By Katie Bena & Jason Benedek, staff writers
Coming off of a record of 4-6 last year, and 2-8 from the year before, the River Hill Ice Hawks are looking to make major improvements for their upcoming season. Led by captains Jack Millstein and Toni Smith, the team is looking for not only a winning record, but for a deep playoff run, and potentially a county championship.
The Ice Hawks are full of veteran seniors (Jack Millstein, Payton Howell, Toni Smith), and juniors (Chris D’Antonio, Sabry Roy, Iain Snoddy, Eric Roth, Geena Lin, Evelyn Dzubak and Jason Benedek) with tons of experience in Howard County ice hockey. The team lost no seniors from last year, meaning they will keep the same roster as they did before but with an addition of some new freshmen.
The players could barely wait to lace up the skates again and hop on the ice. Chris D’Antonio is excited to go out and have fun. “I’m just excited to put some pucks in the net and throw my body around.” Jack Millstein explained that he is looking forward to “seeing how far our Varsity team goes this season.” The team had their first game October 27, 2021 and are eagerly anticipating their upcoming games.
Millstein further elaborates on his excitement for the season when he says, “We have a lot of talent on both offense and defense. We just have to figure out how to utilize that talent against strong teams like Marriotts Ridge. But with a tight team like ours, I think anything is possible this season.” The 11 game schedule will be a complete grind for the team. However, sophomore Andrew Handleman is confident as ever, “It should be fun to beat Glenelg this year.”
When looking back at his time playing for the hockey team, Millstein says, “I’ve had an amazing time on the River Hill hockey team. Since my freshman year I’ve never not enjoyed a season, even when we weren’t as successful as we hoped.” In addition senior Leila Schmidt, a fan of the team, said, “I enjoy supporting the team.” She also explained, “I would like to see more students at the games.” To find out more about the River Hill hockey team and to view their schedule, see the link below: