The Meridian hockey team is having an excellent season, and is currently on their best playoff run in years. On Wednesday, Feb. 26, the team will play in the semifinals, one win away from the championship game.
The team consists of players from multiple schools, as less populated schools such as Meridian cannot field teams on their own. Meridian joins forces with George C. Marshall, Hayfield, Edison, and South County. From Meridian, there are four players on the Varsity squad. Those players consist of senior Sam Ettinger, juniors Ryan Degnan and Landon Zike, as well as sophomore Max Steigerwald.
This year, during the regular season, Meridian had two players scoring in the top 10. Ettinger was second in the league in points, with 17 goals and 23 points in only 10 games, while Degnan was 9th in the league, with 16 points in 10 games.
The team won their first round playoff game 5-3 over Woodbridge, followed by a massive 7-4 quarterfinal win over Colgan. During these games, the team’s first line of Ettinger, Degnan, and Pflugrath (from South County) combined for six of the seven goals, Ettinger taking 4 of them. Colgan entered the playoffs ranked 2nd, while Meridian was 7th.
Now, the team looks ahead to the semifinal match against Washington & Liberty (W&L), the 3rd seed in the playoffs. In their regular season matchup, W&L got the best of Meridian, but the team is confident they can turn it around. The task could seem daunting, but after beating 2nd seeded Colgan, anything is possible.
The semifinal game will take place at 7:40 pm at Prince William Ice Center. If the team wins, the Championship will be on Friday, Feb. 28 at 6:40.
