Sure, he wanted the record. More importantly, he wanted to win. In the case of Liam House-Myers and the Goffstown ice hockey team, the two went hand in hand.

For the Grizzlies to become a title contender, House- Myers had to learn to pass less and shoot more. And that’s exactly what he did, racking up standout statistics the last two seasons while leading his squad to back-to-back playoff appearances.

In the process, he eclipsed the Goffstown scoring record with 117 points.

“There was a certain weight he felt when he was getting close to the record … It would have been the easiest thing for him to become selfish, but not once did he ever stop playing defensively, not once did he prioritize himself over the team,” said Goffstown’s coach, Peter Bedford. “And in breaking the record he scored his last point the same way he scored his first.”

“I always felt I was more of a playmaker than anything else, and I haven’t really strayed from moving the puck around,” said House- Myers. “But I felt like the guys around me really stepped up the last couple years and put the puck in the net.”

There he is: Liam House- Myers, the consummate teammate.

He was a star on the ice, yet he never acted the part. Just ask Bow coach Tim Walsh.

“Liam is a complete player. He’s one of the few guys we actually game-planned against and shadowed …,” said Walsh. “Yet he still managed to go out there and make everyone around him better.”

That quality, said Bedford, is sure to be missed next season on the GHS ice.

“Obviously, anytime you lose a player like this, with his ability, it’s tough. Point production aside, it’s the character of the individual and how the players rallied around him that really leaves a void,” he said of the graduating captain, who helped secure home ice for Goffstown in the first round of the last two Division- II tournaments.

“It’s not necessarely what you say (as a leader) all the time, because sometimes guys can get tired of that. When Liam said something, it carried weight, and then he went out there and backed it up,” Bedford added. “Even in leaving, I see him serving as a motivation to the guys behind him to show they can step in and carry the torch.”

If nothing else, House-Myers was a shining example of what Goffstown hockey represents, said the coach.

The senior even played through a serious viral infection earlier this season. It weakened him so much he had multiple blood tests to rule out mononucleosis.

“It was tough, but I feel like I’ve always found strength on the ice,” he said. “I feel like out there, on the ice, is where I feel most comfortable, so it didn’t shake me too bad. It just felt kind of natural.”

That makes sense. House Myers began playing when he was 5 and living in Alaska. Since moving to the Granite State six years ago, he’s embraced every challenge to make himself a better player.

It may strike some as odd that House-Myers is foregoing the chance to continue playing at a smaller college, but it doesn’t surprise those who know him well that he’s headed to the University of New Hampshire next year.

There, he’ll first focus on his education, then try to make a rare leap from club hockey to one of the top programs in the country.

“It’s definitely always been a dream of mine to play D-I, but my mom and dad always told me academics have to be the priority, and UNH has a great business program,” said House-Myers. “But yeah, I want a shot at the university team, so I’m going to push myself as hard as I can to try and get there.”

If anyone could make that leap, it’s House-Myers, said Walsh, a former recruited walkon who played for UNH from 1996 to 2000.

“There’s a lot of things that have to happen between now and then. I mean, UNH is bringing in top-of-the-line talent from all over North America, so Liam’s going to need to get a lot stronger and a lot faster if he wants to make that happen,” said Walsh. “It’s a long shot, but a kid like Liam, with a good head on his shoulders ... I can definitely see him putting himself in position to do that if given the opportunity.

“Bottom line, he’s a good kid, he’s a good hockey player and he’s a really good student,” Walsh continued. “He’s one of those kids that a lot of other players look up to.”