Will Palmer spent his high school years on Concord-Carlisle's soccer fields, basketball courts and lacrosse fields. Now the 2017 CCHS graduate is chasing a national title inside a hockey rink.
Palmer, 27, and his Boston Nor'easters won the New England Regional championship on Aug. 9, defeating the Maine Northmen in the final at the LoConte Ice Rink in Medford. The Concord Bridge reported the score as 16-14. The team will compete in the North American Box Lacrosse League national championships on Saturday, Aug. 22, in Utica, N.Y.
"It's a grind," Palmer told the Concord Bridge. "The playoffs are always one day. When you play games back to back, you have to play hard enough to win the first game but still have something left to play in the second one."
Palmer is in his fifth season with the Nor'easters, who play box lacrosse on turf laid over a hockey rink surface. Six players per side. Smaller goals. Goalies padded so heavily Palmer compares them to "the Michelin Man," where precision matters more than power.
The team entered the regional playoffs as the top seed with a 5-1 record and earned a bye into the finals. It's their second consecutive New England Regional title; in 2024, they reached the national semifinals.
Palmer didn't pick up box lacrosse until after college. He graduated from St. Anselm College in 2022, where he earned All-America honors as a senior and helped the men's lacrosse team reach the NCAA Division II Elite 8. He said the indoor game demands tighter spacing and more physicality than the outdoor version, and that his basketball background translates directly through pick-and-rolls and offensive sets.
Concord roots
At CCHS, Palmer played three sports under coaches he credits with preparing him for higher-level competition: Tom Dalicandro in lacrosse, David Cohen in basketball and Ray Pavlik in soccer. He was part of the Patriots' 2014 MIAA Division 2 state championship soccer team, which beat Oliver Ames 1-0, and the basketball squad that reached the Division 2 state finals in 2016.
Palmer said the attention to detail his CCHS coaches demanded gave him college-level preparation before he ever left Concord. Dalicandro coached CCHS lacrosse for 24 years before retiring in March 2025 and joining Bedford High School as an assistant coach and JV head coach.
The Nor'easters' roster includes the captain of the Saskatchewan Rush of the National Lacrosse League and former Boston Cannons players from Major League Lacrosse. Palmer describes the NABLL as a rung below the fully professional level but said the team's experience and chemistry set them apart from newer clubs in the league.
Off the rink, Palmer works at Columbia Threadneedle Investments and still plays field lacrosse in men's leagues during the spring and fall.
What's next
The Nor'easters travel to Utica, N.Y., on Saturday, Aug. 22, for the NABLL national championships. Palmer's outlook is straightforward.
"I want to keep playing until it's not fun anymore," he said.
