-  losing in the semifinal round each time – and after two other final appearance misses by earlier ORHS teams, you guys became THE team that busted the jinxes and finally reached the top. Decades of trying! Historic.

Watching all of you explode with happiness, throw your gear in the air after the win, pile onto Cole Harwood in goal and hoist the trophy was so f’n fantastic. Ditto seeing you guys arrive in the motorcade, faces beaming out the windows, celebrating in the parking lot, stuffing pizza in your mouths two-fisted with parents, grandparents, fans and players all beaming.

No more hockey is going to be tough for a lot of people, including Grammy and I.  We may end up so desperate to see you play next season that we fly out to Colorado or Utah (or wherever you go to college) to watch you do your thing on the Club sport team, Zombie-like:

Must… see… Camden…play…hockey… again…find… airplane…fast

Thanks for the memories Cam, they’ll always be with us.

The curse is broken! The monkey is off your back! Congrats on a thrilling, historic 4-0 Semifinal win over Alvirne-Milford in the Division II state hockey semifinals.

Concord’s Everett Arena has been a pain in the ass for Oyster River hockey players, coaches and fans for many years. Games never ended well – for decades! My February 28, 2016 blog tells a story you never forgot that ended in tears. The memories haven’t been any better for Oyster River HIgh School, having lost hockey championship games there four years in a row in earlier decades.

Over the years your Dad always said, “I hate playing there, we never win.” The outcome finally changed today and you played a pivotal role.

Your team entered the playoffs with tempered confidence as the #2 seed, knowing you’d have to earn everything in “one and done” situations that require incredible concentration, great play and focus. The OR seniors and Juniors remembered the semifinal collapse two years earlier when an OR squad with nine seniors were too optimistic, too cocky and didn’t play the way you need to play to win.

Grammy and I were nervous, I can’t imagine how you and your teammates felt. The only photo I took was in warmups; I needed to concentrate 100% on the game!

About halfway through a physical first period, you made a pinpoint pass through three defending Alvirne players that landed perfectly on Liam Eddy’s tape, assisting on what turned out to be the game winning goal. OR 1, Alvirne 0. Oyster River fans erupted – it’s always a relief to score the first goal, especially early in the game.

There was a Cam Beaupre Zen moment I’ll always remember between the first and second periods. The teams were back on the ice, skating around before the face off. I watched you break away from your team mates, skating alone, skating toward the glass on our side of the rink. The score was 2-0, still anybody’s game with three periods to play. I don’t know exactly what you were thinking in that moment, but to my mind’s eye you were in a total mindfulness state, psyching yourself up for what had to happen, what you needed to do to break the curse and make a W a reality for the first time ever. The look of determination was all over your face.

Thirty seconds into the second period you skillfully tipped a shot from the point, giving the OR Bobcats the always sought after 3-0 lead. It was a Camden Beaupre classic, a Zen moment. You were in the spot where you’ve scored most goals throughout your career – high up in the slot in the goalie crease where the action is hottest. A beautiful goal. The announcer got the names wrong, but we all knew you were the one who got it past the goalie. They made the correction for the media and you got the credit you deserved.

With two minutes left to play, Braiden got the fourth goal and we ALL finally took a breath, seeing and believing the curse had finally listed. It was the single most exciting moment of your entire career. Amazing to think you’ll be playing in the State Championship game in Manchester at the SNHU Arena in three days against Spaulding which had defeated Dover in the opener.

Love this photo of you approaching your ecstatic waiting supporters after the game. How do you spell R-E-L-I-E-F?!

I will continue my strategy of taking zero for granted and not talking about the outcome as we approach the Finals. Yes, the good luck underwear I wore for the Quarterfinal and Semifinal wins will be back on the old body. You can’t be too sure about anything.

Onto the playoffs!

Your final home game (of your lifetime!) at the Whit was an 8:30am NHIAA Quarterfinal game vs. Goffstown. While you beat ’em in regular season by one goal; that of course means zip in a “one and done” playoff.  Anybody’s game; the team that plays harder and never lets up has the edge.

You and your teammates were fired up at the get-go; this proved to be true with a quick, early goal. That always sets the tone!  OR played more consistently throughout the game and you made a sweet pass to Nolan Walsh that ended up being the game winning assist on the game winning goal.

It wasn’t that easy though – with approximately six minutes remaining in the third with a one goal lead, Cole got called on a 5-minute major.  Bad timing in crucial moments. When they pulled their goalie, that meant a 6-4 advantage for your rivals. Your defense (yours and your teammates) had been stellar, so everyone held their breath.

Then magic happened.  As the Goffstown goalie headed toward the bench, your buddy Cam Minor made a stunning steal, firing off a quick shot toward the empty net.  It was one of those dream moments where the goal S-L-O-W-L-Y made its way toward the goal.  At first we thought, nice try, not lined up right, but as we watched the puck, we realized it would actually go in. That gave you a two-goal lead.

OR declined a penalty shot in lieu of possession and within seconds the W was on the board. What an adrenalin filled way to start the day, end your home ice career and move onto the semifinal round next week in Concord.  You’ll never forget this one and neither will we. A game for the ages.

Here’s the final regular season rankings – photo taken before the start of your Quarterfinal game vs. Goffstown at home on March 2.