For the second year in a row, the Indian Mountain varsity hockey team competed in Rumsey Hall’s invitational Pavek Cup on Saturday, February 27 and Sunday, February  28. The Pavek Cup began in 1976 and was named by Charlie Pavek, then the Athletics Director, for his wife. With Charlie’s passing in 1987, the tournament has continued on in the Pavek name. “The Pavek Cup is a celebration of teamwork, friendship and sportsmanship. It is also a celebration of the Paveks and people like them who do so much to help young people find their place.” The other schools invited this year included Upland Country Day School, the Wallingford Hawks Youth Hockey Organization, and Cardigan Mountain.

The first game for the Falcons took place at 9:00 am on Saturday morning versus host, Rumsey Hall. From the drop of the puck to the final buzzer, both teams let loose with fast-paced, aggressive play. After three full periods of hockey, neither team had found the back of the net and the game ended in a scoreless tie. The second game of the day was against Upland Country Day School, which had proven to be a powerful shooting team with several highly-talented pointmen. After falling to a 2-0 deficit early in the game, IMS battled back to be within one goal–a score of 3-2 with a minute and a half left on the clock. A final opportunity led to a sprawling scrum in Upland’s crease from which ninth grader Blake Haberstock pulled the puck and found the back of the net. The game ended in a 3-3 tie.

Arriving for the second day of the tournament, the Falcons started the morning with the Wallingford Hawks. Again, IMS fell into a hole early and had to battle back from a 2-1 deficit. They were ultimately able to do so and fought back in the final minutes to eek out a 3-2 win. With the rest of the morning off, the day was set for one final game versus Cardigan. With four points heading into that game, IMS was in the lead just one point ahead of host, Rumsey Hall. Unfortunately, the Cardigan game ended up being the toughest showing of the tournament and saw the Falcons falling in a 7-1 decision.

When the dust settled and the points were tallied, Rumsey had won and IMS was tied for second place with Cardigan. Because IMS had lost to Cardigan, the Falcons took third place overall. This was ultimately a successful weekend and a fantastic way to end the varsity hockey season. While there were certainly frustrations shared among members of the team following the loss to Cardigan, they also gained a lot from the experience. The team is already looking forward to next year’s tournament!