To cap off an event-filled Community Weekend comprised of several home athletic contests, Boys Varsity Hockey faced off against school rival Deerfield Academy in the second game of a two-day doubleheader.
Going into Saturday night, the team dropped their first game against Deerfield the night before by a score of 6-3. Fire in their eyes, Choate looked to even the series in C-House territory.
This game meant more to the team than any other regular season matchup thus far. Entering the contest at 2-10 and having played five games in a mere eight days, the team had to overcome their fatigue, especially considering the impactful injuries the team had endured up to this point in the season.
Coach Patrick Dennehy commented, “We got back to campus at 12:30 in the morning Saturday, so it was a quick turnaround, but our guys were ready for the challenge.” To stick it to the Emerald City rivals and get their season back on track would be cause for celebration and motivation for the rest of the season.
Filled with anticipation of an eventful matchup, the packed student section cheered wildly at the opening drop of the puck. Neither goalie let any shot past them until the second period, when the action began. The Boars drew first blood with a goal from Chance Gorman ’18, beginning the scoring for the night. It looked as if Choate would enter the third and final period with a 1-0 lead, until Deerfield put one in at the last second to even it up.
With the momentum on Deerfield’s side, Choate had to find a way to regain control of the game…and they did just that.
Within the first minute of the third period, both teams tallied another goal, once again evening the score at 2-2. Trading opportunities back and forth, neither team could gain an edge as the buzzer sounded for the end of regulation.
Tensions ran high as the two teams hit the ice for an overtime period. However, that tension turned into thrill as captain Jack Hoey ’18 plowed through three Deerfield players and somehow got the puck to Gorman, who put one past the goalie just ten seconds into overtime to seal the victory.
