On Friday, Jan. 18, the Richard Montgomery boys ice hockey team faced off against Quince Orchard at the Cabin John Ice Rink and came away with a 4-2 win, improving their overall record and increasing their chance of making it to playoffs.

“Before the game, we played a great JV (Junior Varsity) game on Tuesday,” senior George Liu said.  “We were focusing on playing as a team, passing the puck around more, and being aware of our teammates’ positions. Our coaches wanted to apply that to our varsity game.”

The Rockets started off strong with the leading score of 2-0 before the end of the first half of the game.

It was intense. The Cougars played dirty, slamming the Rockets into the glass walls and hitting them with their sticks.  Freshman Mitchell Bobys fell back after taking a hard hit from a Cougar charging at him. As everyone in the rink took a knee, Bobys laid head first on the icy rink floor, seemingly waiting for his coach to retrieve him. But luckily, he managed to stand back up and continue with the game. The Rockets banged their hockey sticks on the wall of the rink, acknowledging his resilience and commitment to the game.

Freshman Drew Deemer stood out as a skilled goalie throughout the match. “Drew Deemer had 30 saves, bringing us to the 4-2 victory,” senior Kenneth Trinh said. Deemer even deflected a hockey puck that had been hit with so much force that it ricocheted off his stick all the way up to the ceiling.

At the end of the second quarter, the Cougars were catching up with their one point to the Rockets’ three. Thankfully, Trinh carried the team as he led the offense, the most important aspect of their victory. He sped past the Cougars, cruising through the ice rink as though running. “Go Kenneth, go Kenneth!” RM fans yelled from the bleachers.  

The excitement only continued to build from then on.  The Rockets and the Cougars continued to go at it, with players and even referees caught up in the action, crashing into each other and tumbling down to the floor of the rink.  In the fourth quarter, the Cougars scored again, making the game 3-2 with the Rockets ahead by only one point. But the Rockets persevered, determined to take home the victory. Trinh called together a huddle with the team to strategize. With only two minutes remaining on the clock, the Rockets were able to pull off another goal, making the score 4-2.

The Rockets’ record is looking much stronger in their past few games as opposed to earlier games this season and last year’s season overall. This is largely due to the high performance of each individual player.  “We don’t keep track of our records very closely but I think I have at least two assists on varsity, and three goals on JV.”

“We previously tied against Quince Orchard back in November, so going into the game, I think everyone knew we were perfectly capable of winning,” Trinh said.  “Coming back from a devastating loss against Walter Johnson the previous week, we were in need of a win to hopefully set us on a path to playoffs.”

“Shoutout to Connor Din for bringing out the swim team to our late night game and their awesome support,” Trinh added. The encouragement of fellow RM students certainly helped motivate the team on the ice and spurred them on to victory.

The Rockets’ next hockey game is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 1 against the Northwest Jaguars.