As playoffs approach, the Blackhawk hockey team works to adapt plays to secure a spot in the playoffs. In their home game against John Marshall on Jan. 7, the Blackhawk Cougars won by a score of 11-1, with Senior Alex Lundy scoring three of those 11 goals.
Also during the Jan. 7 game, after several hits on the ice, a fight broke out between all ten players. This resulted in every player getting penalized with charging, misconduct or both. Due to the severity of these penalties, three of the 10 players were in the box for 10 minutes, while the seven remaining players only served two minutes. This powerplay for Blackhawk enabled Lundy to get his second goal of the night.
Very few adaptations have been made throughout the season. According to Senior Stuart Skogsholm, the key is to work together and trust each other, not change plays.
“No[not many adaptations are made], the plays remain the same, but it is all about the discipline with which we run them. If we run the plays incorrectly, they don’t work. We have to be patient and wait for them to work, which they always do if we trust them,” Skogsholm said.
A big change to a play was made in the beginning of the season. This was a defensive play to keep the offense from proceeding through the neutral zone, or the middle of the ice between the two blue lines. According to Sophomore Jimmy Kelly-Tindall, this change in play has greatly benefited the team’s overall performance and the decision to work as a team has greatly impacted the outcome of the game.
“From the beginning of the season until now, we have changed some lines and we started playing as a team and not individuals. As long as we work as a team we will be successful in our games.” Kelly-Tindall said .
When looking at the standings for playoffs, they are eighth. Skogsholm is confident on their playoff stance.
“We are very excited because we are fighting to get a home game for the first round. This will really help us advance past the first round and farther into the playoffs. We feel like we are right where we want to be so that we can make a good run in the playoffs” Skogsholm said.