Varsity Hockey vs. WV Vipers

All photo credit to Andreas Millradt (class of 2028)

Boys Varsity Hockey Destroys WV Vipers 8-0 In Monstrous Game

By Andreas Millradt (Class of 2028) 

The boys varsity hockey team delivered a statement win on Friday, Nov.21, with an overwhelming 8-0 victory over the West Virginia Vipers.  The boys took an early lead from puck drop and never looked back, cruising to a decisive victory over the Vipers. 

The Knights came firing right out of the gate as senior captain Jordan Koller (Class of 2026) stole the puck after the opening faceoff, leaving him with a wide open slap shot that he buried in the back of the net, putting the boys up 1-0 just 30 seconds into the game. After some stellar saves from Knights goalie Logan Rudolph (Class of 2028), the boys tacked on another goal by Thomas Burke (Class of 2027) who made an incredible no-look rip into the net off of a rebounded shot. Minutes later, the Knights scored again off an assist from Mejd Al-Kadiri (Class of 2027), who went behind the net and passed to Zach Martin (Class of 2026) leaving him with an easy tap-in to extend the lead to 3-0 DJO. 

The Knights continued to pressure the Vipers, launching over 10 more shots in the following couple of minutes. They were finally able to cash in again when Ray Baumann (Class of 2027) fired in a laser all the way back from the blue line. Some pushing and shoving towards the end of the period resulted in multiple players from both teams receiving penalties. Despite the commotion, the Knights still held a commanding 4–0 lead after the first period, all to the liking of the DJO student section, which showed up in huge numbers to support the team.

As the second period began, O’Connell really started to turn up the intensity as they began to deliver hard pushes and checks on the Vipers. Multiple Knights landed strong hits on the Vipers which raised tensions, resulting in more penalties and a power play for the Vipers. That didn’t stop the Knights, as they continued to stay strong offensively. The scoring carried on when Jordan Koller got the puck parallel to the Vipers goalie and was able to strategically shoot the puck at his shoulder, ricocheting off his body and into the net for his second goal of the night, bringing the score to 5-0 DJO. The rest of the period was highlighted by Logan Rudolph’s saves at goalie, as the sophomore made some incredible glove and pad saves to preserve the shutout. 

His best save came when he mistakenly left the goalie’s box to get a loose puck a few yards ahead that was recovered by a Vipers forward. With the net left wide open, the Vipers shot at the goal but the puck was stopped as Rudolph was able to recover from the mistake and make an acrobatic, point-blank save 20 feet in front of the net to keep the Vipers scoreless. Seconds later, Knights defenseman Aris Batres (Class of 2027) tacked on another goal, taking the score to 6-0 DJO to end the second period.

The Knights continued their physical play throughout the third period landing more hits on the Vipers, who at this point seemed overwhelmed by the fast-paced Knights. Zack Martin cashed in another goal towards the end of the period off the assist from Dylan Gaspard (Class of 2027). O’Connell didn’t slow down as they continued to let loose more attempts at the net with Aris Batres adding another goal late in the game to make the score 8-0 as the final horn sounded. 

The Knights were able to pick up a decisive win in a very physical, tough showing from the boys. O’Connell bested the Vipers in multiple categories including shots (43-16), face-offs won (14-5), and save percentage (100%-81%). Rudolph was spectacular in the net, not allowing a single attempt to get past him, while three players scored multiple goals (Koller, Martin, Batres). This was the boys’ first win on the year as they look to keep the momentum going into WCAC play.