by Roger Wistar

The boys varsity hockey team put together a complete takedown of perennial power Salisbury to notch its third win of the season with a 7-1 victory on Dec. 5.

Quinn Carlisle '19 led the way for the Bearcats (3-0), who have beaten the Knights and Gunnery in their first three games to put the rest of the New England hockey world on notice.

"We had great goaltending, excellent team defense, and I thought we worked really hard in the offensive zone," said head coach Mike Traggio. "All around, a very positive day for Hotchkiss!"

And much credit must be given to goalie Henry Wilder '20, who surrendered his first goal of the season in the second period but nevertheless turned away 37 other shots to ice the win.

Also scoring for Hotchkiss were Jake Thomas '19, Jordan Ehrensperger '19, Gavin Puskar '20, and Alexander Mozian '19 in a comprehensive team effort that saw five players tally assists, led by Nick Traggio '20 with two.

From the opening face-off, the Bearcats showed that they would not be intimidated, and Carlisle put a goal on the board for the home team less than a minute into the contest, knocking home a rebound in front of the net for an early 1-0 lead.

For the remainder of the period, Salisbury seemed to control much of the possession, but Hotchkiss battled to keep their advantage heading into intermission.

The second period would see the Bearcats stretch their lead with two early goals. Ehrensperger received a pass from Puskar right in front of the net and buried it for a 2-0 lead. Less than a minute later, Thomas tripled the advantage with a long fluttering shot from the blue line.

Both teams had golden opportunities late in the period, as first Hotchkiss and then Salisbury were handed two-man advantages. Neither team was able to convert on their 5-on-3 power plays and Hotchkiss went into the final period with a 3-0 lead.

The Knights came out of the last break with renewed passion, and capitalized on a Hotchkiss penalty to notch their first goal of the game at 14:23 on a rebound shot in front of the net. But Hotchkiss blunted the visitor's momentum and restored the three-goal difference with a goal by Puskar at 6:35.

Wilder earned thunderous applause from the packed student section midway through the period when he made a diving save to his right to stop a point-blank rebound shot by Salisbury.

The Bearcats added three more goals late in the period, with a pair by Carlisle sandwiched around a goal by Mozian, who also tallied an assist in the barrage.

Hotchkiss will play a night game on Saturday against Lawrenceville at 7:00 p.m. in Schmidt, and then will head to Milton the following week for the annual Flood-Marr tournament.