Boys hockey team fails to outscore Marquette

Cassie Shaurette

After scoring a goal, Simpson skates back toward his teammates to celebrate. Simpson’s goal gave Homestead the lead for part of the second period. “I wanted to put myself in the best position for my teammates and my team to score those goals,” Simpson said.

Despite the surging energy of the crowd and the cheering of fans, the Homestead boys hockey team fell to Marquette last night with a score of 5-3.

“We gave up a couple of soft goals,” Coach Tony Navarre said of the team’s mistakes during the game. “On our power play goal we made a mistake, which allowed the other team to score.”

Coach Navarre mentioned Cole Simpson and Adam Hobbs, seniors, and Sean Driscoll, junior, as standout players for the game. Driscoll scored a goal in the first period, and Simpson scored two goals that night: one in the first period and one in the second.

“It was really nothing special,” Driscoll said of the goal he scored. “Lots of other guys put me in a position to score, and I got there from my teammates’ hard work.”

It wasn’t all doom and gloom for Homestead, despite the loss. Last night was also senior night for the team, further adding to the energy and excitement that surrounded the evening. “We were more focused and ready to play knowing that it was senior night. The seniors were pumped, and the younger guys wanted to play well for them,” Simpson said.

Coach Navarre added that he felt the team played well last night, and thought they should have won the game. Ultimately, he said the team made too many mistakes to claim a victory. “We’ve got a couple of things we know we need to work on,” Coach Navarre said. “There are some specific things, but overall we played pretty well.”

Like his coach, Driscoll isn’t disheartened by last night’s loss: rather, he believes it will be a motivator for the team going forward. The team is currently holding an 11-6 record, and hopes to add more wins to their total as the season moves along. “I’m excited for our next games against Appleton and USM,” Driscoll said. “This game was more of a stepping stone for our next games where we know we’ll have to bring up our energy.”