Boys’ hockey: General Hawks three-school cooperative team find ways to win, beat Timberlane, 6-2
Published: 01-16-2025 9:50 PM |
Hopkinton junior forward Kip Hedquist dished a perfect pass to the right wing for Hillsboro-Deering senior forward Ryan Podsadowski, who juked Timberlane’s goalie and completed his hat trick.
The combined team that includes Hopkinton, John Stark and two players from Hillsboro-Deering high schools – known by parents as the Generals Hawks – was in the midst of an up-and-down season, with a 2-3-1 record heading into the game. But they thumped a winless Timberlane (0-8-0) team, 6-2, by the final whistle.
“I think the boys definitely have the championship team this year. So I think that we want to keep a positive mindset, not just throughout our line but the entire team, for sure,” Podsadowski said post-game. “So I think if we just keep that positive mindset, working in practice, even off the ice, like film, just positive everything – and then the practice, the hard work.”
Head coach Denis Kolehmainen gave John Stark sophomore goalie Charlie Pierce his first varsity start for Wednesday night’s action at New England College’s Lee Clement Arena. Pierce saved eight shots and allowed two goals in his debut while his Hillsboro-Deering and Hopkinton teammates took charge of the offense.
For most teams, practice and building chemistry outside of athletics are simple because teammates share the same classrooms. However, it looks slightly different for this three-school combination team.
“Honestly, I think it’s learning on the ice, just talking to each other. Even in the locker room before the game, learning the way that people play and learning what their skills are so that you can build off their skills, they can build off yours and even their weaknesses,” Podsadowski said. “You can help each other build up the weaknesses, so I think all around, it’s a pretty decent line right there with the chemistry that we already have built.”
The on-ice performance of the General Hawks throughout the season shows how student-athletes from separate communities can work together toward a common goal.
To build that on-ice chemistry, Kolehmainen said that the General Hawks are implementing film sessions to improve their performance and smooth out details while figuring out which lines work best together.
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More than anything, playing together builds bonds outside of the rink.
“That’s probably one of the harder things to do, especially with the three, but they get along really well. They’ll have their spaghetti parties; they went over to one of the coach’s houses and they were skating on a rink and stuff like that,” Kolehmainen said. “Yesterday, we had our first kind of film review of, ‘This is what we’re doing good; this is what we’re not you’re doing so well.’ So they can see, and it’s not like we’re trying to show blame.”
Wednesday’s game was not entirely comfortable for the Stark-Hopkinton/H-D boys. After a few roughing penalties and a separate minor for too many men on the ice, the General Hawks were only ahead by one goal by the end of the second period despite outshooting the Owls, 27-8.
In the third period, JSHHD stepped on the gas and did not let up. Hedquist scored his second goal of the night 16 seconds into the period, assisted by Podsadowski. Shortly afterward, Podsadowski completed his hat trick and snuck in a fourth goal late in the game, all assisted by two Hopkinton teammates, Hedquist and sophomore Owen Buss.
“It definitely wasn’t just me,” Podsadowski said. “It was pretty much all around that line effort there. So I think I did pretty decent. But I think the boys around me played pretty good, too.”
The relatively young squad wants to compete in the playoffs and make a run for the Division III championship this year.
“This is a good game for us; it got us back up to .500. Now we just look forward to trying to position ourselves trying to make the playoffs, and that’s our goal, this year, is make the playoffs. And it’s anyone’s ballgame after that,” Kolehmainen said.
The General Hawks’ next game is at Pembroke-Campbell on Friday night.
Alexander Rapp can be reached at arapp@cmonitor.com.