Boys’ Hockey Fends off Deerfield

EXETER - One day after handing Brunswick School a five-goal loss, Big Red hockey faced off against Deerfield Academy, a team that was barely floating above .500 entering the weekend (9-8-3). Exeter continued its run of getting out to quick starts, and fueled by a special late-season tradition, powered over their green rivals 4-2.“It was Senior Night, so the guys came out fired up wanting to win for the seniors,” co-captain Pat Quinn ‘14 said.The team held a small ceremony before the game to thank the parents of the players for their support over the years. Parents had the opportunity to go out on the ice to take pictures, and players gave flowers to their mothers. Soon after, the puck dropped, and the boys had the opportunity to perform at a top level in front of their greatest fans.“It was a hard fought battle and we proved to people that we could beat a hard-nosed physical team,” senior co-captain Cody Rorick said. “We also got contribution from everyone and bought into the team-first mentality.”Right away, Exeter came out firing, taking the lead in the game behind a goal from upper Ted Hart.“Ted, who has been playing incredibly well in the last few games, had an absolute rocket of a goal to give us an early lead and ultimately set the tone for the rest of the game,” Quinn said.PEA would have tacked on another goal to take a 2-0 lead, but Deerfield battled back to tie the game. The boys successfully stepped up their performance when they needed to, however, and took advantage of their opponent’s penalties to regain the advantage.“As the game progressed, we got more time on the power play than they did, much to the disapproval of Deerfield's coaches,” senior Alex Trudeau said. “In the end, solid goaltending and offensive flare allowed our team to overcome Deerfield and give us the chance to have home ice advantage for the playoffs.”Big Red will enter E/A with a record of 22-4-2, which nearly matched the very impressive 2011-2012 season back in the days of Brian Hart ’12. At that last away Exeter/Andover matchup, Big Red took home a 6-4 victory, and followed it up with a 2-0 win in the quarterfinals before falling in the semis. This year, Exeter hopes that they’ll have what it takes to go all the way. But, it all starts with E/A.“We’re just taking it one game at a time,” Quinn said. “We need to continue to work hard every day. We already played Andover once this season and showed them what we’re made of. Come Saturday, we’ll have the same outcome as last time against them.”This prior game this season proved to be an utter domination for Exeter, with the team taking a 7-1 victory on their home ice. Even though this second matchup will be more hyped and viewed, Big Red knows they have to remain poised.“We're just going to take it as another game and try not to over prepare,” Rorick said. “We know they are a good team and they are going to be very hungry, so we need to be just as hungry and take it as another playoff game.”