For a night, the General Hawks hockey team wore their mission on their jerseys.
On their way to a 7-0 win over Bishop Brady-Merrimack Valley, the General Hawks wore special sweaters. All white with green logos, stripes and typography. Above the number, where a nameplate would go, each one read “#StickItToStigma.”
For senior captain Fin Murphy, who helped lead his team to victory, seeing the community show up to represent and benefit Connor’s Climb, a non-profit providing suicide prevention education, was a double win.
“It was such a big success last year that we wanted to do it again this year,” Murphy said. “Really, just spread the message of mental health is really important.”
Connor’s Climb is named after Connor Ball, a 14-year-old Exeter boy who died by suicide in October of 2011.
The special occasion gave the John Stark-Hopkinton-Hillsboro-Deering General Hawks a little extra motivation to come out strong against a Division II opponent.
The team had seven players get on the scoresheet in front of a packed home crowd Tuesday night.
The team improved to a 5-1 record after the win and are now sitting right under Berlin-Gorham in Division III. The General Hawks outshot their opponents 48-9. Head Coach Thomas Zervos loved to see it.
Senior forward Kip Hedquist scored twice and assisted on two goals to lead the team. Sophomore forward Finn Travers assisted on three goals before scoring the last one of the night. Junior forward Ryan Andrews scored two of his own. Senior defenseman Tad Stokes and Fin Murphy both scored one, while freshman defender Will Racine also notched an assist.
Coach Zervos worked as an assistant under long-tenured coach Denis Kolehmainen and has tried to carry over his legacy of success.
Zervos is maximizing the senior and junior-heavy team’s potential while developing the younger players.
“I think the combination of the underclassmen with the upperclassmen, and pushing the envelope of competition in our lineup is really what’s helped us this year,” Zervos said.
Coming off a loss to Berlin-Gorham last week, the team understands what it needs to do to compete for a championship.
Despite leading the whole game, the General Hawks committed five penalties, for interference, roughing and hooking.
Zervos, overall, was happy to see his team win. They’ll work to improve in certain areas, but he believes they’re on the right path.
Most importantly, he’s proud of why they played.
“I think it’s an awesome cause to play for and that’s really what I’m more proud of,” Zervos said about playing for Connor’s Climb.