Senior Nick Mersch skates down the ice at a lightning pace, trucking any pesky opponent out of his way as he scrambles for the loose puck, hoping to score on a breakaway chance. As he throws the defender off of him, he takes control of the puck and fires a fierce wrist shot at the goalie “like poop through a diarrhea-infected goose” as said by the eloquent Daryl “Razor” Reaugh of the Dallas Stars commentary team.
The Jesuit Hockey team posted a strong month, going 2-1-1, including two blowout games showcasing the team’s offensive prowess. The first two weeks saw the Rangers demolish both Allen and John Paul II, but they faltered a week later against Plano West and lost a tough game in overtime to McKinney.
Here’s a closer look at each of those games:
First, on January 7th, Jesuit took on Allen, a team they had continuously annihilated throughout the season, and that game was no exception as the team beat the Eagles 6-0. Some of the standout players included Nicholas Colombo ’17, who had a pair of goals, and Carson Platt ’17, who added a tally as well as three assists. Goalie Royce Allred ’18 also played a stellar game in net, posting his third shutout of the season. Veteran Nick Mersch ’16 noted that “We just played our game. We executed, and the goals came easily,” commenting on the team’s chemistry that has developed throughout the season.
A week later on, January 14th, the Rangers squared off against rival John Paul II and continued their offensive dominance with a plethora of goals in a 7-1 win. Again, multiple Rangers got on the board, with notables including Platt and Louis Helsen ’16, who netted two goals apiece. Anthony Calabrese ’18 also scored his first goal of the season and added two assists, tying him with Helsen for the team lead in points for that game. Goalie George McBey ’16 had an outstanding night for the team, making 27 saves. Coach Kevin Smith enjoyed watching his team play, saying “it’s nice to have a couple of those games during the season where the game is not in question late in the 3rd period and everyone can relax and just play.”
However, their three-game winning streak finally snapped as the Plano West Wolves showed their superiority in the game, putting Jesuit away 1-5 on January 21st. The lone goal scorer for the Rangers was veteran junior Platt, with an assist by Michael Schmidt ’16. Despite goalie McBey’s 21 saves, his efforts were not enough to keep the Rangers in the game. All was not lost, however, as Mersch learned from his mistakes, commenting that “we need to stick to our game plan. We got sloppy in the second and third period and paid for it.”
In the last game of the month on Thursday, January 28th, the Rangers fought a hard game but sadly lost in overtime to McKinney 4-5. Michael Schmidt led the team with a three-point performance, scoring a goal and tacking on two assists, while Platt, Calabrese, and Bryce Clark ’19 also scored for the team. McBey again posted an amazing 31 saves in net, but the team couldn’t hold on as the game went into extra minutes. Coach Smith attributed the loss to the team’s lack of stamina, noting that “we had about a minute and thirty seconds at the end of the second and the start of the third where we took a couple of shifts off, and it cost us three goals during that time span.”
As the season winds down, be sure to support the Rangers and keep up with The Roundup for all hockey coverage!
