Thibeault’s Babson journey began in summer 2021 when he first visited the campus and met Rice as a prospective hockey recruit. “With Coach Rice, it felt like a genuine conversation,” Thibeault says. “I knew something was special when I sat in the locker room with him.”

We've become good friends: Mark Wahlberg inspired by Jake Thibeault's progress after spinal cord injury.

FITCHBURG — Jake Thibeault looked around the Wallace Civic Center Saturday afternoon with the eyes of world-weary traveler returning home.

It’s not so much what one would expect from a 19-year-old, but with all Thibeault has seen and gone through in the past year and a half, returning to Fitchburg once more brought about the feeling of going full circle. Having suffered a serious spinal injury playing hockey over Labor Day weekend in 2021, Thibeault’s time at rinks has changed drastically.

More than simply a motto, four words have becoming the driving force for Fitchburg’s Thibeault family.

Since Jake Thibeault suffered a catastrophic spinal injury that left him paralyzed from the waist down while playing in a hockey showcase for Milton Academy over Labor Day weekend in 2021, the goal for the 19-year-old has remained the same: to one day walk again. 

SHARON, Mass. — It has been more than a year since Fitchburg native Jake Thibeault broke two vertebrae while playing for a youth hockey club during a Labor Day tournament.

Thibeault, who also suffered a small brain bleed, was left paralyzed from the waist down after he went headfirst into the endboards following a collision on the ice.

WELLESLEY -- This week is a major milestone for a Fitchburg teen who was paralyzed in a hockey accident one year ago. Jake Thibeault has been determined through his recovery and even walked across the stage at his Milton Academy graduation in the spring. Now, he's at Babson College. 

"You look back now, Sunday marks a year I laid in a hospital bed not thinking I would be a freshman in college right now and still being able to fight the fight, it feels good," said Thibeault.

No one needs to tell Jake Thibeault what is possible in just one year. The Massachusetts teen athlete suffered spinal fractures and a brain bleed after a collision during a hockey tournament over Labor Day weekend last September.

"Don't ever quit, I live by the words don't quit," Thibeault said.

Thibeault was partially paralyzed and doctors feared he may never walk again. They were wrong.

Milton Academy senior Jake Thibeault walked across the stage to receive his high school diploma Friday, months after a hockey injury in the fall left him paralyzed from the waist down.

The 18-year-old suffered spine fractures and a mild brain hemorrhage during the Eastern Alliance Kickoff tournament hockey game in September in Hopedale, Massachusetts. At the time, doctors said Thibeault was not likely to walk again.

MILTON, Mass. — After a devastating hockey injury left him paralyzed from the waist down, Milton Academy student Jake Thibeault had one goal.

“The first words out of my mouth were ‘I will walk at graduation!’” Thibeault wrote on Instagram.

Nine months later, that goal became a reality.

MILTON, Mass. - A Massachusetts teenager who was partially paralyzed by a hockey injury nine months ago achieved an enormous goal Friday when he walked across the stage during his high school graduation.

Jake Thibeault, of Fitchburg, arrived in a wheelchair and sat through most of the ceremony. But when his name was called, he used a walker and leg braces to get to his feet and slowly made his way to the stage while the crowd cheered him on.

Boston — Mike and Tracy Thibeault always believed that time heals all wounds. But that belief faded last fall when their then-18-year-old son Jake was paralyzed in a hockey game during his senior year of high school when another player crashed into him at the boards.

Jake's goal in life had always been to play college hockey. He was playing for a travel team when he was injured in the accident. His parents couldn't imagine how long it would take him to find a new purpose. 

Jake Thibeault was enjoying dinner with his family at Tavern In The Square before the Boston Bruins game Thursday when a text message caught him by surprise.

He'd been invited to serve as the honorary Fan Banner Captain for Game 6 against the Carolina Hurricanes, with the team rallying around him in support all season after a spinal cord injury suffered during a junior hockey game left him paralyzed from the waist down. But there was another twist.

Jake Thibeault fired up the TD Garden crowd Thursday. The 18-year-old was invited by the Boston Bruins to be their fan banner captain before Game 6 against the Carolina Hurricanes in the Eastern Conference First Round.

