McLean students packed into the SkateQuest this past Friday, Feb. 10, to watch McLean take on Langley and celebrate McLean seniors. Mirrored on the other side of the rink was Langley’s swarming crowd where fans cheered in support.
While McLean was amped up leading into the rivalry game, Langley already had the advantage of a much larger roster. However, the student section had the players covered, equipped with “chirp sheets,” giving information about Langley’s players and goalie for the crowd to incorporate into their patronizing cheers.
At the beginning of the first period, Langley quickly scored their first goal. McLean’s exhaustion started to show as Langley brought the score to 2-0, still within the first period.
Before the end of the first period, McLean scored, bringing some spirit to the team as well as the crowd. As the score rose to 2-1, the team’s morale was visibly boosted.
Not only did the team’s morale shift, but their performance did as well. The team was running a new defensive scheme, bringing back some energy to the ice.
McLean junior winger Connor O’Sullivan led the team, netting two goals throughout the game. Despite McLean goalie Daniel Dille’s fever, he hammered away, blocking countless attacks from Langley.
Moving forward to the second period, McLean’s energy started to fade as Langley started to put more pressure on McLean’s players.
“We stuck with [Langley] for the first two periods and after that we got a little sloppy,” senior winger Gavin Short said. “Langley is definitely the better team because they’re 10-0 now, but overall, I think we played pretty well.”
Meanwhile, the student section was getting increasingly rowdy. Langley students went as far as to throw items onto the ice, including chicken tenders and other miscellaneous items onto the ice. Eventually, officials removed Langley students from the rink.
It was a rough end to the game as Langley scored goal after goal, eventually bringing the score to 8-2. The student section, however, cheered on the team until the final second. A packed rink is not the usual standard for McLean hockey games.
“That was the most people I’ve ever seen in our game,” Short said. “It was super fun because normally we don’t have a ton [of students].”
Unfortunately, the support from the student section was not enough to rouse McLean to retaliate against the Saxons.
“I didn’t really expect us to win,” Short said. “[The game] was definitely a little rough but overall I think we played pretty well.”
