The Lunenburg/Ayer High School hockey team wrapped up another successful regular season this week, with a win over Northbridge 2-1 Monday night. The win clinched a spot for the Knights in the Division 3A Central Mass District Tournament.
 The key to the team’s success this year has been imbuing a lot of younger players with the leadership and skills of some important upperclassmen. The Blue Knights are a defensive-oriented team, and strong defensive play has not only led to key victories in must win games, but should be a recipe for success in the tournament.
 "It’s an incredible accomplishment to be back in the playoffs again this season after graduating so many seniors," Lunenburg/Ayer High hockey head coach Eric Short said. "We have worked extremely hard to qualify playing a very competitive schedule. We have had competitive games this year with all the teams that qualified so we feel confident against whoever we draw in the first round."
 Coming into the season, the big question mark surrounding the team’s potential success was how it would replace 12 seniors lost to graduation, and the majority of its offensive firepower.
 “I knew that we were going to be competitive this season, but whether we would make the playoffs or not I was a little unsure,” Short said. “We lost 12 seniors and we really lost our two top forward lines, and three of our defensemen. On a high school team, to lose your top two lines and three defensemen is big, because some teams only play two lines and four defensemen.”