By Kayla Sullivan
On Thursday, January 5, the Hiller varsity hockey team lost to Medway 3-1 at Franklin Rink, but performed much better than expected due to Medway’s success in the league and playoff history.

Although Medway scored a goal only a few minutes into the first period, senior captain Eric Guilmette stole a pass and scored with five minutes left in the first period to tie up the game.  Senior Ian Murphy had a close shot seconds before the period ended, but the score was left at 1-1.

“After the first period the team started to realize we had a chance [against Medway], and that made us play more aggressively as the game went on,” stated senior and defensive player Connor Engstrom.

Senior assistant captain and goalie Billy Elder made an impressive amount of saves in the second period, only letting in one more goal.  Medway did not score again until the last five minutes of the game, where they scored their third and final goal.

Elder “had a phenomenal game, stopping 42 out of 45 shots,” said Guilmette, “Seeing this many shots in a game and stopping all but three is a big accomplishment.”

The Hillers kicked it into gear the last two minutes, and had several shots on goal.  Although the team could not pull through for a tie or win to improve their 0-4 record, Guilmette described this as the team’s best game this season, and stated, “We had more confident players in this game and were passing better than I have seen so far this year.”

As for improvements, “We can definitely improve on getting more scoring opportunities and getting the puck to the net at all times,” he said.

Guilmette describes his team as “one that can win at any time because of the determination we hold.”  The Hillers will play again at Navin Arena in Marlboro on Wednesday, January 10 against Ashland at 7:30 pm.