In game two of day one of the Joshua Weeks New Year's Invitational at Tabor Academy, the "Big Red" faced off against the Proctor Academy "Hornets" for the second time in the early part of the 2024-2025 winter hockey season. The "Hornets" won the first meeting on their home ice on December 14^th by a score of three to two. The St. Paul's School boys varsity hockey team left the Teddy Maloney Arena that night disappointed in the outcome of that contest and wanted to show that they could play a more complete game this afternoon. With both St. Paul's School and Proctor Academy coming off losses earlier in the morning, both teams were hungry for a victory, and the "Big Red" had a little more incentive because of the early December outcome between these two teams.
 
Proctor did not waste any time in this contest, as they took advantage of an early power play opportunity and converted a nice shot from the right elbow of their one-three-one power play formation to establish a one-goal lead. The Millville skaters showed good resilience and were not rattled by the "Hornets'" early lead and momentum. The "Big Red" stayed with their structure and disciplined forecheck, and when they were presented with their power play opportunity in the last eight minutes of the first half, Ryan Vohra '27 (Valley, NS) converted on a rebound shot attempt from a Quinn Brandell '26 (Plattsburgh, NY) point shot from the rebound funnel area to tie the game at one goal apiece.
 
Four minutes into the second half, Finn Kilbourne '27 (Duxbury, MA) scored a beautiful goal when he collected the puck off the end wall below the goal line from a Patrick Cooley '25 (Rutland, VT) pass. Kilbourne then advanced the puck just above the goal line and fired a "wicked wrister" to the near side upper corner of the net—the Proctor Academy goalie never had a chance. This gave St. Paul's School a two-to-one lead, a lead they would never relinquish. Four minutes later, Jaden Ficek '26 (number four) won a loose puck in the high ice of the defensive zone and connected on a pass to Mitchell Smith '27 (Thunder Bay, ON), who was streaking through the neutral zone for a breakaway attempt on the "Hornets'" netminder. Smith calmly moved in on the goaltender with speed, shifted from his right to left to get the goalie to open up his legs, and then deposited the puck between the pads into the back of the net, to give the "Big Red" a commanding three-to-one lead. For the remaining fifteen minutes of play, St. Paul's School played smart, disciplined hockey. When there was a breakdown, either physically or mentally, Blake Truchon '26 (South Burlington, VT) came up with a big stop to foil any hope of a comeback from the Proctor Academy bench.
 
With the Proctor Academy goalie pulled in the closing minutes of the game for an extra attacker, captain Matt Vohra '25 (Valley, NS) won a puck in the neutral zone and moved it unselfishly to his linemate Anderson Kilbourne '26 (Duxbury, MA) to shoot into the empty net. However, it was deflected wide by a Proctor defender, and then Vohra pounced on the ricocheting puck off the right end wall to fire it into the empty net, solidifying a much needed and well-deserved win for the "Big Red."
 
The victory over the Proctor Academy "Hornets" gives the team a one-win and one-loss record heading into the second day of the two-day tournament. They will square off against a well-coached Pomfret Academy team on Sunday, January 5^th at 11:00 am on the Travis Roy Rink on the Tabor Academy campus before heading back to Millville to resume classes on Tuesday morning.