LEICESTER — Gerald Owen walked into the locker room at New England Sports Center in Marlboro on the afternoon of Feb. 8 and saw his game jersey, No. 16, hanging in the stall.

He put it on, like he had done about 50 times the last two seasons, but for the first time this year.

Then Owen headed out to the ice to skate in warmups with his Becker teammates.

"It was a great thing to experience and feel something I haven't done all year," Owen said.

Owen is on the Becker roster, he practices with the Hawks a couple of times a week, he lifts in the weight room, and he is definitely still one of the guys. "Nothing has changed," teammate Chris Pantaleo said.

Except Owen, who was Becker's leading scorer last year, isn't playing in games this season.

"It's tough not being out there with them," Owen said, "but I have to win my own battles right now."

Last June, the 23-year-old junior was diagnosed with stage 4 esophageal cancer.

For the last seven months, Owen has endured pretty much nonstop treatment and visits and consultations with eight doctors, who told him plainly he was facing a long road.

Every step along it, Owen's hope has not wavered.

"My parents (Chris and Racquel) saw how positive I was being," Owen said, "so that helped them out a lot. I have a lot of family friends that have battled through it, so I can't not battle through it."

Owen, who lives in Chesapeake, Virginia, began his treatment — chemotherapy and radiation — last summer at the University of Virginia. When he returned to school in September and resumed his full course load, he continued with chemotherapy at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. There, four medications are pumped through his body every other Wednesday.

Owen's last scan, taken about six weeks ago, revealed the tumor has shrunk.

"I feel great, and the treatment is working well right now," Owen said, "so hopefully we can get rid of it soon."

Owen played six years of junior hockey in Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire and Virginia, and was recruited with great interest by Becker coach Steve Hoar.

"His tremendous passion for the game of hockey is something any coach desires," Hoar said.

Owen's natural ability on the ice, his work ethic and knowledge of the game, Hoar said, have always made him a leader and role model for the Becker program. That is true now more than ever.

"Rather than feeling sorry for himself, he has accepted the situation, developed resilience, built character and kept a positive outlook," Hoar said. "I truly believe Gerry is driven to beat this dreaded disease."

Early in Becker's 2013-14 season, Owen experienced his first symptoms. He had just gotten over the flu and thought the difficulty he was having eating might have been a lingering effect. He went to a non-emergency care clinic, was prescribed medicine for acid reflux and advised to see a specialist over Christmas break.

"But the medicine clouded the symptoms and made me feel better," Owen said. "I figured I didn't need to (see a specialist)."

He returned to school in January and resumed playing hockey, but he had to sit out a late-season game against Curry as his symptoms got worse.

"I was in a lot of pain," Owen said. "I wasn't sleeping, and when I ate, it felt like the food would get stuck in my chest."

He went home, underwent tests, and a scan later showed a tumor located between his stomach and esophagus.

Owen's dad was with him when he received his startling diagnosis on June 13.

"I was shocked," Owen said, "but I kind of prepared myself for the worst, just in case, then when I found out it wouldn't be as bad. It was tough at first. I was speechless. I didn't have any words I could really say. I just started thinking how I was going to get through it."

For five weeks last summer, Owen had chemotherapy and radiation treatments. The radiation was arduous. It irritated Owen's chest, he had trouble eating and lost 53 pounds.

The tumor shrunk after Owen's first cycle of treatment. After four weeks of healing, the next scan showed the tumor was slowly growing back in a couple of spots.

"I jumped back into treatments," Owen said. "I didn't want to wait."

He got that promising news six weeks ago, and his doctors are amazed at how well Owen is handling his treatments. He's eating well and has gained back about 30 of the 50-plus pounds he lost (he's at about 180 right now). He hasn't been tired or had any nausea, two common side effects of chemo. His dark, bottom-of-the-neck length hair has thinned some, he said, but that was not evident to an onlooker last week.

"I used to grow my hair and shave it off," Owen said. "Ever since I found out this, I just kept it growing."

Intolerance to cold, including cold drinks, has been one side effect Owen has experienced in the days after his treatments — "I just bundle up and crank the heat," he said — but he said that effect has been wearing off more quickly in recent weeks.

Owen skates and works out as much as he can, never misses class, and goes to as many of his team's games as possible.

"Despite everything, he shows up for practice, we go to the gym together, he never complains about anything," Pantaleo said. "There are days I don't feel like going to practice. There are days you're tired, then you see Gerry out there, and if he can do it, there's no reason I can't, and I know a bunch of guys feel that same way."

Owen, who is a good all-around player and excels at setting his teammates up, had five goals and 10 assists last season.

"We go one-on-one in practice, and he still gets by me most of the time," said Pantaleo, a defenseman.

On Feb. 8, the Hawks played their annual cancer awareness game, to raise money for the JoAnne M. Sullivan Memorial Fund. Mrs. Sullivan, who passed away from breast cancer in 2008, was the wife of Becker associate head coach Walter Sullivan.

This year, it was "Gerald's Game."

Owen served as honorary captain for the Hawks' game against Johnson & Wales, and was accompanied to center ice for the ceremonial pregame puck drop by Joan Shea, a breast cancer survivor and Becker faculty member.

The Hawks wore special jerseys, all emblazoned with "Owen" on the back.

"It was amazing," Owen said. "I've been part of a couple cancer games, but never one that was for me. I was speechless. When I saw how many people came out in support, it was awesome. And having Miss Shea out there made it really awesome.

"Getting to wear the jersey and being out there in warmups with the team," Owen said, "it was just like I was the last two years and hopefully next year. I miss it a lot. I can't wait to get through this and get back to it."

Owen is thinking he may stay around here this summer, especially if he has to continue treatments.

Last fall, there was never a question Owen, an exercise science major, would return to school. Now, there seems little doubt in Owen's mind that he will one day be back on the ice with his hockey family.

"My doctors said it's going to be a long road," Owen said. "It might be a long road, but thankfully, for me, it hasn't been that tough, and I'm blessed for that. I'm just going to keep going."

Story Courtesy of the Worcester Telegram & Gazette

By Jennifer Toland