Tension Breaks for the howard cup

By Liam Day

For the second year in a row, Glenelg took on Marriotts Ridge for the Ice Hockey County Championship. The two teams have dominated the county for years, with the most championships in the last 10 years being between the two rival schools. However, this years result took a surprising turn from 2018 as the undefeated Marriotts Ridge, this time, came in as the favorite to win.

​Glenelg's only two losses of this season before the  championship were to the rivaled Mustangs. Before the game, Senior Colby Hough stressed that, “We need to start early against these guys, not dig ourselves out of a hole the entire game.” Glenelg did exactly that, going up 1-0 in the first period after a goal by Kevin Lyons. The Gladiators stellar defense remained superior throughout the game, but so did the Mustangs. The score held up through the second period and Team Captain, Kevin Lyons, shared the team’s game plan to keep the Mustangs at such a low score, “Hit hard, we’re stronger than them. They put up 11 goals on us this season.  we know we have to come out and be physical.” Glenelg’s brutal physicality kept the Ridge scoreless until late in the third period.


Tension had been building throughout the game as the favored Mustangs struggled to find the back of the net. Eventually, tension broke, as the two teams got into a skirmish that resulted in two penalties against Glenelg, sending David Kelly and Tommy Tracy to the box. This left Marriotts Ridge with a five on three advantage in the final minute of the game. Kelly complained after the game that, “It was a terrible call. We were body to body all game and they didn't like it.” The Mustangs capitalized, scoring the game-tying goal with 21 seconds left in regulation and later the winning the game in overtime.


All the Gladiators can do after this game is look to the future. One future duo to look forward to is David Kelly and his brother, Greg, who is projected to take the ice in the starting lineup with his brother. Kelly said that, “It's pretty cool to be playing out here with him next year. We never had the chance to play together when we were younger, but we always knew it would happen.” Hopefully Glenelg's chemistry can make up the severe loss of Kevin Lyons, Goalie Matt Nagle and many important seniors. But they look only with optimism as new Seniors to step up and take their place.