The ice hockey team is currently 4-6 with only two games left in the season. Although their season didn’t have the best start, they plan to finish off the season with momentum going into the playoffs. Their previous two games were on Jan. 6 against Upper Montgomery and Jan. 13 against Northwest.

The Patriots knew Upper Montgomey was going to be a hard game, as they already lost to them once this season in a 8-2 Montgomery victory. However, the Patriots were not fazed, starting off hot with senior Captain Conor Harris’ goal only two minutes into the game. The team had the momentum, but then got called with a penalty for having too many men on the ice, which led to a two-minute powerplay and ultimately a goal for Upper Montgomery to tie the game up one all. That mental mistake seemed to have impacted the Patriots through the period, as they let in another goal, with Upper Montgomery taking the lead. Entering the second period the team shook their mistakes off and scored two minutes into the second with a goal by sophomore Nathan Tai. Although the team tied the game up, they could not finish strong. Upper Montgomery scored two unanswered goals,ending the game 4-2.

Shaking off that tough loss, the Patriots played the Northwest Jaguars a week later; the Patriots came ready to play. The first period was a blowout, with Wootton scoring seven times in 15 minutes: sophomore Sam Hosier scoring three goals, junior Grady Sellmen scoring two goals in one minute, and freshman Ashton Ingram put in one along with Harris. In the second period the Patriots started to take their foot off the gas, letting the Jaguars score two goals, while only scoring one that period. Entering the last period of the game, the Patriots managed to score four more goals, resulting in a dominant 12-2 game, and giving the Patriots momentum for the rest of the season.¨I think we played really well this game. Northwest was a good team but we had the best game of the season with almost no turnovers and we ran the offense really well,¨ Junior Cole Weber said.

The Patriots now have a 4-6 record heading into their last two games of the regular season. On Jan. 20, the Patriots play the Sherwood Warriors for the second time this season; the Patriots already having beat them 8-3. For the last game of the season, the team plays the Richard Montgomery Rockets, which will be a competitive game for the team as they have the same record. After the regular season the team looks to finish with a 6-6 record so they can get a good seed for the playoffs. ¨I think if we finish our last two games of the season with wins then this will give us great momentum going into the playoffs. If we finish with a 6-6 record we will become a high seed and will start our playoffs playing a lower seed team, giving us a good path to go as far as we can,¨ senior Keanu Yi said.