"It's hard to believe that it's all over," said Lynch
in reflecting on his successful high school hockey career. "I've had a
lot of great memories here on the team, and I've made a lot of friends
that I'm sure I'll have for the rest of my life. When I look back, I'll
have a lot of great memories I had with my coaches and teammates."

A
lifelong Somerville native, Lynch's passion for the sport developed at
the tender age of three where he would often watch various family
members compete at both the high school and collegiate levels.

"I
remember seeing my cousin and my dad skate around and play in leagues,"
said Lynch. "I just knew that playing hockey was just something I
always wanted to do. As soon as I started walking, I was anxious to
pick up some skates and hit the ice."

Only three years old,
Lynch's family enrolled him in a Learn to Skate Program, where he
slowly developed into a budding prospect. Following intense practices
with family and fellow friends, Lynch participated in the city's youth
hockey program, where he slowly emerged through the ranks and developed
into a solid forward.

Toiling through the Midgets, Mites and Pee
Wees, Lynch also learned valuable experience throughout his elementary
and middle school years as a member of various travel teams.

"It
was a lot of fun because I learned a lot from playing under my
coaches,' said Lynch "I made a ton of friends, and really experienced a
lot. It was just so much fun, and I just continued to fall in love with
hockey. It's something I did almost every day and I stuck with it, and
just tried to get better each and every day."

After completing
his middle school years, Lynch was faced with a decision to venture off
to preparatory and private schools. Following days of agonizing
uncertainty, Lynch decided to continue his high school education at
Somerville High, a move he hasn't regretted one bit.

"It was
tough because I had some offers from other local schools to play
hockey," said Lynch. "I probably could've played at either Matignon or
Malden Catholic, but I decided to stay here at Somerville and be with
all the friends I grew up and played hockey with. I'm happy I decided
to stay here at Somerville, and I never really thought twice about it."

During
his freshman season, Lynch saw limited action on the ice rotating
between forward and defense. As Lynch adapted to performing at the high
school level, the Highlanders struggled through a three-win season.

"It
was tough because we were losing a lot of games, and I was making some
adjustments between playing forward and defense," recalled Lynch. "We
had trouble clicking at times, and we went up against some tough teams
that season."

As a sophomore Lynch didn't see a lot of action, as the Highlanders continued to struggle through a six-win campaign.

"It's
tough sitting on the bench," said Lynch. "We had a lot of older guys on
the team, so all I could do is continue to work hard and learn from
them. There were times where I could've just walked away and quit the
team, but I just continued to hang in there because I loved the sport
and wanted to be with my teammates."

After experiencing a pair
of rough seasons, the Highlanders hired Mike Bertoni and the atmosphere
quickly changed on the ice and in the locker room.

"We knew that
when he (Bertoni) came on to coach us, there was just a different
feeling in the air," said Lynch. "He's (Bertoni) really motivated
everyone and brought out the best in the team. We just knew that things
were going to turn around and they did.

Led by goaltender Billy
Weiand, the Highlanders roared off to a 10-1-1 start before finishing
the season with an impressive 12-4-4 mark. Lynch was also shifted from
forward to defense, where he registered 12 points (2-10-12).

"I
just wanted to do anything to help the team win," said Lynch. "We all
bought into his (Bertoni's) philosophy and he was trying to experiment
with different things, and thought I would be a good fit on defense. It
was a lot of fun playing defense and I definitely enjoyed it."

Despite
posting a successful regular season, the Highlanders suffered a tough
1-0 shutout loss to Oliver Ames in the first round of the Division 2
South tournament.

"It was tough because we thought we could win
a couple of games and go pretty deep," said Lynch. "But we ran into a
hot goaltender, and we just couldn't find a way to get the puck by him."

While
the Highlanders finished the regular season off strong, Lynch suffered
the scare of his life when he was hospitalized at Children's Hospital
with double pneumonia for 18 days. For nearly three weeks, he was
incapacitated and breathing through a tube as doctors didn't think he
would be able to pull through.

"I had this cold and I was just
fighting through it,' said Lynch. "Then one day, I had these awful
pains in my chest and I almost collapsed. I was rushed to the hospital
and put through all these tubes. They (doctors) didn't think I was
going to make it, but I got a lot of support from my family, friends
and coaches. They came up to check on me almost every day, and I even
got a call from Cam Neely."

Even as Lynch missed the tournament, he managed to place all things in perspective.

"It
was a real scary experience and it really forced me to realize how
fortunate I am to have great family and friends and coaches," said
Lynch. "I'm just very grateful to be alive and be playing hockey again."

After
six weeks of rehabilitation, Lynch returned to school and was cleared
to play athletics, where he played the last four games of the baseball
season.

"I really didn't think I was going to play again,"
said Lynch. "After all I went through; to go back out and play sports
again was just a victory in itself. I just tried to enjoy every minute
of it while I was out there."

Despite losing an abundance of
seniors to the cap and gown from last year's hockey squad, the
Highlanders remained upbeat regarding their return to the tournament.
After winning the Greater Boston League holiday tournament, the
Highlanders were on course for another bid to the playoffs. Instead
injuries and other issues led to a losing streak midway through the
season.

Needing to win three out of their final four games to
qualify for the tournament, the Highlanders' bid for a return fell just
short after a 4-2 loss to Melrose in the first round of the Winthrop
tournament.

"It's tough to come that close to the tournament,
and to fall just short," said Lynch. "I was hoping we would be able to
qualify in my senior year and have that experience, but we just
couldn't."

A three sport athlete, Lynch served as a valuable
member of the golf team, earning league all-star status and is also
slated to be penciled in as the Highlanders starting second baseman
come this spring.

"I'm definitely looking forward to be playing
baseball in the spring," said Lynch. "We've been practicing the past
few weeks in the gym, just trying to get loose and get ready for the
season when it starts."

As for future plans, Lynch is uncertain,
but intends on continuing his hockey career at some level, either in
juniors in college or at post graduate school.

"It's really all
going to come down to the economics," said Lynch. "I'd definitely like
to play hockey in college, but we'll see what happens. Hopefully it'll
all work out."