By Colin Lynch, contributing writer
With their win over the St. John Paul Lions on Saturday, January 1st, the Nantucket boys varsity hockey team climbed back up the .500 mark with a 3-3 record. After dropping their previous bout with the Nauset Warriors, the Whalers had a strong comeback game against the Lions on the road. The game was important for them to bring team morale back up after their previous loss, and light a spark of confidence in the athletes for their team members and their team. The Whalers found themselves down 1-0 in the first period of play. Senior winger Cole Evens tied the game with a goal in the second period. Senior center Hudson Perry led the way for the Whalers by scoring the next pair of goals, both coming in the third period. Both Perry and Evens are linemates; however, they found themselves on different lines as the game went on in an effort to change things up to throw off the Lions. They ended up back on the same line during the third period. They played a vigorous final two periods to pull out a 3-1 road victory. Sophomore Griffin Starr, goalie, had yet another standout game in the net for the Whalers, with multiple saves while only allowing the one goal during the first period. With good teamwork and talent in each and every player, the Whalers led their team to triumph once again, and plan to continue to do so throughout the season as it continues, regardless of uncertain conditions.
Amidst the COVID-19 outbreak recently, where cases on island have been steadily climbing well above past record highs, boys hockey has still managed to persist through the season. Senior Finnbar Kelly reflected on the season after the Lions game, stating. “So far the season is off to a decent start, we’re undefeated in our league and still at .500 average to make the playoffs. I think there’s definitely a few games we got unlucky on and wished we would have won or put up a better fight, but, for this next run of games in January, we have most of our players back and we’re ready to win these upcoming games.” Although the Whalers are seemingly not allowing the COVID-19 challenges to stop them, as Kelly stated, having most of their players back for the upcoming games will certainly help them. The future may be uncertain with the unpredictability of the pandemic, but the team is confident that, whatever happens, they will make it work and continue playing excellently.
Their next game after evening out their record was an unfortunate loss against the Dennis-Yarmouth Regional Dolphins, who have a current record of 1-2, including their win against the Whalers. This means that Nantucket’s record, as of Tuesday, January 18th, is 3-4. Still, the team is confident that they will be able to even out this slight losing record by the end of the season.
The Whalers’ next scheduled game is Wednesday, January 26th, against the Barnstable Hyannis. They hope to grab another win to bring them back to an even 4-4 record, and follow this win up with many more!
Veritas 
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