On Friday, Jan. 4, two buses full of students and the Kingswood Oxford hockey team took a trip to the International Skating Center in Simsbury, CT for Kingswood Oxford’s annual Hockey Night.
Hockey Night began at 7:00 p.m. and went until 10:00 p.m..This hockey game is one that the students, faculty, and players look forward to every year.
After the emphatic game, the ice rink opened up for a free skate for everyone. Also, ice skates were supplied to students who did not have their own pair of skates.
The only expenses at the event were the actual entry fee, food, and drinks.
The students said that they enjoyed the game.
“The game was really fun to watch, but the free skate with all your friends is really a blast,” junior Kyler Dzeilak said, “I don’t even know how to skate but it was still fun.”
The free skate was an hour long from 9:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. right after the conclusion of the game.
Many students got to try skating for the first time and even learned how to skate from some of their more experienced friends, all while laughing and having a good time.
On this night, the hockey team faced off against Hamden Hall Country Day School, where they played a great game, dominating their opponent with a 9-1 win.
Multiple different players on the team scored and the whole crowd went crazy with each goal scored. Spanish teacher Ronald Garcia said that the fans were incredible and the team put in a fantastic effort.
The bleachers were packed with students all wearing their hockey jerseys, KO apparel, and mostly their hockey night- T-shirts.The hockey night T-shirts are a large part of the annual tradition.
In school, the week before the event these shirts are sold for $20 each, which allows a student to have a dress down day on that Friday.
The shirt also grants them free access to Hockey Night.
Senior Garth Swanson played very well knocking in three goals for Kingswood Oxford, along with junior Karstian Lang who scored two goals, and a few other players who each scored a goal a piece.
“The intensity in rink is amazing,” Karstian said after the game, “and the energy from the fans in the bleachers really makes for a great environment to play in. It’s a lot of fun.”
A few years back Kingswood Oxford’s rink was taken down in order to introduce a new athletic facility.
Since then Hockey Night has been moved and held off campus, in Simsbury, and of those few years of having the event off campus, this year’s turnout was the best.
“Hockey Night was always my favorite event of the year, so I am really happy that we had a large turnout and spirited crowd for my last year,” senior Lian Wolman said.
The venue is 30 minutes away from campus, so in prior years, many students did not attend due to the long trip.
But this year the community came together and made this Hockey Night a special one for sure.
KO had to get two large fan buses in order to accommodate all the students who were going to the hockey game.
Along with the fan buses, many students drove themselves to the venue.
Given the success of this year’s Hockey Night, it is clear that the tradition won’t come to an end anytime soon.
Everyone had a blast at the event, and the community is definitely looking forward to seeing the tradition carry on into the coming years.
