By Will Schubert

The majority of Arundel high’s student body is unaware that Arundel has a very talented Ice Hockey team. Because of this, most of the games have little to no student section. The home ice for the Wildcats is at the Piney Orchard Ice rink. The team competes in the MSHL (Maryland Student Hockey League).

The Arundel Ice Hockey team looks to make a run in the state playoffs this year after a first round exit last season. The team finished 6-4 in the regular season last year and lost to South River, who finished the regular season 8-1-1, by a score of 8-2 despite beating them 2-1 during the regular season.

The Wildcats return a fairly stacked roster, only losing three seniors. The Ice Cats return last season’s point leader junior captain Josh Phelps (34 pts, 19 goals, and 15 assists). Along with Phelps, the team’s top four point leaders are all returning: Matthew Hagemann (23 points, 10 goals, and 13 assists), Patrick Sweeney (19 points, 9 goals, 10 assists) and Andrew Jones (17 points, 6 goals, 11 assists).

The Wildcats have an optimistic outlook in the locker room prior to their first game. When asked about the upcoming season, senior assistant captain Andrew Jones believes “This will be the best year out of the four years I’ve played.” However, The Cats did lose their starting goalie, Matt Robinson, as well as last year’s captain Nick Gall.

The team’s first game will be in late October. The official schedule has not been posted yet but the team has already begun practicing.