The puck flies across the ice, the players get pushed against the boards, the buzzer sounds and the fans cheer. All of these signs point towards one sport: hockey. That means for seniors Riley Adams and Sam Romutis and sophomores Matthew Keller and Marc Evans, another season starts.

This year, the Freedom athletes are once again joining the Central Valley (CV) hockey team. All team members have the same goal in mind entering the new season, and their enthusiasm shows that they’re ready

“The goal is the same every year; to win the championship,” Romutis states. “I was really excited. We have a lot to prove after such a disappointing season last year.”

The hockey team last year ended its season with only six victories out of 20 games, which was indeed upsetting to the team. A comeback was waiting for them, and they were willing to do anything to prove their greatness and power in the league.

The team started their season on Oct. 4 against McDowell at Brady’s Run Ice Complex. With home advantage and encouragement from the fans and coaches, the CV hockey team defeated the McDowell Lancers 6-1. The team was thrilled that they started off the year strong.

“The first game went really well. We have a lot of talent led by great coaches that make us successful. We could have a good run this year,” Romutis exclaimed.

However, even with high hopes for the future, there will always be downfalls. The teams next game took place on Oct. 18. The end result was that CV hockey team fell to the Neshannock Lancers with a devastating score of 8-1. The team had home ice advantage at Brady’s Run Ice Complex again, but they did not secure a win for the Central Valley Warriors.

After having such a big victory from the first game of the season, it’s hard to see how the team got defeated by a wider margin than their win last game. According to Romutis, however, there were some changes to the team from the last game, and it could have affected how the team played on Oct. 18.

“One of our best defensemen, Garrett Nicol from Hopewell, tore his ACL and MCL and will miss the entire season. He is a big part of our defensive core and we will definitely miss him a lot,” Romutis said.

With that in mind, many can now comprehend how the CV hockey team lost to the Lancers on Oct. 18.

“We started off good, but as the Lancers got the lead, we gave up. They just kept piling on the goals,” Romutis said.

The team is still very optimistic about their goals for the rest of the season. One game cannot decide the fate of the hockey season, so the team is going to keep their heads high and continue to play their best in future games. However, optimism isn’t everything. There is still a lot of work to do for the team if they want to achieve their goals.

“We need to play as a team and trust each other. Guys need to realize that they can’t win the game by themselves,” Romutis said. “If we play as a team, we will definitely be more successful, but there is still a lot of work to do.”