On Tuesday, Feb. 4, the Spartans hosted a highly anticipated rematch against the Highland Park-Central Scots at Drake Arena. The crowd was electric, and both sections were packed. This game was preceded by two Spartan wins against the Scots, one in which the Spartans advanced in the 2024 section playoffs due to a highly controversial bar-down goal by senior Ethan Peltier, which ended the Scots’s 2024 season. This rivalry game had players in high tension, causing very aggressive play by both teams.
The Scots scored at the 19-second mark in the first period, setting the score 0-1. However, this didn’t phase the Spartans. The Spartan’s forward, sophomore Brady Glenn, with an assist from seniors Ethan Peltier and Liam Huddleston, scored a goal just three minutes later, tying the game 1-1. This goal was quickly followed by a goal just a minute later from forward senior Preston Kareliz, assisted by Peter Hoppe, putting the Spartans up with a score of 2-1.
As the second period began, both teams began to play with even more aggression, with penalties being called left and right. Control of the game slowly turned from the Spartans to the Scots, as the former’s relentless defense kept the Spartans from having possession of the puck. Eventually, 13 minutes into the second period, Highland scored on a power play, tying the score at 2-2.
In the third period, fans from both schools began to chant. The Spartans student section dressed in the theme “White-out” in stark contrast to Highland-Central’s “Black-out” theme. The energy escalated, and the air was electric as both teams battled for the win.
Although the possession in the first two periods was one-team-dominated, the possession in the third period was equally split. Neither team had the puck for long before the opposite team’s defense shut it down and took it back. After 10-and-a-half anxious minutes in the third, Spartan’s forward Brady Glenn took home his second goal of the night, assisted again by seniors Ethan Peltier and Liam Huddleston, putting the Spartans ahead 3-2.
The Spartan fan section went wild, shaking the plexiglass and screaming as Brady Glenn and the other hockey players jumped on the boards by the SPA student’s section.
With a minute to go, the Scots decided to pull their goalie to give their offensive players an advantage over the Spartan defenders. This play allows six players on the floor to play offense in contrast to the standard five, with the price of having no goalie in the net. As the Scots battled for a goal to send the game to overtime, one of the Spartan defenders, Miles Kormann, got possession of the puck and took a shot from the other side of the rink.
With no goalie to reroute the puck, the shot from the other goal slowly slid from one side of the ice to the other. The crowd sat silent, anticipating to see if the Spartans would gain a two-goal lead. The puck slid into the goal, and the Spartan fan section erupted with screams and cheering.
With 45 seconds left and a two-point deficit, the Scots began again by pulling their goalie to give their offense a chance to score the two goals needed for overtime. With 15 seconds left to go, the Scots scored another goal to make the score 4-3. As the clock ran out, the Spartan fan section erupted into cheers as the Spartans took yet another close win against the Scots.
After a loss at home on Feb. 6, the Spartans play their next game against Tartan Senior High School at Tartan Arena on Feb. 11 at 7 p.m.
