Earlier this month, the Boston Latin School boys’ and girls’ hockey teams had an extraordinary opportunity to play against Boston Latin Academy  at Fenway Park in the Frozen Fenway High School Scrimmages. The girls’ varsity hockey team fought hard, but took a loss to BLA by a final score of 1-5. A few days later, the boys’ varsity hockey team defeated BLA 3-1.

This season, the girls are hoping to make it to the State tournament. With a smaller team composed largely of younger players, the girls’ hockey team is working to make sure everyone is pumped up and ready to fight. The girls have been able to bounce back from minor injuries, illnesses and losses alike to become stronger as a team.

Similarly, the boys’ varsity hockey team is hoping to improve this season. Their goal is to make it to States as well, where they hope to compete for both a league and State championship.

Boys’ varsity Coach Frank Woods states, “Collectively, the team needs to have more consistency game in and game out. We have made some adjustments to the lineup, and the boys have been working hard in practice. We’re hoping to see some improvement as we enter the second half of the season.”

On January 10, during the Frozen Fenway match between BLS and BLA, the girls were naturally excited to play at Fenway Park. Although the crowd turnout was underwhelming, the experience was still surreal.

From the beginning of the girls’ game, the team decided to leave all they had on the ice. There was a hard offensive drive by Ava Enright (III); though it did not end up as a goal, it drew enthusiasm from the crowd, and supporters were passionately cheering their teams on.

BLA scored the first goal, but Aoife Bourke (IV) quickly evened it with an assist from Captain Rynne Daily (I) and Sylvie Hove (III).

Sadly, even with the team’s efforts, they were not able to score another goal, with the final score called 5-1 in BLA’s favor. Daily reflects, “The game at Fenway was a really big opportunity for everyone. Although it didn’t necessarily go our way, the experience was more than enough.” The girls may have lost their game, but there is no doubt that the team had a pleasant experience playing at Fenway.

The BLS vs. BLA Boys Frozen Fenway Match took place on January 13. The crowd turnout for the boys was impressive, since their game was on a Friday night.

Captain Richard Bova (I) scored the first goal just a few minutes into the game with an assist from Captain Thomas Harnan (I). It took some time before the score changed, but when it finally did, it was in favor of BLS. This time, it was Tristan Spiess (III) who scored, with an assist from James Fitzgerald (I). Despite their lead, BLS still had to fight to win; BLA scored a few minutes later, leaving the team on their toes.

Bova recalls, “Going into the Fenway game, as a team, winning was the top priority, but we also wanted to soak in the experience and have fun.”

Coach Woods mentions that after BLA’s goal, “freshman goalie Oliver Murphy made a big save late in the game to preserve the lead.” After that, Fitzgerald went on to score the last goal of the game with under two minutes left.

In their respective games, both teams gained memorable experiences playing at Fenway Park. Although the girls’ hockey team lost to BLA, they were able to reflect upon the experience. While the boys’ hockey team won their game, they were also able to assess their performance to improve for the rest of their season.