Hockey: Greenfield’s Jake Jurek scores 100th career point against Minnechaug

Greenfield’s Jake Jurek (2) maneuvers the puck between the Amherst defense last season at Orr Rink in Amherst. STAFF FILE PHOTO/DAN LITTLE
Published: 01-24-2025 7:41 PM |
Another Greenfield hockey player added his name to the banners at Collins-Moylan Arena on Thursday.
Green Wave forward Jake Jurek entered Thursday’s contest against Minnechaug at Olympia Ice Center sitting at 99 career points and it didn’t take the senior long to hit the century mark, as he found the back of the net two minutes, 52 seconds into the contest while on the power play to put him at 100 points for his career.
He’s the first Wave player to hit the mark since Bryan Baumann in 2019.
“It felt good to get it out of the way,” Jurek said. “It was a lot of pressure. I just wanted to get it done. It’s definitely a team accomplishment. I couldn’t have done it without them.”
Jurek — who attends Franklin Tech — has been a varsity player all four years with the Wave.
He potted five goals and dished eight assists his freshman year, took a step forward as a sophomore to the tune of 10 goals and 19 assists and took another big step in the right direction as a junior, as he buried 23 goals to go along with 16 assists.
That gave Jurek 81 points heading into this senior campaign, 19 points shy of the milestone. It took him just 12 games to do it, as he’s already up to 11 points and eight assists on the season.
“It’s a hard accomplishment,” Jurek said. “I’m glad it happened. I never really imagined doing something like this. We were on the power play, 4-on-3, I just made a good move around the guy and lifted it top shelf.”
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Based on Jurek’s junior season, it felt like only a matter of time before he got those 19 points.
That was until the Wave made the move up to the Berry Division this winter, featuring the best teams in Western Mass. Adding in the toughest non-league slate Greenfield has played in recent memory and those 19 points became a whole lot harder to get.
The step up in competition has only brought the best out of Jurek, evident by his 1.5 points-per-game on the season.
“It’s an absolutely tremendous accomplishment,” Green Wave coach Adam Bouchard said. “I’ve heard him say time and time again at the rink, in the locker room and on the bench that even though it’s 100 points for him, it’s a team accomplishment. He knows he couldn’t have done this on his own. He’s had great teammates now and in the past that have helped him get here.
“From a coaches perspective, with moving up to the Berry Division and our non-league slate, we knew this could be a difficult milestone to reach,” Bouchard added. “To accomplish this in 12 games is so remarkable. I’m super proud of Jake and all the hard work he has put in to accomplish this.”
After scoring the goal on Thursday, Jurek dropped to his knees, took his gloves off and motioned 1-0-0 with his hands to celebrate the accomplishment.
He was then met by his teammates who shared in the celebration.
“I told Jake how close he was on the first day of camp but haven’t said a word to him since,” Bouchard said. “When we had that power play the team set him up and he put it home. There was a big celebration after. He came back to the bench and the whole team swarmed him. Everyone in the program — from the coaches to the players — were all extremely proud of him.”
While it was a special night for Jurek, the Green Wave went on to fall to the Falcons, 4-3, in overtime.
With the milestone out of the way, Jurek is focused on getting Greenfield back in the win column, as the Wave won’t have to wait long to try to avenge the loss as they host Minnechaug on Saturday. Puck drop is set for 6:30 p.m.
“We want more wins,” Jurek said. “We have to get back on track and start winning games. We have a chance to do that [Saturday].”