Healthy Exeter Team Has No Problem with Hotchkiss

Boys’ varsity hockey travelled down to the Olympia Ice Center in Springfield, Mass. last Saturday night, where they took on Hotchkiss at the neutral location. Big Red got out to a quick lead in the first period and never looked back, taking home a 4-1 victory.“We worked hard from the beginning and controlled the pace of the game,” senior co-captain Cody Rorick said. “They played hard, but we were just a better team.”Post-graduate Pat Besse started out the scoring attack for Exeter, netting the first goal of the game eight and a half minutes into the first period. Post-graduate Henry Hart followed with a second goal just seventeen seconds later, which put Big Red up 2-0.“Pat Besse was able to net a huge goals for us,” senior co-captain Pat Quinn said. “The first of the game got our momentum going.”Though Exeter didn’t face too many struggles against a team that entered Saturday on an eight-game losing streak, they did battle injuries over the weekend. Included on that list was senior goalie Jack Parsons, who missed Saturday’s game with a minor hamstring injury. Back-up Max Barr ’15 filled in for Parsons and delivered with a quality game between the pipes, only allowing one goal for Hotchkiss that came late in the first period.“Max had to step up and play,” Quinn said. “He made several key saves to keep them at one goal.”Upper Stanley Brenner believed that the entire team stepped up even in the face of injuries. “We are a really deep team,” he said. “We have everyone contributing even with injuries, and that gives other teams a lot to handle when they play us. We can come at you with every line, and other teams can’t handle it sometimes.”Post-graduate Kevin Neiley tagged on a third goal for Exeter midway through the second period and Hart scored the fourth in the closing seconds of the game. Hart also tallied an assist on the day to go with his two goals, while lower Spenser Young finished with two assists of his own.“No one played poorly,” Rorick said. “We were all invested in the team-first concept.”This game kicked off a crucial stretch for Exeter, in which they face off against Kimball Union Academy, Cushing Academy and St. Sebastian’s School.“We have a big week coming up, so we need to stay focused and keep up the intensity that we have showed the last few games,” Quinn said.After their string of injuries, Big Red finally had the fortune of entering yesterday’s game against KUA almost completely healthy, and hoped to hand the talented team a loss that could effectively knock them out of serious contention. Exeter could not put in more than one goal against Kimball’s keeper however, and settled for a 1-1 tie that keeps Exeter’s record at a more than respectable 14-2-2 this year. With two more important contests Friday night and Saturday afternoon, the boys hope to return to their winning ways.“It’s a long season, but we’re doing well right now and hope to keep the energy and fire that we have going,” Quinn said.