To start the week, the Silver Lake boys’ hockey team sat at 6-9-3 and for most teams, that would mean they would have to win out the rest of their season to make the playoffs. However, the pressure is off this time for the Lakers as they already earned their playoff spot last week.
The Lakers clinched a playoff spot last week as they shellacked Cardinal Spellman, 13-3, on Monday, Feb. 5. The win gave them a spot in the playoffs via the Sullivan Rule. This rule states that if a team has a .500 or better record against teams in their division or lower, then they will get into the playoffs. This rule also helped the Lakers to a playoff appearance last season, despite the team not enjoying as much success as a whole back then.
Since the Lakers are in Division 3 for hockey–the lowest division–they earned the spot since they were 5-3-1 against teams in their division to start the week. The non-league games have not been an issue for the Lakers, it’s just that they were 2-7-2 against Patriot League competition, most of which features Division 2 teams. If this is any indication, then the Lakers are in a pretty good spot as they gear up for the tournament.
After all, they did dominate Spellman and got freshman Gavin Belliveau his first career varsity win in net. Ryan Sullivan had a team-high three goals while Nick Solari, Bobby Guilford and Dave Marani each chipped in two goals apiece. The other goals of the game went to Alex Heffernan, Andrew Johnson, Sean McNeilly and John Evans. Needless to say, it was the most amount of goals the Lakers have put up this season.
The Lakers next game is a good test for them because they are set to face Sacred Heart of Kingston, a fellow Division 3 team who will likely make it to the playoffs. That one is set for Saturday, Feb. 17 (5:00 p.m. start time).