Boys’ hockey glided to victory against the New Prague Trojans Feb. 14. With one game left of the regular season, the Orioles’ players continue to give it their all on the rink and fight to the finish line. 

Senior Miles Rider said he felt confident about the victory the Orioles took against the Trojans. Given previous history with New Prague, players felt the importance of this game.

“I thought we were going to come in and dominate this game,” Rider said. “We’ve had some history with New Prague and I wasn’t going to let them get the best of it.”

According to junior Tony Kruse, the Orioles were anticipating a win — as the results of previous games had been disappointing.

“We played with a little bit more energy,” Kruse said. “We lost to them in overtime in the last game and we really wanted to beat them.” 

Head Coach Tyler Broderson said sophomore Max Rider has been having consistently impressive games.

“Max Rider has been really good,” Broderson said. “He’s got a couple goals, he’s been playing fast, moving the puck when he needs to move it and getting his head up.” 

Kruse said goalie Josh Middleton was a contributor to the team’s defense, and the success of the offensive lines was also notable.

“Our goalie Josh Middleton had played a great game, he had 6 saves,” Kruse said. “As an entire team, our offense was pretty good. We scored a decent amount of goals.”

Rider said goalie Josh Middleton played a crucial role in the team’s victory. 

“Josh Middleton (stuck out to me when) we were not blocking shots and he came in big (by) making saves which helped us come out on top,” Rider said.

According to Kruse the team has room to improve before sections. 

“(Going into sections) we need to block more shots and we need to play better in the defensive zone,” Kruse said.

After a successful night, Broderson said the players achieved their focus point resulting in a win for the team.

“One of our main goals was to play our game and not their game and we’ve done that tonight,” Broderson said.

Boys’ hockey takes Bloomington Jefferson to the ice 7 p.m. Feb. 16 at the Rec Center for the last regular season game. Sections dates are TBD.