The Oswego Hockey Club (OHC) has been thriving throughout their 2023-2024 season, but they have not been short of challenges along the way.
OHC members are currently students at the following high schools: Oswego, Oswego East, West Aurora, and Yorkville.
According to OH senior Jimmy Fitzgerald, who plays left wing, the OHC has faced many injuries throughout their games, which has turned into a giant roadblock for the team.
With big games still coming up, multiple injuries have had an impact on the team and their performances, including the recent Thanksgiving performance that took place in late November.
“We face[d] our biggest challenge of the season after having four players injured in our game -something I have never seen before in my 23 years of coaching. “[W]e head into our Thanksgiving tournament a little shorthanded,” said Jeff Smith, the OHC head coach for the Varsity Team.
However, the team had multiple players who stepped up to the challenge and joined the Varsity team for their tournament.
“We [brought] junior varsity players up to help fill the void. A great opportunity for some younger players to step up,” Smith said.
Earlier in their season, the OHC scored a massive win against multiple different teams from a variety of states, such as Tennessee and Alabama, in the Lexington Stable Classic Tournament that took place in early November.
“Kentucky was a great experience for the team, we went into the tournament with no idea how we would play and we ended up sweeping the whole thing. It was very rewarding being able to take home the gold medal,” said one of the team’s goalies, OH senior Ryder Lindahl.
Although members of OHC come from different schools, the team has great relationships with one another, which ultimately helps them succeed in each of their games.
“Hockey, like any team sport, requires everybody to play together and for each other to have a chance to be successful. Figuring out how to motivate everyone to be the best they can be is one of the greatest challenges as a coach,” Smith said.
Winning the tournament was a highlight of the OHC season, however, multiple more games are coming up throughout the year and even into 2024 as well.
“[T]he fall hockey season runs from the end of August into February,” Smith said. You can support the team in their next game against the Maine Hockey Association at All Seasons Ice Rink on Friday, Dec 8th.
Hi, my name is Allison and this is my first year in Digital Journalism. I am in multiple clubs such as BIONIC, Commotion, and multiple different honor societies! I am so excited to be a new member on the 42Fifty team.
Such a good article and angle, I love that we finally have a story on hockey!