Thibeault suffered a spinal cord injury on Sept. 4, 2021 while playing for his club team the Boston Bulldogs in a regional hockey tournament. He collided with another player, falling headfirst into the boards, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down.

MILTON (CBS) – Jake Thibeault, a Milton Academy hockey player who suffered a spinal cord injury, is now back at school and adjusting to a new way of life. "I'm living on my own and coming to class and still fighting the fight of paralysis," Jake said.

Jake is 18-years-old now and has whole new outlook on life: to cherish every moment.

BOSTON – A Milton Academy hockey player who suffered a serious spinal cord injury is vowing to walk again as he rehabs at a Boston hospital.

Jake Thibeault, 18, of Fitchburg, broke two vertebrae in his back and suffered a small brain bleed on Sept. 4, 2021, while playing with his club team, the 18-and-under Boston Bulldogs, at the Eastern Alliance Kickoff tournament over Labor Day weekend in Hopedale.

CANTON, Mass. —

A Massachusetts teenager who was seriously injured during a hockey game is working hard in his rehabilitation in order toward his goal of walking again.

Jake Thibeault, of Fitchburg, broke two vertebrae in his back and suffered a small brain bleed in an on-ice collision that happened during a junior hockey tournament held over Labor Day weekend this past year.

This Saturday at the Wallace Civic Center in Fitchburg will be 'Hockey Day in the Burg.' The day will feature three hockey games benefitting Jake Thibeault, a teenage hockey player from Fitchburg who suffered severe spinal cord injuries during a game this past September. Thibeault has been paralyzed from the waist down since the accident.

AYER/SHIRLEY — Friday was “Jake Thibeault Day” at all four schools in the Ayer Shirley Regional School District, and a T-shirt fundraiser for the injured hockey player netted $7,000.

Staff and faculty members sold “TBO Tough” T-shirts and wore them on Friday to show support for Thibeault, whose dad, Mike Thibeault, is the district’s technical director. Proceeds went to the Thibeault family to help with expenses.

AYER/SHIRLEY — Friday was “Jake Thibeault Day” at all four schools in the Ayer Shirley Regional School District, and a T-shirt fundraiser for the injured hockey player netted $7,000.

Staff and faculty members sold “TBO Tough” T-shirts and wore them on Friday to show support for Thibeault, whose dad, Mike Thibeault, is the district’s technical director. Proceeds went to the Thibeault family to help with expenses.

Michael Thibeault was standing behind the glass with a clear view of his youngest son skating toward him during a tournament hockey game Saturday evening at the Blackstone Valley IcePlex in Hopedale.

Jake Thibeault was rushing down the right side of the rink and, just as he slid the puck on net, was checked by an opposing player. The hit propelled him head first into the boards in the corner of the rink, where his dad stood on the other side of the glass.

AYER — Jake Thibeault, the teenage hockey player from Fitchburg who suffered severe spinal cord injuries during a season kick-off game over the Labor Day weekend, has been paralyzed from the waist down since the accident.

But he’s battling to recover and determined to walk again, according to his dad, Mike Thibeault, a top administrator in the Ayer-Shirley Regional School District.

A star Massachusetts high school hockey player is facing the possibility that he may not walk again following a spine injury during a tournament game over the weekend.

Milton Academy senior Jake Thibeault, 18, is currently paralyzed from the waist down and being treated at UMass Memorial Medical Center after fracturing his spine and suffering a minor brain bleed while playing an Eastern Alliance Kickoff tournament game Saturday in Hopedale.

As Jake Thibeault girds for the long battle ahead, his father Mike believes if anyone can overcome the life-altering obstacles he’s now facing, it is Jake.

“He’s a special kid,” said Mike Thibeault on Tuesday. “Nobody deserves what he’s going through … but maybe God chose him, because he’s going to do it. He’s a kid that can handle it.”

A Massachusetts community is rallying around a teen ice hockey player after he was seriously injured during a recent game.

Milton Academy senior student-athlete Jake Thibeault was playing hockey on Saturday when the scary incident unfolded, according to a fundraiser set up on his behalf by the Greg Hill Foundation.