After beating Pine-Richard High School with a score of 5-1 on Oct. 11, the Cathedral Prep varsity hockey team is feeling better and stronger than ever. Both the players and the coaches are looking forward to the season ahead, and with enough hard work, they hope to make it to states.

Varsity Head Coach Mark Sprickman has been coaching the varsity hockey team for four seasons while also helping out with JV middle school teams. Coach Sprickman is also in charge of player development for the entire varsity program, and he is proud of the way his team has started their season.

“We’ve gotten off to an OK start,” Coach Sprickman said. “We’ve been plagued with a couple of serious injuries that have a couple of our top players on the shelf for a while, so a couple of guys have had to transition to roles that they normally wouldn’t take. I know there are a lot of positive things happening with the boys right now. I feel they are very focused and determined to achieve the goals we have in place for this team this season.”

One of these goals includes a run for states, and while Coach Sprickman understands just how difficult that road is, he believes that the boys are up for the challenge. He feels that the best way to support the team is for students to come to their games with as much enthusiasm as possible.

“Having an audience always adds an extra level of energy when [the players] see their friends and peers in the stands,” Coach Sprickman said. “It’s a huge motivational piece. Also, just getting the word out if they see the boys in the hallway helps a lot. Just saying ‘Hey, heard you guys won, awesome job’ really helps. All that positive input just makes them want to work even harder.”

Coach Sprickman is especially grateful to the senior players on the varsity team for setting a good example for their younger teammates.

“We have a really young team, and if it wasn’t for our senior leadership, we would be in for a long season,” Coach Sprickman said. “Our seniors have done an amazing job getting the boys ready to play each and every day and being there for each other. It makes my job so much easier to know I have my five seniors. They would do anything for each other and their team.”

Senior Alex Brown plays both defense and offense for the varsity team, and he currently holds five points for his team. He has loved playing hockey since he was three years old, and he plans on taking gap years to play junior hockey and then move on to play college hockey.

“Playing for Prep varsity has improved my friendships with my teammates and my skills as a hockey player,” Alex said. “The start of our season was a bit rough, but so far we have lost one game and won two. We have learned to improve our game because of our losses.”

Alex believes that if the team continues to work hard as a group, they could make a run for states.

“Our team is young but we are fast and strong,” Alex said. “We are able to beat teams who are better than us and overcome our hurdles. We have a strong team bond and it helps a ton towards team chemistry. We bring each other up and push each other to our better selves and overcome our weaknesses in every game.”

Both Alex and Coach Sprickman encourage readers to follow the Prep hockey team on Twitter and other social media platforms to stay updated with future game times and scores.