Missoula hockey players who don’t have the flexibility to travel are in luck! Missoula is one of the only places in Montana that has a house club team. Missoula’s house Red team played against another house team, Grey, in the playoffs on Monday,  February 24th. Many Hellgate students are on the red team and are enojoying evey momenet they have on the ice.

     On Monday February 24, the Red team battled against the Grey team in the clubhouse playoffs, and even though the Red team did not take home the win, they couldn’t have been happier to be out on the ice. Aside from the playoffs, it was also senior night. Max Jakob, a senior on the Red team and at Hellgate, has played on the house hockey team for 2 years and has enjoyed the team aspect of hockey..

     “The team today showed great effort and attitude, and they had a lot of fun. They played with spirit,” said coach Jon Ledyard regarding his team’s performance. Jon thought that obviously they could have won in order to improve, but aside from the big goal, more shots on the net would have been great, along with more passing, but all and all he thinks that they played a great game. Jon is a hockey player himself, has been coaching house hockey for 2 years now, and loves it.

     “We tried our hardest and went out with a smile on our face, and that’s all that matters,” said player Chris Ledyard. He definitely thinks that his team could have done better, as there’s always room for improvement, but when it comes down to it, Ledyardthinks that if you give it all you got and go on the rink and come off the rink with a smile on your face then you played a solid game of hockey.

     “I could have tightened my skates,” Jakob said. Many house hockey players don’t take the game as seriously as someone who plays varsity travel, so the slightest thing like tightening your skates could be something that greatly affects how you played. 

    Knowing that these teams are all based out of the same high schools means players go to school with each other, and could potentially have a friend on the other team. “I would much rather play against someone I don’t know so then I can hate them,” said Ledyard, as he feels like it’s much easier to play against someone you don’t know than someone you do. Jakob agreed with this to an extent, “I know other people on the team, and I don’t hate them. The people I don’t know, I hate. It makes the game easier.” These boys came to the conclusion that if you don’t know them, you can check them and go as hard as you want with them because chances are, you probably won’t see them again, and you don’t get that opportunity with clubhouse hockey.

     All and all, these boys enjoy their time on the ice, and couldn’t be happier to show up to the rink to enjoy hockey with their friends and coaches. They show up and are always ready to put their best effort forward, and have a smile on their faces when the times get hard. Until next season for the Red team.