In what has been dubbed the Yorktown Hockey rivalry game of the year, the Patriots took on the Washington-Lee Generals on March 4 at Kettler Capitals IcePlex. As is typical for any competitions with our cross-town rivals, the intensity was at an all time high, which ultimately worked in the Patriots’ favor: Yorktown defeated the Generals by a score of 5-3. To top it off, the game was senior night, marking an ideal end to the seniors’ last season.
Going into the game, senior and team captain Teddy Dahlquist reflected on the past times the team has face the Generals.
“I was just thinking about the history, we’ve never lost to [the Generals]. I was thinking: it’s senior year, we have to beat them, we have to keep the streak going. I was really excited,” Dahlquist said.
The first period started off swiftly, with the athletes playing off of the passion of the student section. After multiple shots on goal by both sides, the Generals took the lead three minutes into the start of the game. The Patriots continued to dominate possession, but the period ended with the Generals up by one goal.
The game picked up again three minutes into the second period when the Patriots asserted themselves with their first goal. Senior Jacob Dormuth, assisted by fellow seniors Teddy Dahlquist and Matt Amons, was able to break through the Generals’ tight defense to even up the score. Junior Nick Puglisi then pulled his team ahead with a second goal, unassisted.
Regarding his goal, Puglisi said: “It felt really good scoring my goal because the student section was right there and everyone saw it, and everyone was cheering the team on.”
The Patriots closed out the second period with upwards of ten shots on goal, and continued to press on.
The third and final period proved to be a nailbiter, with each team playing their absolute hardest to overcome the opponent. Freshman Rhett Styles, assisted by sophomore Liam Wells, provided what seemed to be a comfortable lead two minutes into the period, with the third goal for the Patriots. Senior goalie Dylan Ambrogi fended off the advances of the Generals offense, while the Patriots tried to retain their two-point lead. Two minutes later, junior Bobby Wells upped the score to 4-1 Yorktown, with help from sophomore Matt Neuman and senior Joe Patterson.
Just when the Patriots’ student section was ready to celebrate a win, the Generals slipped in a second goal to put the Patriots on high alert with two minutes and thirty seconds on the clock. Then, the Generals scored again twenty seconds later, proving an even match for the Patriots. With only a one-point lead and two minutes left in the game, this rivalry game kept students on the edge of their seats until the very end. Because they were down by a goal, the Generals benched their goalie and replaced him with a forward in an attempt to even the score. However, with ten seconds left on the clock, Neuman was able to position himself in the neutral zone and take a shot on an open goal. When the horn sounded, the scoreboard showed a 5-3 win for the Patriots in the seniors’ final W-L game, as the student section went wild.
“It was a good feeling, it was nice. We had the school with us, all the fans, a lot of people came out.” Dahlquist said.
One thing is for sure: W-L may have beat the Patriots in football and basketball this year, but they definitely cannot beat the hockey team.
