As we reach the halfway point of the 2023-2024 winter sports season, the hockey team has found themselves in an advantageous position with a record of 4-3. Coming off a less-than-ideal 2022-2023 season, the Wyverns have found their rhythm and are making a strong case for a deep postseason run.
The season began with a bang as the team put on a show in front of the home crowd. Head Coach John Hissick made sure his team was well prepared for the first game as they defeated the Forman School 17-1 on Wednesday, Dec. 6. The second game of the year presented a challenge as the team faced the defending champions, King School, on Saturday, Dec. 9. It was a back-and-forth matchup with plenty of production from the KO offense led by sophomore Co-captain Dalton Smith, junior Co-captain Alex Oliviera, and sophomore Colton Bischoff who is the team’s leading scorer. King School took the lead going into the third period, and the KO offense rallied to try and tie up the game and get to overtime. Despite numerous shots and opportunities, the team was unable to score, and King scored on an empty net with 16 seconds remaining, ending with a score of 5-3. Overall, it was a hard-fought effort from the Wyverns, with many positives to take away from that game.
The team went on to win their next two games, including a 6-3 victory against Greenwich Country Day School on Ryan Gordon Hockey Night before hitting a three-game skid, winning only one of the three most recent games. Overall, the team is looking to keep their pace, win as many games as possible to end the regular season with a winning record, and clinch a postseason berth.
Smith spoke on some of the strengths of the team that he’s seen. “We have some great high talent up front and our top lines are very skilled,” Smith said. However, the team as a whole is very young, with no seniors on the active roster. This is great because the team in the future will be very experienced and used to the speed of the game, but, this young team doesn’t have the same depth as a team with more experience all around. Smith spoke on the youth of the team and how it is important to have depth. “The depth is not completely there yet,” he said. “We’re still looking to gain a few more bodied skaters on the team so we could give some of our other guys a rest.”
Smith then mentioned his teammate Bischoff, the leading scorer, and his contributions to the team. “Our leading goal scorer, Bischoff, has had a great season so far,” he said. “He seems to find himself in good places to put the puck in the net pretty much anywhere on the ice, he also is a great playmaker to other players.”
We have witnessed an incredible season-to-season turnaround from the Wyverns and with seven games left in the regular season, the team has a great chance of ending the season with a winning record and a playoff berth. We wish the hockey team luck for the rest of the season as they look to face off against Wooster School and Hamden Hall!
