Boys’ Hockey Shuts the Door on Deerfield
After dropping just their second game of the season to NMH last Wednesday, Big Red rebounded on Saturday. While Deerfield has struggled this season, with a record of 3-16-3 entering Saturday’s game, Exeter disregarded all of the stats and came out flying. With another solid performance across the ice, the team recorded their 23rd win, improving to 23-2-2.
It was a physical and stirring victory. Exeter netted four goals while post-graduate goaltender Bryan Botcher refused to let one by him. With the 4-0 victory, Big Red shook off last Wednesday’s heart-breaker and reconfirmed their dominance this season.
Earlier in the season, one point of improvement for the team was their tendency to take penalties. Against Deerfield, however, lower Bradley Ingersoll pointed to the team’s composure as their golden key to defeating the doors. “We kept our cool and let them take the penalties,” Ingersoll said.
“We knew they were going to be a physical team, so we wanted to move the puck quickly and use our speed to our advantage.”
While Deerfield continued to put men in the sin bin, Exeter went to work. Despite not scoring on the powerplay, Exeter’s frequent man-up play allowed them to set the tone.
In both of Big Red’s losses, they found themselves down by two goals after the first period. Striving to stay away from a catch-up situation, Exeter was able to score two goals in the first period.
“We wanted to come out really strong and set the tempo,” lower Collin Shapiro said. “We knew they were going to be a physical team, so we wanted to move the puck quickly and use our speed to our advantage.”
“[We] increased accountability, focus in the defensive zone and disciplined play,” senior Stanley Brenner said in regards to the team’s success. Exeter now looks to continue their immaculate play against Andover to finish up the regular season.
After playing nearly 30 games, Exeter continues to show high energy levels and displays a rigorous work ethic. In terms of how the team has remained motivated, a few players point to their recent losses as a little booster.
“We have used the losses as fuel,” Ingersoll said. Admitting the team’s tendency to reflect on how poorly they played in their two losses, Ingersoll said that it drives the team to perform better and better in each competition.
Due to the undoubted existence of hockey gods, an E/a prediction would be very out of line, but here’s what can be expected out of both teams. After defeating the Smurfs down at Andover in overtime, Andover is going to be hungry to redeem themselves. Exeter, however, is certainly foreseeing a determined Andover team and is sure to counter with its persistent toughness both physically and mentally.
As the most highly anticipated game of the season; E/a is sure to be a great game. Despite Exeter’s likelihood of hosting at least one playoff game, a large crowd can be expected in the barn. The game is this Saturday at 4 p.m. in Rink A. Again, that’s 4:00 post meridiem Eastern Standard Time, in Rink A in the gym.