Plainfield’s varsity hockey team, the Predators, lost 4-2 to the DuPage Stars at the Downers Grove Arena on Nov. 20 after their previous 9-2 matchup loss.
North senior right wing Tommy Colwell and North junior captain Alex Barlog scored the two goals.
“The final score, although not what we wanted, was a strong sign of the progress we’ve made in recent weeks, and we have a lot of positive development,” head coach Jeff Schmidt said.
According to Barlog, the games so far have been an educational experience.
“This season has been somewhat of a rollercoaster,” Barlog said. “We had a slow start which is not always the best, but it’s something we learned from.”
Schmidt credits team morale as an important building block towards a unified goal.
“They get along exceptionally well,” Schmidt said. “There’s tremendous camaraderie both on the ice and in the locker room as well as outside of the rink.”
According to senior alternate captain Keegan Daly, the coaching staff is a driving force which leads the players in the right direction during practice and the matches.
“The team has a bright future,” Daly said. “We have an incredible coaching staff and incredible players.”
The Predators’ team roster is composed of athletes from all four Plainfield high schools.
“I’m sure they would love to be in the same school together, but that doesn’t seem to have affected them as a team,” Schmidt said.
As the Predators continue their season, emphasis is being placed on building the players communication skills .
“For both teams our goals are to communicate together and play as a team,” sophomore center Chris Zawadka said.
According to Barlog, the highlight so far was defeating the Kankakee Irish on Oct. 13, even dubbing it ‘The Kankakee Miracle’. The Predators had previously lost to the Irish in an earlier matchup.
“We were down 5-1 at the start of the third period and ended up winning 8-7 in a shootout,” Barlog said.
Schmidt credits the Predators’ players for their work on the fundamentals and believes their hard work will pay off.
“Regardless of our record, I’d give our team an ‘A’ grade for the first part of our season,” Schmidt said.