skip navigation
- EXPIRED -

DeMatha navigates demanding December

By Washington Post AllMetSports : Dillon Mullan and Eric Golden 12.21.16 - BCSH, 12/21/16, 7:45PM EST

Share

Coach Tony MacAulay addresses the DeMatha ice hockey team which will enjoy a well-deserved break after a frantic month of December. (Photo courtesy of Paul Skaife)

By Dillon Mullan and Eric Goldwein December 21 at 12:49 PM 

DeMatha dove into a hectic December schedule and quickly started sinking. The Stags opened a stretch of 11 games in 19 days at a tournament in Western New York and picked up their first three losses of the season by a combined score of 13-2.

Three weeks later, No. 1 DeMatha has come up for air on the back of eight straight wins and heads into winter break undefeated against local competition.

“We came in maybe a little too cocky. We thought we were hot stuff in Maryland, and we go up to New York and these kids are the real deal,” senior captain Ty Brandt said. “We didn’t do nearly as well as expected.”

The jam-packed early-season schedule is designed to help the Stags in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference and Mid-Atlantic Prep Hockey League playoffs, where champions must win three games in a week. DeMatha has not won the MAPHL championship since 2008, and Gonzaga and Landon have split the last seven titles. 

“The schedule forces us to face some adversity and prepares us for the playoffs where there isn’t time to recover,” senior defenseman Teddy Whitehead said. “[Gonzaga and Landon] are the two powerhouses that have run the MAPHL, but we don’t let their past success affect our plans for future success.”

The Stags returned five defenseman from last year and have allowed 18 goals in 16 games outside of their road trip, including wins over Gonzaga and Churchill. After dispatching St. Mary’s Ryken, 10-0 on Tuesday night, DeMatha (15-3-1) begins a span of 16 days without a game.

Last Sunday, the program hosted an alumni game where past players set their expectation for a strong finish following such a promising start.

“The message was more ‘you better win’ than ‘do your best,’” Brandt said. “[The alumni] are proud of us. They’re like, ‘We haven’t won a championship in a long time. You guys better bring it home.’”