Embracing the competition, Sam Griswold and Jason Swaim a winning tandem in goal for Concord-Carlisle hockey

Boston Globe

16-02-2025

The Patriots (13-5-1) have a unique 'problem': they have two outstanding netminders.
Swaim, a senior, owns a sterling 93.9 save percentage and a 1.74 goals-against average. Griswold, a junior, boasts a 94.1 save percentage with a 1.51 GAA. They are two of the premier shot stoppers in the MIAA.
And yet they split time. Each has played in 10 games.
'They know if one of them struggles or has a couple of bad games, that I'm going to ride the other one,' said Concord-Carlisle coach Rian Murray. 'I think that creates good, positive competitiveness. We kind of ride that. They're both 93-, 94-save percentage — that's ridiculous. It's not a problem that I've had before. It's a good problem to have.'
Get Starting Point
A guide through the most important stories of the morning, delivered Monday through Friday.
Enter Email
Sign Up
Goaltending is a unique position. It's the one role on the ice that doesn't take a shift. The starter commands the majority of the work and typically doesn't want anyone taking a bite out of his ice time.
Advertisement
For Swaim and Griswold, also teammates on the lacrosse field, it's friendly competition, with the key word being friendly.
'What fuels us is brother relations,' said Swaim, who recently passed 1,000 career saves. 'We're with each other every single day, practicing. Especially with goalie, it's such a mental position, that every day, you have your brother right there. We just push each other to do the best we can.'
Practices are a shooter's worst nightmare; the pair of goaltenders put on a show, pushing each other to get better.
'The competition part of it is good,' said Griswold. 'In practice, we have competitions sometimes to see who can make more saves.'
Griswold has grown up around the rink. His older sister, Jamie, is a freshman defender at Boston College after a stellar career at Nobles. His mother, AJ Mleczko Griswold, won a gold medal with Team USA at the 1998 Olympics and a national championship at Harvard in 1999. She is now a color commentator for ESPN and ABC's hockey coverage.
Advertisement
'I think that the relationship between goalies, having played a long time, is a very unique and special bond that can transcend to the team,' said Mleczko Griswold. 'If you have goalies that push each other, I think there's something really good about that. These guys do that.'
'They have such a unique situation where they have to be at their best all the time and push each other,' echoed Jamie Griswold.
. Griswold showcased his athleticism plenty against Braintree, flashing a lightning-quick left pad in the second period to stonewall Matt Kennedy's tip on the doorstep. In the third period, he challenged Andrew Gaffney 2 feet out of the blue paint, cutting down the angle and eliminating any sort of shooting window.
During timeouts and between periods, Swaim and Griswold exchange one-liners, aimed at taking the agita out of a position synonymous with nerves and pressure. The one constant: 'shutout' is never mentioned, akin to a pitcher throwing a no-hitter.
Words weren't needed to describe their relationship: the smiles at center ice said it all.
'The guy that kept us in the whole game, got to go greet that guy first,' said Swaim.
Jason Swaim (center) was among the Concord-Carlisle seniors honored before their 7-1 win over Newton South at The Edge Sports Center in Bedford on Feb. 8.
Aidan Moroney/Concord-Carlisle High School
Cam Kerry can be reached at