Jacques' daughter carrying on family hockey tradition

By Jean DePlacido
Correspondent

May 02, 2008 10:32 pm

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Jean DePlacido

Three of the area's all time hockey greats — Ray Jacques, Bobby Carpenter and Dennis Laing — honed their hockey skills as teammates by playing for the North Shore Raiders in the mid 1970s before going on to stardom at Matignon, St. John's Prep and Marblehead High, respectively.

Although their careers took different paths — Carpenter made it all the way to the NHL, where he spent 18 seasons, scored 53 goals one season and won a Stanley Cup with New Jersey in 1995 — the three standouts remained close friends.

Now the names Jacques, Carpenter and Laing are still prominent in hockey circles — but it's their daughters and sons who are making their mark on the ice.

Alex Carpenter has made a name for herself, starring as a freshman at Governor's Academy in Byfield this past winter while the Laing sisters, Denna and Lexie, powered the Assabet Valley program to not one, but three National Championships this spring.

And then there is Jessica Jacques, who has inherited her father's knack for putting the puck in the net.

Jessica started as a figure skater, but at the tender age of five told Ray she wanted to be a hockey player like her older brother Ray Jr.

"I was surprised, but told her if that's what she wanted to do it was fine," said Ray Sr., who left Peabody for the opportunity to skate for legendary high school coach Marty Pierce at Matignon. Later, Jacques matriculated to the University of Maine, where he captained the Black Bears.

"My wife Michelle figured Jess would do figure skating and dancing, but now she's a great hockey supporter. And the greatest blessing is having my Dad (Ray, who was inducted into the Peabody Hall of Fame last year) able to coach them."

For the last five years, the Jacques father-son combination have coached the Lowell Junior River Hawks program. The elder Jacques, who founded the North Shore Raiders in the 70s along with Bob Sewell, played a prominent role in coaching not only his son, but so many others including his nephew, Alex Minter, who just had a big freshman season skating forward for Super 8 finalist Malden Catholic.

"My son loves the game — but Jessica lives for hockey," said Jacques, who owns a financial planning business called New England Schooner Financial Advisors in Peabody. "She plays for the all-girls East Coast Wizards. Her team was the only one to beat Assabet Majors in the U-10 state tournament."

Jessica, a fifth grader at the Hood School in North Reading, was the leading scorer in that tournament. She also led all scorers in season scoring with 27 goals. She also scored seven points in three Valley League playoff games (a boys' league), getting the game-winning goal in the quarterfinal and semifinal before dishing off three assists in the finals.

Jessica, who has great hockey bloodlines (her father was a sniper with a laser shot) set up the winning goal in a 1-0 victory over Assabet for the state championship after scoring the winning goal in both the state quarterfinals and semifinals. Teams are not national eligible until U-12 level, which is where she will play next year.

Her older brother Raymond, age 13, played in the Nike Bauer International Tournament in Chicago last fall, and did an outstanding job covering Leonid Ovechkin (brother of Washington Capitals superstar and likely NHL MVP Alexander Ovechkin). The young Ovechkin scored 14 goals in the tournament, but none while Jacques shadowed him.

"Hockey brought me so many places. I admit I'm a hockey junkie," said Ray Jacques, who has analyzed the game with Eddie Andelman on the radio for the past five years. He'll also be receiving the prestigious Black Bear Award from his alma mater — the first hockey player ever selected.

"There is so much excitement in the sport, and I learned so many things that I put into my life and my work. I am so grateful to my Dad, Marty Pierce and Shawn Walsh (the late, great UMaine coach).

"It's a lot harder to coach than to play the game, and I keep telling the kids I wish I could wave a magic wand and jump in to play," Jacques added. "You have to keep the kids focused and motivated — I learned that from Walsh."

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Freshman Connor Cardew of Ipswich made a big impression at Bryant University's annual Black and Gold Football game. He made a diving catch in the end zone for a 3-yard TD reception to help the offense beat the defense, 26-25 before a large crowd.

The Bulldogs are getting ready for the big move up to Division 1-AA ball in the fall as the newest member of the 12-team Northeast Conference. It's quite an accomplishment for the Bulldogs, who played their first varsity game just eight years ago.

A former St. John's Prep captain, Cardew has been switched to a new position for him: fullback. He was a two-way linemen at the Prep was both a Catholic Conference and Salem News all-star his senior year.

"Playing fullback is like a pulling guard, but you also get the ball. I love it," said Cardew. "It's a position I really had not played since the seventh grade except in the Prep's L package (power formation).

"I saw a lot of time there during spring camp. We've got three fullbacks and the other two are seniors, but hopefully I'll get some time."

Cardew and the Bulldogs will face opponents such as New York based foes Marist, Wagner and Iona this season, as well as UMass Amherst. Because they are a new league member, they won't play all conference games until 2010.

"This summer I'm going to work out at Athletic Evolution in Woburn with Eric Kaloyanides. My brother Griffin (also a Prep football player) and I will go mornings before work," said Cardew. "It's a great facility with an inside turf field, and a lot of college kids workout there as well as some of the Boston Bruins.

"I'm really looking forward to this season and will do everything I can to get ready to report on Aug. 8."

Jean DePlacido is a part-time writer and columnist for The Salem News. Contact her at jmdeplacido@aol.com.

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