By Sloane Walsh ‘25 and Megan Sladish ‘25
On the night of Saturday, February 11, the Girls Varsity Hockey team put on the ultimate showdown of students versus the faculty. This game was a fundraiser for the Luke Roux Memorial Fund, which works to support the memory of Luke Roux, who was an accomplished athlete, scholar, and musician. Luke Roux was tragically killed in a car accident when a drunk driver ran a red light and crashed into his car. The foundation works to show kindness and carry on Luke’s legacy of hope, love, and faith, all while raising money for local charities supporting Luke’s favorite hobbies and sports. Some of these organizations include Farmington Valley Generals Hockey, Farmington Little League, West Hartford Youth Hockey, as well as giving support to disc golf in Connecticut, Autism awareness, and organizations committed to understanding and preventing dangerous driving.
The hockey game started right at 8 pm with a rowdy crowd and two powerhouse teams ready to get going. The ref of the game, standing tall, was Alex Johnson ‘23. The game started off strong with Mrs. Hagmasi in net for the faculty and Emily Krauss ‘24 in net for the Girls Varsity Hockey team. The first to score was Bea Flynn ‘24, putting the girls up 1-0. Shortly after, the faculty put the puck in the net to make the score even at 1-1. GVH then took the lead once again, scoring two goals and making it 3-1. Sofia Cuozzo ‘25 and Megan Sladish ‘25 scored these goals. However, GVH could not hold on to the lead, letting the faculty score two goals to make it even by the end of the 1st half. Mr. Hollinger and Coach Allen’s wife, Emily, scored these goals. Leaving the first half, the score was 3-3.
For a memorable halftime show, two teams of students came on the ice to play an exciting game of broomball. Most of these students were people from the crowd with little experience on the ice! The game lasted 10 minutes and ended in a hard-fought 0-0 tie. Ashleen Hay ‘23 states, “The game was high intensity and a dangerous battle full of fun.” From an outsider’s perspective, it was super fun watching everyone slip and slide around during the game, ultimately ending up on their butts. When one person had the ball, thirty people would run after them. Ryan Ryu ‘25, a competitor in broomball, compared the game to a zombie world with people running around having no clue what they were doing.
The second half of the hockey game started shortly after the broomball game ended. The crowd that played broomball got off the ice and back into the stands to continue cheering. For the second half, Mrs Hagmasi remained in net for the faculty while Emma Eschweiler ‘24 went in net for GVH. A few minutes into the second half, the faculty was the first to score, putting the puck in the net. Mr. Hunt scored the goal and got a nice breakaway to make it 4-3, faculty. The girls, although down a goal, did not stop working. Izzy Junkin ‘25 soon put the puck in the back of the net, not once but twice! The girls still didn’t let up with Bea Flynn ‘24 adding another goal to the scoreboard, leading the game 6-4. The girls could not hold onto the lead when Coach Allen of the GVH team scored two goals for the faculty, tying the game up! Faculty continued to lay the hammer down, scoring two more goals to end the game, making it 8-6. Mr. Burnham scored the 7th goal for the faculty, and Mr. Hunt scored the empty netter at the end.
To end this game once and for all, the losers, GVH, had to get up in front of the whole school and sing the first few lines of the school hymn. Reluctantly, the girls went up to the podium at advisor lunch to let the school hear their beautiful singing voices as they sang the hymn. Mr. McMann was happy to orchestrate the girls and even gave them some lyrics so they didn’t have to memorize them.
Overall, it was a great night of fun and competition on campus. Students and faculty enjoyed playing, watching the games, and supporting the fundraiser. From the dress-down day and donations from families, faculty, and students, the team raised over $1000 for the Luke Roux Memorial Fund. GVH has been a great source of fundraising this season, with about four games sponsored by local foundations. These events are a memorable way for the school to come together and have fun supporting both teams on campus and fundraisers outside of the school.
