The opportunity to take the ice at the Wells Fargo Center is obviously a special occasion for a high-school hockey player. Holy Ghost Prep and Malvern Prep will have that opportunity Wednesday night in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference encounter. Game time is 7:00.
The two teams met at the Wells Fargo Center in January of 2019 with the Friars prevailing 3-2 in overtime.
Malvern Prep senior defenseman Quinn Dougherty was a freshman on that team. To his recollection, there was just one other freshman in a Friars uniform on that occasion.
“I’d never had the chance to play there for a club team,” he said. “I think the last time I played there was Mites on Ice. Honestly, it was really electric. The atmosphere was amazing. All the people that came out to support us. Just walking through the halls down there, it makes you feel special, like you’re playing a really big game.”
Holy Ghost Prep senior and captain Shawn Marshall was also in the lineup that night.
“I was the only freshman on the team when we went to the Wells Fargo Center,” he said. “It was a great experience.
“We wound up losing that game so we want a little redemption this time. Playing at the Wells Fargo Center is a special thing. I’m glad I get to be a part of it and I’m glad our team gets to be a part of it.”
Dougherty has a devised a strategy for dealing with the emotions of the moment.
“I think that kind of starts in warmups,” he said. “Right in the warmups, when I hop on the ice, I try to get acclimated to what’s going on. I take a breath, try and calm myself down, and then when we huddle around the net, I try and calm everyone else down because I know their nerves are probably going a mile a minute.
“I think it takes a little while for us to get settled in especially after the first shift, but you kind of block out the outside and, you just focus on the game and the team.”
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