Puck Trumps Cushing

In a thrilling overtime game against Cushing Academy, Exeter boys’ varsity hockey snagged a 5-4 win, bringing its record to 6-1. Cushing ended last season with a 22-2-4 record, the best in the New England Prep Hockey Rankings, and this game marked Cushing’s first loss this season. Big Red will face the Cushing Penguins once again on Jan. 29, this time at home.The game proved to be quite physical, as Exeter ended up in the penalty box three times—twice in the second period and once in the first period. As this was the second away game of the season, the team tried to direct its attention to the game and not the crowd. Senior Jordan Haney commented on how the Purple Penguins are one of boys’ varsity hockey’s biggest rivals. “Coach Barbin made it clear that Cushing is one of the hardest places to win a game and stressed that we stay focused,” Haney said.At the end of the first period, Big Red was up 3-0. A turnover behind the Cushing net gave an open shot to postgraduate Christian Thompson for the first goal. With the assistance of lower Sam Stone and prep Hunter McCoy, prep Garrett Foster sent the second goal for Exeter into the back of the Penguins’ net. With two minutes left in the first period, senior Ben Solin passed to senior Devin Moore who passed it back, building an opening for Solin to score the third goal for Exeter. Stone commented on how he enjoyed the dynamic of his line. “Working with the two preps shows the depth of the roster. Everyone contributes to the scoreboard on this team,” Stone said.

“When we play Cushing again it will be a big game; we beat them twice last year and are looking to do it again this year.”

After the early lead, the team became complacent and gave up two goals to Cushing. With one of Exeter’s players down in the power play, Cushing turned it over in the middle and scored its first goal. Cushing scored again off of a rebound with four minutes left in the second period. “We took our foot off the gas pedal a little in the second and it came back to bite us,” senior Derrick Spencer said.At the start of the third period, Cushing scored twice more, the first off of a two-on-one and the second off of a rebound. For most of the period, the scoreboard blinked a daunting 3-4, but the Big Red boys kept their heads high and their vocality kept the team rolling. With only 17 seconds left in the period, Thompson scored his second goal, tying the game 4-4. During the five-minute overtime, senior Jacob Dupont assisted Solin’s second goal to win the game for Exeter.Big Red has high hopes for the rest of the season. Solin explained that "the goal of the season is clear: to make it to and win the Elite Eight Championship. We have the depth and goaltending to do it, it’s just a matter of keeping our focus every time we step on the ice,” he said. “When we play Cushing again it will be a big game; we beat them twice last year and are looking to do it again this year.”Spencer said that “Cushing will be out for blood in January” and that to win again, Big Red needs to stay focused throughout the season. “If anyone on the team thinks we will win because we beat them earlier in the season, then we will have another thing coming,” he said.