The last game of a three-game series against Alton led to a victory for the EHS Varsity Hockey team on Tuesday, Feb. 25.
The series began on Thursday, Feb. 20 and the Tigers faced defeat after losing 2-1 in a shootout. For game two of the series, they came prepared and swept Alton off their feet in a 5-0 win.
Game three packed the stands with fans from both high schools. Tigers took a lead of 2-0 during the first two periods, both goals scored by senior Leo Blandino. Alton scored in period three but Tigers kept the lead, winning the series and the Northern Division Championship.
“The first feeling I had after the game was relief, and then came the excitement and pure joy,” Blandino said.
“Early in the year, there was some question on how well we would play this year after losing so many seniors last year,” senior Zach Loehr said, “but I feel like winning against Alton showed everyone that this is still our league and we’re not going home easy.”
Tiger fans crowded the class while the hockey team piled on goalie junior RJ Pluhar with tears of joy streaming down many of their faces. Team captains Drew Lewis, Loehr and Blandino were presented with the trophy, but varsity hockey knew this was not the end of their climb to the top.
On Monday, March 3, fans once again packed East Alton Ice Arena for the series against the Triad Knights. Game one was a rough loss of 2-0 but once again, Tigers came back in game two with a 2-1 win. “I think we were a little slow in the first game,” Blandino said, “but we picked it up and I think we did a better job of getting focused before the second game.”
“It just seems like we play our absolute best when we have our backs up against the wall like we did at the end of the series against Alton and then game two against Triad,” Loehr said.
Tonight, varsity hockey plays their last game of the series and the winning team will be MVCHA champions. For seniors, tonight means the last game of their high school career.
“Zach, Drew, Leo, Cale and Dylan are some great teammates,” Pluhar said. “We are like a family and I think it [the last game] is going to be hard for them, but I know they are going to take every single second they get of it.”
“If we can play at our own speed and isolate some of their key players, then there is no way that we can lose. We just have to stay focused and play the full 39 minutes at 100 percent,” Blandino said. “And a big fan section like we’ve had these last few games wouldn’t hurt either.”