Continuing to practice, the Central Valley Hockey team pushes through the season; doing everything they can to pull through a win. Regardless of the fact that the team is having trouble producing wins, they have not given up. The team is showing improvement from the beginning of the season, and there is still a long way to go. 

Junior Chase Grable looks forward to the rest of the season. As an assistant captain and a defenseman, Grable has played an important role in ensuring that the goalie is able to stop the pucks. Defense is a very important part of the game of hockey due to how quickly the puck can change directions; all it takes is a few seconds and the other team can easily score a point. 

“I am preparing for the rest of the season by practicing our defense zone work such as breakouts,” Grable said, “we are doing better in the offensive zone, but to play offense, we need to be able to play strong defense first.” 

On Oct. 24th, the Warriors played away vs. Wilmington, but they fell short with a score of 5-9. Junior Aiden Pournaras got two of the five goals. Although the team lost, they held up a fight. On Nov. 3, Central Valley played Bishop Canevin in a home game, where they lost with a score of 2-7. Pournaras scored one of the team’s two goals. On Nov. 10th, the Warriors lost to Neshannock in a home game by a defeating score of 0-7. Though they lost, the boys made some improvements since the first time they played this team. In their season opener, they lost to the Lancers by a score of 13-1. On Nov. 17th, the boys hosted Burrell for the second time of the season where they lost by a score of 3-8. Pournaras scored one of the three goals. 

The team took a week off over the Thanksgiving holiday. However, they were back on the ice for an away game against Deer Lakes. Dec. 1st was the second time Central Valley played Deer Lakes. Unfortunately, the Warriors fell by a score of 0-7. On Dec 8th, the team played an away game against Elizabeth Forward. They fought hard, however they lost by a close score of 4-6.

“My favorite part of playing for Central Valley is the strong bonds I make with people and having fun with them,” sophomore Noah Fessides said. 

Fessides is a defenseman and has been playing hockey for 10 years. 

“I look forward to having fun and enjoying the rest of the season,” Fessides said. 

Their season is not over yet. In fact, they have scheduled games up until mid-February. Be sure to come out and support the boys as the season continues.