Knowing that the next two winters likely would end the competitive portion of a hockey career that began when the pads felt like they doubled his body weight, Jamie Gilbert’s decision was no decision at all.

Stay at Division I University of Massachusetts-Amherst and play out that eligibility as a glorified caddy; or take the perceived step back to Division III University of Southern Maine, but move two hours closer to home and be reunited with ice as something other than a key ingredient in the Gatorade bucket.

“My goal was to play Division I, and I got it. When I was there, things just didn’t work out,” said Gilbert, now almost 24, with his prep career at St. Dominic Regional High School six years in the rear-view mirror. “Hockey’s hockey. Things are a lot better now. I’m actually playing.”

Playing with at least one old friend and rival – and two other familiar names – for a Southern Maine program that’s bursting with Lewiston-Auburn flavor while off to its finest start ever.

In addition to Gilbert, USM showcases junior co-captain Kyle Smith of Auburn and Edward Little High School, plus freshmen Jon Rutt of Scarborough and Mike Carpenter of Minot from the St. Dom’s pipeline. Each has made a contribution, some of them huge, to the Huskies’ 10-2-3 opening statement. That included an 11-game unbeaten streak and a national ranking that crested at No. 7.

“I think we’ve exceeded a lot of expectations. Not necessarily our own,” said Smith. “Our goal was always to contend for the ECAC East championship, but I think there are a lot of people around the league who doubted us.”

Smith tops the team with nine goals, headlined by an astonishing seven on the power play. Two of his tallies have been game-winners.

Rutt’s first-year contributions have been immediate: Five goals and six assists. And Carpenter has earned his stripes as a physical presence (17 penalty minutes) while appearing in 11 contests.

Then there’s the story of Gilbert, who earned his way to the top of the depth chart at UMass and got a taste of Hockey East before he was, in his words, “out-recruited.” Jon Quick won the job outright Gilbert’s sophomore year, capping a competition that turned out to be a steppingstone for Quick and a crossroads for Gilbert.

“I had no idea (Amherst) would end up recruiting a goalie that would eventually play for the Los Angeles Kings,” said Gilbert, who went to UMass after playing junior hockey in Cornwall, Ontario.

Gilbert’s reflexes survived the spell of inactivity nicely. In nine appearances as part of a platoon with Bridgton Academy graduate Ryan Sullivan, Gilbert is 6-2-1 with the Huskies, crafting a .925 save percentage.

He owns one shutout and a 2.18 goals-against average.

“We served notice around the league with the double-digit unbeaten streak,” Gilbert said. “Now we’ve got to back it up with a good finish.”

Smith’s game continues to evolve after an eight-goal freshman season and seven more last winter.

“Junior hockey prepared me pretty well,” said Smith, who toiled with the Portland Junior Pirates after leading EL to back-to-back state championships. “I honestly had no real idea where I wanted to play beyond that. When I looked at Southern Maine’s schedule and record and the kind of teams they were playing, I thought it would be a good challenge and a good place for me.”

Gilbert is struck by the age difference between him and Smith, two of the elder statesmen, and Carpenter and Rutt. It’s an even larger gap back to the freshmen who reported to Gorham directly from their high school or prep career.

As for Smith, his biggest issue with the Huskies is feeling outnumbered.

“I’m the only EL guy among all these St. Dom’s people,” he said. “But I think it’s great. When I came in here, I was the only (player with ties to) Auburn or Lewiston on the team. Now there are four of us. We have kind of a friendly rivalry.”