As the 2022-2023 Elder Hockey season wraps up, it’s a team worth taking a look at due to senior leadership and young talent rising in years to come.

They finish up the regular-season with a record of 4-16-3. On paper, that may sound like a bit of an unsuccessful season; however, some of the senior leaders that I interviewed felt differently. Senior forward, Chad Meyer, says that, “A lot of the teams that we would play against last year didn’t have teams this year due to the lack of players, so we had to schedule harder teams all year. Even though we played a tougher schedule this year and lost more games, we did a really good job of keeping games close and it only helped us improve.”

 Greg “Woody” Carlton feels the same way as Chad as he tells me, “We had a much harder schedule than we’ve had in a while, and we’re fighting off opponents a lot better than many thought we could. For a program that faced destruction this year, we’ve done well in my opinion and had a lot of fun while doing it.”

  To me, this doesn’t sound like an unsuccessful season one bit. To achieve higher than expectations and continue to have fun while doing it, that’s what Elder Hockey or Elder athletics are all about.

  The stick and puck Panthers begin their state tournament run on February 18th where it has already been decided and set in place that they will take on the Bombers of Saint Xavier: an extremely strong team. Some Elder Hockey teams in the past may have been nervous or intimidated by this challenge, but this squad seems up to the challenge ready to go at them. Senior Captain Charlie Hafner says that “They put their pads on just the same way that we do. We can beat ‘em, let’s just take it to ‘em.”

   There’s just no pressure on these guys. They have nothing to lose, and they’re ready for anyone that comes at them.

   With the imminent graduation in the spring, they lose lots of senior leadership losing 9 seniors. Losing this many guys automatically shifts the focus to what the future holds for Elder Hockey with younger guys.

   Chad Meyer tells me, “There are a bunch of sophomores that are looking good, so they could be huge for this team next year or in two years if they continue working.”

   Greg Carlton piggy-backed right off of this stating, “John Lutz ’25 and Owen “OG” Horvath ’24 are definitely in for big years as forwards.”

   One thing that these senior leaders have established over the course of their four years is the presence of the weightroom during their season and offseason. Speaking with “Carl” he told me that one of his biggest goals last year working alongside Andrew Onorato and Charlie James was getting these young guys in the weightroom. Aside from the physical gains that the weight room has to offer, the comradery built around it was just as important. Being in there with your teammates getting some work helps fuel the togetherness that Elder athletics works so hard to secure.

   We thank the seniors for all of the work they have put in over their four years of participating in Elder Hockey. Your hard-work and leadership does not go unnoticed, and you have all made the program a better place by your effort and dedication.