Oh, no you don't ... Captain Joe C. illustrates his puck handling skills as he is challenged by Joe Rogalavich.
Staff and Students Dedicate a Day to a School-Wide Hockey Tournament
By Evan H.
Twenty-seven students from all over the school and two staff members, Joe Rogalavich and Ted Towsley, gathered in the gym to play seven hours of hockey on February 28.
At 9:30, four captains were chosen to select their teams. Bennet O. of Talbot House, Joe C. of Betton House, George D. of Wilson House, and Matt V. of Talbot House drew numbers from a hat to decide the picking order.
Each game consisted of ten minutes, with five players and a goalie. In the morning, the games were not nearly as aggressive as the afternoon. “Once I got acclimated to the game and started to score some goals, I got very competitive and started playing to win,” said Bennett.
The tournament was set up in such as way that once a team lost three times they were eliminated, which forced the teams to do all that they could to stay in it. The first team to get knocked out of the tournament was George D.’s. “It was a fun tournament that I would participate in every Sunday if I could,” said Matt.
With just three teams left in the tournament, the intensity started to rise. Matt’s team played Bennett’s team to decide who would play Joe’s team in the championship.
Coming out on top and winning with a score of 4-2, Bennett and his team stayed on the court to play the championship.
The game began with the captains taking the face off. Joe won it, however, just minutes later Bennett scored on a beautiful wrist shot that hit the upper corner of the net, giving his team the lead. Then, after a defensive stop by Towsley, Bennett capitalized on a breakaway opportunity that gave his team another goal.
Down by two goals and with 4:10 left in the match, the intensity dramatically increased. At the 2:30 mark, Joe scored on a rebound off the goalie, giving his team momentum.
With just 30 seconds left in the game, teammate Adam S. passed it to Joe who then placed right in between the goalie’s legs, tying the game and sending it into overtime.
Just seconds into overtime, Rogalavich fired a rocket which went right past the goalie’s shoulder and gave Bennett’s team the win.
“The tournament was full of good energy and the students were very competitive which helped to make it a lot of fun,” said Rogalavich.
