Skating towards victory;

     Freshman Brady Huber reminisces on his first high school goal, saying, “I caught a saucer pass and fumbled it between my legs, [turned] around and I [saw] some kid coming to check me, so I just threw it at the net, and it went five hole.” 

     The junior varsity HarCo hockey team currently has a win-to-loss ratio of “two to four,” according to junior Cole Younger. Despite this ratio, Huber states, the group’s statistics are not bad.  

     He elaborates by saying they’ll play “really bad teams and then really good teams, so [their stats will] go really high and then drop.” The freshman adds that he would “not consider [his team] a good team at all.” However, they are “getting there slowly but surely.” 

     According to Monumental Hockey, the junior varsity crew has scored five goals out of the two games played this season. Within these two games, the team also gained three assists, eight points, one power-play goal, one power-play assist, one short-handed goal, 1 short-handed assist, and 12 penalty infraction minutes. The group also averages about six penalties per game, says Monumental Hockey. 

     This could be accredited to the crew’s bonding, claims Younger. The junior claims that “the team’s bonding is important […] because […] it’s a team sport, so you have to be a team to play it.” 

     Younger elaborates that the club has been able to bond via the use of “a group chat.” He believes that “everyone is getting along okay” on both the varsity and junior varsity crew.  

     When it comes time to play, Huber reveals that he tries “not to really think and just play.” In order to get out of his head prior to a game, the hockey player listens to music and jokes around with his friends in the locker room.  

     The junior states that his mentality greatly impacts his performance. For instance, if he “doesn’t want to be there, [he isn’t] going to play very [well],” whereas when he wants to be there, then he’ll “play fine.” 

     So far, the varsity team has played a total of three games, according to Monumental Hockey. During these games, the players have earned 23 goals, 21 assists, 44 points, 3 power-play goals, 1 short-handed goal, and 32 penalty infraction minutes. This group averages about 12 penalties per game, double the amount of junior varsity.  

     Younger encourages people to watch select players on the junior varsity crew. He says to keep eyes out for “Brady [Huber]” because he is “pretty funny when he gets hit,” as well as “Liam [Brenner]” because he is “pretty good.” 

     Huber states that his favorite part about his team is “after a long day of school, getting to go to the rink and see everyone.” He enjoys the nice coaching staff and simply getting to hang out with everyone.