The Patriot hockey team wrapped up their season with an 11-5 win over Herndon/South Lakes. The team finished with a 4-5-1 record. Since the team is combined with Gainesville High School, they couldn’t qualify for playoffs, and instead had to play to make the provisional championship. Only the top two combined teams make the provisional championship, and unfortunately,  Patriot/Gainesville was not one of them. While the team’s record shows mediocrity, there were many bright spots on the team.

The team had three players with double digit points: Jacob Wolfrey, Brenden Robinson, and Ben Barrett. Barrett and Wolfrey are juniors and attend Patriot, while Robinson is a freshman at Gainesville. 

I led the team in points with 21. This was 8th in the Northern Virginia School Hockey League (NVSHL). I had 14 goals, which was tied for 4th in the NVSHL with Champe/Lightridge’s Landon Street and Broad Run’s Jacob Leitert. I also had 7 assists. I led the Patrick Division, Patriot/Gainesville’s division, in points and goals. I also finished second in assists in the Patrick Division. The other members of the Patrick division are Battlefield, Kettle Run/Liberty, Fauquier/Highlands,and Flint Hill

My linemate Brenden Robinson finished second in points. As a freshman, he finished with 18 points, which was tied for 10th in the NVSHL with 4 other players. He tied for 5th in the NVSHL in goals with 13. Riverside’s Brayden Hudtloff, Loudoun Valley/Woodgrove’s Will Schneider, and Yorktown’s Jacob Kirshner also had 13 goals. Robinson also won NVSHL Player of the Week for his performance against Fauquier/Highland with 4 goals and 1 assist. Robinson and Wolfrey both worked well together, combining for 8 goals in the final game. 

Ben Barrett was selected as an Assistant Captain as a junior and he lived up to that responsibility. He finished 3rd on the team in points with 15 points, which was tied for 13th in the NVSHL with 5 other players. He had 9 goals which was tied for 9th in the NVSHL with 3 other players. He was a leader on and off the ice. He will most likely take over Captain duties from senior Brady Sullivan.

Patriot Sophomore Jayden So and Gainesville Freshman Declan Dupre rounded out the team’s top 5 in scoring. So recorded 7 points, 2 goals and 5 assists. He served as a great linemate to Barrett. 

Dupre played third line center, behind Wolfrey and Barrett, but he still produced points. He had 4 goals and 2 assists. His ability to make players around him better will surely lead to him being a leader on the team after Barrett and Wolfrey graduate next spring.

The team only had two seniors, Brady Sullivan and Nate Patterson. Sullivan was the Captain of the team. He was a dynamic offensive defenseman, netting 3 goals along with 3 assists. He will be attending Virginia Tech next fall for his first semester in college. Patterson was a great stay-at-home defenseman. Both players were great role models for the team’s young defensive core. 

This year was a development year for the team. With only 2 graduating seniors, the team will remain mostly intact. The team is going to have a much better season next year, as the 12 freshmen on the team will have a year of experience. The team will also have all of their top five scorers returning. So said, “I was definitely disappointed in our performance this year, but I’m confident in the team next year, especially since everybody will have another year of experience.” So also added, “I definitely believe we have a chance to win another Provisional Championship next year.” 

Barrett also had championship hopes, “Before the season, I pictured us at least making it to the championship, but obviously that didn’t happen.” Hopefully the disappointment of this season fuels the team next year, as they’ll be playing for their second Provisional Championship in 3 years.