BRIDGEWATER, MA — From a youth Bridgewater Bandit to earning an NCAA commitment while playing for their junior team, the work has paid off for Brandon Borges.
A native of New Bedford, MA, Borges played for Greater New Bedford Tech for high school hockey. While playing youth hockey for the Bandits, he remembers watching their junior teams while growing up. When the choice came to jump to junior hockey himself, it was an easy choice.
“Coming into juniors, I didn’t try to flood my head with too many ideas,” Borges said. “Just talking it one day at a time and learning everyday was how I built my game into today. I have always wanted to play college hockey. Being around and watching my local college team all the time made me just wanna be one of those guys growing up and finally saying I’ve kinda accomplished that goal is huge for me.”
The ‘05 forward will be heading to Post University for the 2026-2027 season after three seasons in the EHL. He began his journey in the EHLP where he tallied eight goals and eighteen assists in 42 games.
Immediately, he noticed the heavy, quicker game of junior hockey. Picking up on the shot speed at the new level, Borges would spend time working on different shooting situations before practice. Alongside adapting to the speed and physicality, he learned a lot about the mental side of the game as well.
“You know being a smaller guy I’ve faced a lot through my hockey career so going into the P, I focused on how I could improve. I always listened to what my coaches had to say. (Coach) Drev has helped me a lot through my junior career, always helping me improve my game as a player and a person. If you’re not in the right mind playing the game, then your game isn’t going to show. If you’re in the right headspace and you’re positive the game comes to you.”
Borges made the jump to the EHL for his sophomore season. He scored his first goal in his fifth game and went onto register eight points in 45 games.
“My jump from P to E was hard at first,” Borges said. “You’re the new guy again basically. You have to establish yourself in the room and on the ice. Luckily, that didn’t take long because everyone was good about bringing me in and helping me get better along the way. It was a good year of learning and studying the game for sure.”
With more intense practices, Borges treated every skate like it’s a game. As time went on, he focused less on worrying about mistakes, and just tried to enjoy the game. His confidence, which lagged earlier in the year, began to grow.
For his age-out year, Borges was named captain of the Bridgewater Bandits. With the “C” on his, Borges has demolished his totals from his prior EHL season. He currently sits at eleven goals and fourteen assists.
“Being captain of the team has helped me a lot with confidence in my game. Being comfortable in the EHL helps a lot too, now knowing the speed and physical play. No matter what the standings say, the EHL is full of players that want it just as bad as you do. Understanding that has made me want it more and help my teammates understand the same.”
Carrying the torch of the leaders from his earlier seasons, Borges has leaned on his experiences learning from prior age-outs. On the ice, he has emerged into an all situations player, with three power play goals on the year and often being first out on the penalty kill.
Having never been away from home, the college decision process was a challenging one. However, his tour of Post assuaged those anxieties and he pulled the trigger. Despite fears his smaller stature could be an obstacle, his on-ice work ethic and performance nullified that for the Eagles.
His offseasons have been chock full of lifting, nutrition, and skating. As he prepares for college hockey, he will gear up with the same determination: a determination that has carried Borges up the EHL’s Ladder of Development.
