Twenty members of Boys Varsity Hockey are participating in a new preseason program hosted by Peak Performance Prep Hockey this fall to prepare and build team chemistry for the upcoming season. The split-season program is not officially affiliated with the school, to comply with NEPSAC rules, but allows the players to practice together before the official start of the season. 

In past years, many players played on club teams from their hometowns. This framework meant that players would have to travel all over New England to attend games, often missing Saturday classes. 

Boys Varsity Hockey Head Coach Michael Doyle argued that the new preseason would be a benefit to the players, saying, “Our students are no longer missing classes and are participating more on campus during weekends.. which is vital to the whole experience of being on a boarding school campus.” 

Because most players are competing on the same team, they will get the chance to play together this fall before the season starts. Player Lachlan Bommer ’25 said, “There’s a lot of new guys this year and having chemistry before the season starts is definitely huge.” This early chemistry will help the team get familiar with each other on and off the ice to gear up for the winter season. 

This year’s preseason will consist of around 25 games and end around Thanksgiving break. The preseason started three weeks ago, with a tournament in Rhode Island. The school’s team went 4-0 in the tournament. After a few weeks off, the team had another game against Choate, which resulted in a loss. 

On September 23, the team played Housatonic Valley Regional High School in its first home game. Bommer said that although Hotchkiss ended up with a loss, “we dominated play...but just couldn’t score goals when we needed to.” The team, however, has many more games on the horizon. 

Last season, the team had a losing record, which players hope to change this year. This year the team has multiple new hockey players who will contribute their skills to the team. Bommer ‘25 said that the new preseason program will allow our Boys Varsity Hockey players to “integrate in both the Hotchkiss community and hockey team.” 

Coach Doyle said that he expects the team “to improve on where we were last year.” The team’s ultimate goal is to win the New England Championship.