On Saturday the boys JV hockey team played at home for the first time since the return to school in early January! The game would be against rival Choate – a team that tied Big Green in December. We knew we’d have to play well today to come away with a win and in the end the team pulled away in a 6-4 victory.
Period one was a fast-paced game with both teams getting good scoring chances. The Deerfield team created more opportunities than their opponents, much like what we had experienced in game one back in December. The first period ended in a 0-0 well-played tie. Will Scharfenberger was excellent in net and would remain one of the keys to victory on the afternoon. The Choate goalie too was outstanding and he was the big reason for keeping this game close early on.
Finally, Deerfield got on the board when Cooper Brozek tipped in a shot from Trip Woytowicz from the blue line. Matteo Alvarez got the puck out to Tripp who sent it to the net in time for Cooper to redirect it to the back of the Choate net. Four minutes later Billy Weller scored a lose puck goal off a shot from linemate Alex Sotirhos making the score 2-0. At this point Big Green was really buzzing the Choate offensive zone. We let Choate back in the game by taking unnecessary penalties. As a result Choate came roaring back scoring two goals in the middle part of the second period to tie the game up. Deerfield regrouped and went back to work winning puck battles and staying more disciplined. With under a minute and a half left in the second period Alex Sotirhos scored a short-handed goal giving his team a 3-2 lead heading into the final stanza.
Defensemen Rob Callender scored early in the third period on a power play for Deerfield. His shot was set up by fellow defenseman Owen Fleck and provided us with a two-goal buffer. Give Choate a ton of credit as they never gave in all afternoon and soon after Callender’s goal they started to ramp back up their offensive effort. A couple of costly miscues in our defensive zone was all that Choate needed to score two goals in two minutes and with 8 minutes remaining in the game the score was tied at 4-4.
That’s when we saw which team had more discipline within their ranks. A Choate player received a minor penalty for high stick and then followed that up with committing a major infraction for a game misconduct. Even though Deerfield didn’t score on their 6 minute power play the momentum swung our way significantly. With the teams both at full strength again Rob Callender would score his second goal of the day, the game-winner off a beautiful hard and low shot from the blue line. Matteo Alvarez would cinch the game with an empty net goal for his team.
The game pucks for this hard-earned victory went to Alexander Rolfe for his hard work and “team-first” play not retaliating and staying focused on the team goal, and to Alex Sotirhos for his hustle and offensive production on the day. This was a total team effort today.
This week the team faces off against Cushing Varsity “B” on Wednesday and then Hotchkiss on Saturday. Two tough opponents and both games on the road. Another opportunity for this team to rise to new challenges!