Georgetown Prep Hockey

After making a long trek out to Arlington, Virginia, the boys took a huge victory on the road over St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School.  As the final buzzer rang, the Hoyas concluded an all around dominant night with a final score of 9-2.  Great play by the usual suspects, including a hattrick from junior Michael Melch, and strong showings by Ryan Howe, Jack Olson, and Ryan Holman, enabled the Hoyas to grab a resounding win on the road.  This win also came thanks to the stellar play and goals of junior Riley Backenstoe, senior Grady Shook  and junior netminder Dillon Nobel.

Just four minutes into the contest, freshman defenseman Max Newnam popped one home off a juicy rebound.  After junior Riley Backenstoe let one fly to the pads of the Saints’ goalie, the freshman utilized the opportunity to put the puck where it belongs.  Just five minutes later, at the 6:17 mark, junior Michael Melch notched the second of the night thanks to a rocket pass from big man Jake Neeb in the corner.  Again, the Saints had no reply.  Clearly junior Ryan Holman felt just a two goal lead was not enough as he followed up Melch’s goal with one of his own. Smartly positioning himself in front of the net, Holman was in the right place at the right time to deflect a bomb shot from Jack Olson at the blue line right into the back of the net.  The Hoyas concluded the first period with a vast 3-0  lead.

As the second period started, the Saints replied with a goal at the 14:14 mark.  The boys in blue, however, would not stand for this.  Similar to the third goal of the night, the fourth came thanks to a blast from Jack Olson to a waiting Michael Melch in front of the net.  Melch chalked up his second of the game with this deflection.  Five minutes after this one, at the 3:25 mark, junior Riley Backenstoe knocked home a beauty in front of the net thanks to the smart play of Jin Kim and a laser pass from Ryan Holman.  The boys finished the second period with a 5-1 lead.

If they had not already, the Hoyas truly separated themselves in the third.  Senior sniper Ryan Howe started the scoring after freshman Max Newnam lobbed one right off the opposing goalie’s pads.  Howe took the rebound and clocked in the sixth goal of the night for the Hoyas in just under three minutes after the start of the third. Junior backup goalie Dillon Nobel got the nod from Coach Fritz to take the position between the pipes.  Despite giving up a quick one, the junior netminder made multiple saves before the game’s conclusion.  At the 8:06 mark, Ryan Howe scratched in his second goal of the period after a connection with Jake Neeb.  The Hoyas now moved their lead to 7-2.  With just 3:25 remaining, former Varsity 2 legend Grady “bruiser” Shook showed all his devoted fans how he got the nickname.  The senior followed in the shot of Max Newnam and proceeded to rough up the opposing goal tender, while at the same time somehow managing to force the biscuit between the pipes.  The bruiser notched the 8th goal of the night.  Junior Michael Melch finished off the  scoring thanks to an assist from Ryan Howe.

As the final buzzer rang, the Hoyas took this one in dominant fashion moving their record up to 4-2.  The boys look forward to a busy week with three quick games, concluding the stint with a much-anticipated Senior Night game Friday January 24th at 6:15 in the friendly confines of Cabin John against St. Albans.  Follow @GPrepHockey on twitter for live tweets and updates on all Prep Hockey matters.

After a holiday rest, Varsity will take on Gonzaga at Cabin John Ice Rink Friday, January 10 at 6:15pm.  Come on out and support the team in what promises to be a spirited competition.

GO HOYAS!  BEAT GONZAGA!

The Hoyas V2 and JV teams each racked up two losses during late December and early January.  A couple of the games were close and the players enjoyed the competition.  In spite of the scoreboard, the players had fun honing their skills and are looking forward to the remainder of the season once they get through final exams.

Photos from JV game versus Mt. St. Joe’s:

Photos from JV game versus Good Counsel:

The Hoyas chalked up a big win over MAPHL foe Spalding Friday night to earn their third win of the season!  With a strong start followed by a dominant second period, the Hoyas stood strong in the third to earn a well-deserved win on the road.  Freshman sensation John Mac Mulera had an incredible two-goal game accompanied by the strong play of junior Jack Olson, junior Ryan Holman, who also netted two goals, and senior Captain Cole Taylor.  Tough defensive play as well, led by the two veteran senior assistant captains Lazar Zamurovic and Matt Billings, alongside strong freshman presence Max Newnam and junior goal tender Barry Leese, helped lead the Hoyas to a win.  Together, the boys sporting this season’s new jerseys pulled off the 6-5 victory.

The Hoyas and Cavaliers did not waste time.  Just minutes into the game, the Hoyas had already notched quality shots, including a rocket just high of the net by Captain Cole Taylor and a ringer off the pipe from junior Jack Olson.  A little over five minutes into the contest, Olson showed off his soft hands around Spalding defensemen and followed it up with a crisp pass onto the waiting stick of Ryan Holman.  The junior finished it off with a backdoor put-away to give the Hoyas a 1-0 lead.  Spalding, however, responded under a minute later to tie the game at 1 apiece.  Freshman phenom John Mac Mulera would not settle with a tie score.  After a few smart dekes and dangles, the freshman roofed one top right just under the crossbar to take back the lead and make it a 2-1 game.  Again, the Cavaliers responded, this time with two, to take a 2-3 lead with 3:12 remaining in the first.  The Hoyas refused to go into the locker-room down, so senior Assistant Captain Lazar Zamurovic went to work and showed off his offensive skills to put one away seconds into the Hoyas’ powerplay.  After en eventful first period, the Hoyas and the Cavaliers finished with the score tied at 3 apiece.

Prep started off their strongest period of the game on the penalty kill.  After successfully killing it off, the Hoyas, with aggressive play from junior Jin Kim and company, crashed the net to stuff in their fourth goal of the night.  Next up, John Mac, Mulera, the supersonic dangler, wowed the audience with a beauty of a goal.  After getting the puck, the freshman stung together a series of unbelievable dangles around multiple Spalding defensemen.  To finish it off, Johnnie undressed the goalie with a series of fakes to slide the rubber just between the goal post and the sprawled out netminder.  With that, the Hoyas took a 5-3 lead with 10:23 remaining in the second period and even forced Spalding to make a goalie change.  Just one minute later, the Hoyas went on the powerplay.  Senior Assistant Lazar Zamurovic blasted a slapshot from the blue line to traffic in front of the net.  Junior Ryan Holman parked himself in the right place at the right time and redirected the puck right past the Spalding goalie.  The boys in blue took a commanding 6-3 lead with 8:40 remaining in the second.  After exchanging penalties, Spalding notched their fourth of the night on their powerplay to bring the score within 2 with just 1:44 remaining in the second.  The second period ended with a 6-4 lead for the Hoyas.

To start off the third period, each side exchanged shots until, with 10:56 remaining, the Cavaliers scored to bring the Hoyas’ lead to just one.  The few minutes that ensued consisted of quality chances, including some offensive play from senior defenseman Assistant Captain Matt Billings, who weaved his way through traffic on a couple of occasions to set up excellent opportunities.  With just 4:51 remaining, only up by one, the Hoyas were forced to go on the penalty kill at a tough moment in the game.  The PK unit, led by Goaltender Barry Leese, fought off the man-down to keep our boys in the lead.  Facing 2:40 of final nailbiting action, the Hoyas held off Spalding to get a huge 6-5 win on the road!

With this win, the boys take their second in a row on the road.  Barry Leese gets his third win of the season in the latest installment of a successful Prep Hockey season.  Follow @GPrepHockey on twitter for game updates as well as other Prep Hockey related matters.  Hoya Saxa!

Click to view video highlights of the game – many thanks to Radomir Zamurovic:

Prep’s long bus trip north to Baltimore to challenge St. Paul’s paid off with a solid 5 – 2 victory.  If not for St. Paul’s practically impenetrable goalie, Prep would have trounced St. Paul’s even more soundly.  With 80 shots on goal – not a typo, eighty! – Prep managed to sneak 5 goals by to St. Paul’s 2.  Freshman Johnny Mac Mulera scored his first Prep varsity goal.  The win was truly a team effort with a single goal each for Michael Melch (’16), Assistant Captain Lazar Zamurovic (’14), Captain Cole Taylor (’14) and Jack Olson (’15), and assists by Assistant Captain Matt Billings (’14)(two assists), Jack Olson (1 assist), Max Newnam (’17) (1 assist) and Cole Taylor (1 assist).  Strong defense kept St. Paul’s to a measly 9 shots on goal, all but two of which goaltender Barry Leese dispatched with ease.

Varsity’s next matchup is Friday December 13th against Spalding at Piney Orchard.

St. Paul game photos:

The 2013 Scott Smith Alumni game was a spirited affair, with alums and seniors holding nothing back.  The 2013 Outstanding Alumni award honored Rory Hyland, who, among other things, led Prep to its first IAC hockey championship in 2002.  The 2013 Scott Smith Award honored the formative role and seminal contributions of Peter Black to the Prep ice hockey program.  Many thanks to the parents and underclassmen who made the event run seamlessly.