As February approaches, Lancer fans look forward to the heart of the basketball season, especially with both the girls and boys teams having new-found success. However, those fans are should take notice of the most successful Lancer squad this winter season, The Frederick County Ice Hockey team. Composed of players from most schools in the county including Linganore, this team has a record of 7-1 this season and is plowing through their competition. The team has an outstanding plus 41 score differential through only eight games.

Senior defenseman Nick Arndt-Kohlway feels like it’s a nice change of pace after inconsistent seasons in the past.

“We’ve been able to hold our own pretty well this year,” he said.

Kohlway was quick to talk about the team’s biggest strength: “Our scoring. All we seem to do is put the puck in the net.” The team’s closest win was still a 3-0 shutout of Middletown in November.

Kohlway also said that even though the team is split by school, their chemistry is not lacking. “Most of us play on the same travel team, so we know each other pretty well. We also run most of the same systems as those travel teams which helps.”

With an abundance of underclassmen, however, there are challenges. “Some of the younger kids have a bit of trouble… They seem to be a little off, but they’ve been able to keep up.”

Kohlway highlighted a couple of players that have been strong contributors to the success. He credited forwards Dom Norris from Frederick High, Collin Asmonga from Tuscarora, and Colin Maggi and Justin Milburn from Linganore for their outstanding offensive abilities. On defense, the standout player is Jacob Katapol from Frederick.

Science teacher and Ice Hockey Liaison Mrs. Beth Ericsson is more than enthusiastic about the team’s ability to perform. “The team play is amazing. They really are a phenomenal team, and are a lot of fun to watch.”

Last year, the team went 2-8-2 and struggled throughout, but Ericsson sees a lot of improvement. “We were in a co-op, and there was a lack of team play. They weren’t good at playing together, but this year… I think they’re more experienced hockey players.”

Ericsson is also very confident in the team’s ability to perform in the postseason. “I think they can go far… I think they could win states. They’ve got the potential and they look really good.”

Their only loss was to Urbana in their first game with a score of 6-1, but their most recent game against Urbana on January 14 ended in 9-0 rout of the Hawks.

The last game of the season is Friday, January 30 at Skate Frederick.