The Kent boys varsity hockey team has fought hard in a very competitive season with numerous ups and downs. When describing the team, Coach Reinhardt says that “I think it’s one of the closer teams we have had in terms of team chemistry. It’s a unique group because we’ve got more younger kids than we normally would. We have had some really good leadership from our seniors and they did a really great job of cultivating a team culture to support the younger kids.”

Recently, the team took on Hotchkiss and then Salisbury. In the Hotchkiss game, the boys battled hard and scored two amazing goals, one by Phil Feinberg ’22 and one by Captain Aidan Cobb ’20, contributing to a 2-1 lead in the second period. Unfortunately, with only a few minutes left in the third period, Hotchkiss scored. The game then proceeded into overtime. With very close shots for each time, the overtime period ultimately ended with the same score, bringing the end result to a tie.

At the Salisbury game, tensions were high in the rink and both sides had the stands completely packed, one by a bus of Salisbury students and one by the Kent Lions. With three out of their eight defenders injured, Kent fought to overcome the odds but fell 0-3 to Salisbury as the final buzzer rang. Coach Reinhardt comments, “I thought we responded and played very well. The outcomes were not what we were hoping for. I was really proud of how the team played and competed facing that type of adversity and I think that will serve us well going into our last three games.”

In regard to their season as a whole, there have been some incredible moments for this young team. Over Christmas break, the team competed in the Avon Christmas Classic Tournament and took home the win, besting Gunnery 5-4 in the championship game. Describing some other stand out moments from the season, Coach Reinhardt says, “we have had a lot of ups and downs and some of the ups were pretty cool. We beat Kimmel Union early in the year and they’re a team that’s won the last three New England Championships in the elite bracket so that was a really big win for us.”

The team has “shown improvement in our consistency to our approach in terms of energy and competitiveness. I think the learning curve was challenging in terms of having a lot of young players on the team who are playing at this level for the first time and learning to play with that level of consistency is challenging. It is something we are continuing to work on but I think we are showing shades of getting better at it as well.”

Now moving into playoffs, the boys hope to utilize this season’s progress and advance in the tournament.