Former WHS hockey goalie to finish collegiate career on Boston University Division I team

Jack Perry, a Waltham native, grew up cheering for the Boston University Terriers men’s hockey team. 

Now he’s on the roster.

Assistant coach Kim Brandvold offered Perry a spot on the Division I team last month after freshman goalie Steven Luciano suffered an injury.

“I’m in physical therapy school right now,” Perry said. “I’ve always been told that school comes first.”

The Waltham High School graduate and former star goalie of the WHS boys hockey team said Brandvold told him they’d take his limited availability.

“It’s a dream come true for me. I’ve been rooting for BU since I was a kid,” Perry said.

Starting varsity goalie all four years at WHS, as a senior, Perry was accepted to BU’s Doctor of Physical Therapy program and planned to play for the university’s American Collegiate Hockey Association club hockey team.

Perry made the ACHA roster last year after being cut from the team twice.

His passion for the sport, however, didn’t waver.

Perry played on the BU roller hockey team, a member of the 2024-25 Eastern Collegiate Roller Hockey Association AA Regional championship-winning team.

“I decided to keep pushing, not give up and play as much whenever I could,” Perry said.

His work ethic, former WHS teammate Justin Cormier said, is an important thing to know about Perry.

“We would always joke that if we got to a game early thinking we’d be the first ones there, we walk in and Jack’s already juggling balls in the locker room,” Cormier said.

Perry’s success, according to retired WHS coach John Maguire, means a lot for the program.

“It’s certainly unusual these days to have any kids play D1 from public high schools in Massachusetts,” Maguire said.

Perry echoed his former coach.

Division I rosters, he said, are usually full of players who attended prep schools and played for junior teams.

“I think it’s very cool being able to look at my name on the roster and see Waltham High School, a public school, on there,” Perry said.

Dan Spang, a 2002 graduate of Winchester High School, was the last player from a public high school in the state to play for the Terriers before Perry.

Spang, too, grew up a BU hockey fan and played for the team from 2002 to 2006.

He wasn’t aware, he said, that he was the last one until a few years ago.

“Every kid has a shot at going D1, it’s a bummer that more and more kids are leaving public schools and going to play junior and prep,” said Spang. “One of the best parts of being from Mass and going to Mass public school and playing hockey is the resources, the rinks, the community.”

Maguire said Perry initially wanted to play Division III hockey in college but didn’t want to complete a year at a prep school or on a junior team beforehand.

Now, there’s a chance to prove that room for growth exists even in public school hockey programs, according to Cormier.

“He [Perry] stuck around and proved his own game,” Cormier said. “This might be able to keep guys local and believe they have a chance even staying in a program like Waltham.”

Jonathan Campana, a teammate of Perry’s since middle school, emphasized the significance of his accomplishments on a larger scale.

“This definitely puts a bigger spotlight that public school hockey needed,” Campana said.

Working his way up from WHS varsity to NCAA Division I with hopes of working in sports after PT school, Perry said he’s taking it one day at a time.

“Just being able to be on the ice and take in everything from a playing perspective but also to be in the AT room surrounded by strength and conditioning –that’s giving me inspiration and motivation to keep pursuing my goals academically,” said Perry.

Motivation, Cormier said, Perry brought to WHS – both on and off the ice.

“He was always a kinda ‘first guy there, last guy to leave’ type of player,” he said.

His motivation, Perry said, has kept him going.

“I just continued to find ways to play and get better despite maybe not having a set team to play on,” Perry said. “I just kept motivated and wasn’t going to let anybody tell me no.”