Boys’ Hockey Takes Another Victim

This past Saturday, boys’ hockey looked to continue their undefeated streak as a tough Milton team came to town. While the crowd wasn’t as large as last week’s Cushing game, Big Red still inspired modest attendance. Milton, who entered the game with an 8-7-1 record, held their own for the first two periods. Although Exeter entered the third period tied 2-2, senior and goaltender Bryan Botcher said, “We remained calm. We knew that if we played our game, we’d be successful.”

Upper Devin Moore said, “Our team mentality was for everyone to win their shift one at a time. If we could do that then we knew we would score eventually.” After grinding in the corners and some open-ice chances, Exeter netted three additional goals and came out with a 5-2 victory. With the win, the team furthered its winning record to 20-0-2, the best in New England.

As calendars have flipped from January to February, the playoffs are fast approaching. As the pressure mounts, the team stands by the strategy that has been so prominent: take it one game at a time.

“We remained calm. We knew that if we played our game, we’d be successful.”

Lower Greg Shapiro said, “We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves with only a few games left, especially some tough road games coming up.” The team is gearing up to take on Proctor and Brunswick before a home-and-home series against NMH.

While players have highlighted various keys to success, all of them are quick to acknowledge Botcher as a cornerstone. A recently published article on ESPNBoston.com outlined just how good he’s been in goal. Botcher has let in just 30 goals in a whopping 447 shots for a .933 save percentage. Absolutely lights out. Coach Dana Barbin said that he’s never seen a calmer goalie.

Shapiro noted that Botcher’s composed way of play has “allowed him to stay cool and collected in big-pressure moments and make big saves.” While the team praises Botcher for his terrific work between the pipes, he humbly said that it has been a team effort.

“Our team’s success can be attributed to our whole team’s dedication in the defensive zone and keeping the puck out of the net [by] blocking shots and keeping everything to the outside,” Botcher said.

Tough play in the defensive zone is exactly what the team is going to need to do if they want to keep their undefeated season alive and go deep in the playoffs. Blocking shots, scoring goals and winning games.