The Ludlow Lions Varsity Hockey Team failed to make the playoffs this year and wraps up their season with a win against West Springfield with a score of 2-0.

Going into the season, the boys expected to perform poorly due to having so many underclassmen. The team is made up of nine freshmen, seven sophomores, one junior, and four seniors.

Luckily for the hockey team, the freshmen showed a strong game with five of the nine getting their first Varsity goals, including Brennan Madru, Steven Senerchia, Aiden McBride, Logan Cognac, and Max Cocchi. More players to get there first varsity goal include Nick Dobek, Ryan Martin, Brendan Nally.

“I remember getting my first goal. It felt that my hockey career has just started and it was a beginning to a new chapter in my hockey career,” says Madru. “I placed the puck in the five-hole and it went in. I was so happy, especially because I have had two other goals put in the net and have them taken away by the refs.”

Freshmen Cognac, Cocchi, and senior David Modzelewski all received their first career hat tricks.

“Getting a hat trick was a great feeling and want to get more in the future,” says Cocchi. “I think we exceeded expectations and I met a great group of kids is the process. It was a roller coaster ride but we found a way to win.”

Although they did not score a goal, freshmen Michael Medina, as well as sophomores Collin Hess and Tj Modzelewski all received an assist this season. Cole Moutinho received two.

The Lions won games against Agawam twice, Merrimack, Westfield, Tactonic, and West Springfield.

“The season went very well,” says Captain Devin Senerchia, senior. “We may not have accomplished our goal of making playoffs, but the team played very well and competed every single game.”

Junior Goalie Alex Will earned his first goalie shut-out at the Westfield game after he had 13 shots on the net.

“I feel like this season was one where we had a lot of fun. We may have not won a lot, but we were able to make a push for playoffs at the end which was exciting. The group of guys we had on the team made it exciting every day to be with them,” says Captain David Modzelewski, senior. “As for my hat trick, that’ll definitely be something I will remember forever.”

For the first time in six years, the boys even had a deciding game to make it or break it for them to make it into Western Mass. The boys needed to win by 2 points against Longmeadow on Sat. Feb. 20. Sadly for the Lions, they lost 5-2 and their chances of Western Mass were knocked out.

“This year the team came close once again. We actually finished tied for 4th place with Westfield this time. However, they have since done away with play in games and Westfield was rewarded the tournament seed due to a better record on games played outside of our league. That is a tough one for us to take as we just beat them a week ago, when they were supposed to be playing their best hockey of the season. We were also playing our most quality hockey of the season as were in the end stretch where we won 4 of our last 5 games,” says Head Coach Paul Rivest. “As far as the team is concerned, this has been my favorite team to coach in many years. Despite being very young and usually at a huge physical disadvantage, the boys showed up every day to practice, worked hard, and went out and did their job every game.”

After the Westside game, Ludlow ends tied for fourth place in the Berry League with Westfield, but did not qualify for the Western Massachusetts Division III Tournament.

The team had also suffered from a shortage of players from vacations, grades, and injuries.

All in all, the boys complete their season with a 6-13-1 record, as they say goodbye to their Seniors Devin Senerchia, David Modzelewski, Jake Murphy, and Hunter Schinabeck. The Lions look to come back next year with their younger players and make it into Western Mass.

“I am very proud to have been the coach of LHS hockey this year. I love my team,” says Rivest.