Dave O’Hearn didn’t let a battle with cancer define who he was behind the bench.
The popular Methuen/Tewksbury girls hockey head coach was an inspiration to all this past winter, as he stayed at his coaching post for the entirety of the season despite receiving treatment for pancreatic cancer.
O’Hearn’s courageous fight came to an end this week. He was 48.
The beloved coach left a lasting impact on every corner of the local hockey world.
“I admire his courage,” said Tewksbury High athletic director Ron Drouin. “I admire his resolve. He obviously was in a lot of pain all season and did the best he could to put our student-athletes first. I think the girls were able to kind of draw off of his resolve and his toughness and his strength.”
O’Hearn, a longtime assistant coach in the program, was tabbed the interim head coach for the 2022-23 season before shedding that tag two years ago. In what is widely considered one of the best leagues in the state, O’Hearn’s teams always remained extremely competitive in the MVC/DCL.
Last season, the Red Rangers claimed their first league crown since 2019 en route to a 19-2-3 record, just one win away from advancing to the TD Garden.
Including his season as the interim head coach, O’Hearn amassed an impressive 47-13-7 record. He was also part of the staff for the program’s back-to-back trips to the state finals in 2018 and 2019, culminating in a championship in 2019. He was recently named The Sun’s Coach of The Year.
“I’ll have fond memories of coach O’Hearn and what he’s done for our student-athletes and what he’s done for girls hockey in this area,” Drouin said. “He’s been one of the more well-thought-of ice hockey coaches in the area.”
Methuen/Tewksbury player Sarah Doherty, left, speaks with coach Dave O’Hearn during practice on Jan. 26, 2023 in Haverhill. (Photo by Reba Saldanha/Boston Herald)
O’Hearn, a guidance counselor at Methuen High, leaves behind three daughters, Maddie, Riley and Kendall. A 1995 graduate of MHS, O’Hearn was a star blueliner for the Rangers and is in the Methuen High School Hall of Fame.
His zeal for the game of hockey was contagious. But it was his calming nature and steadiness on the bench that made him such an effective coach.
“In between any period, if I walked over and talked to coach O’Hearn, I wouldn’t know if we were up two goals or down two goals,” Drouin said. “He had that steady hand that not a lot of coaches have. And his players were able to draw off of that, which is why they had so much success in the tournament.”
The Red Rangers found themselves deadlocked in a lot of close games last winter, including 14 one-goal games between the regular season and the state tournament. Six of those games required overtime. Yet O’Hearn was always the calming presence perched atop the bench.
“He had these little things that were funny that he would say that calmed our nerves,” said defender Lyla Chapman, a star player on the Red Rangers. “He would do a pre-game dance before every game. Stuff like that, if we were really nervous, it just let us enjoy the game instead of constantly worrying.”
Kelly Golini, a 2018 graduate of Tewksbury High and former player in the program, spent her first season on the staff with O’Hearn last winter as an assistant. Before playing collegiately at Saint Anselm College, she played for O’Hearn under former head coach Sarah Oteri Doucette.
Golini said O’Hearn was the strongest person she’s ever seen. She’s forever thankful that he reached out to her to help coach the team.
Methuen/Tewksbury girls hockey coach Dave O’Hearn died earlier this week at age 48. He led the Red Rangers to a 41-13-7 record, including a 19-2-3 mark this past season. (Staff Photo/Stuart Cahill/Boston Herald)
“He was not to himself the guy with cancer or the coach who is coaching with cancer. He never wanted the publicity,” Golini said. “He showed up to the rink, and he was there for the girls. He was there for the Red Rangers — he was there for Tewksbury and Methuen.”
Golini had a front-row seat to O’Hearn’s determination. It was always about the team. And his mentorship and legacy will last a lifetime.
“I think these girls have something now that they’re going to take with them forever in a positive way that there’s more to life than hockey and he really showed that to them,” Golini said. “You don’t give up. You keep fighting. Life is going to throw some crazy stuff at you, but you got to keep working. Put your head down and get to work, as he would say.”
Originally Published: July 31, 2025 at 3:34 PM EDT