In the past year, Langley ice hockey has experienced a tremendous growth. With newfound confidence that comes with strong leadership, a 6-4 record, and the excitement of an upcoming playoff game against McLean on Feb. 18, the team is beginning to attract attention; an impressive accomplishment for a self-funded club sport.
Under the leadership of Captain Chris Diner and Assistant Captains Mikey Adams and Evan Sterling, the team has made consistent progress and won several important victories. Langley tormented their previously undefeated rival McLean with an 8-1 rout.
The team acknowledges its struggles to develop a consistent fan base, even after impressive victories. “Our attendance has been a little flat this year. We always have a huge turnout for the McLean game and the fans always enjoy that game as well as others,” said Langley hockey coach, Mr. Robb Faktorow.
Junior Colin Framinan, a first-year team member, said, “We don’t expect much when our games are up to an hour away. When we went against McLean though, the spirit helped us crush them to the ground.”
Despite its lack of regular fans, Langley hockey has had a continued record of achievement and is currently ranked as one of Northern Virginia’s top 5 hockey teams, according Coach Faktorow.
Although the team is successful, a renewed interest in hockey throughout the greater Washington D.C. area might explain the increased attendance.
“Ice hockey has grown in popularity in Northern Virginia because we have more ice rinks in our community than we did 20 years ago. Since 1990 we went from two sheets of ice to 11 in Northern Virginia,” said Mr. Faktorow.
Another potential reason: the rise of Capitals hockey.
Sterling attributes recent support of their team to the growth of Washington’s hockey team. “The Capitals are getting better, so Langley students are jumping on the bandwagon and starting to pay more attention to hockey,” Sterling said.
Coach Faktorow agrees, saying, “I believe that the success of the Washington Capitals has had a positive impact on the overall popularity of ice hockey in general, and in particular at the high school level. We all love to embrace winners and the Capitals are an exciting winning team – just like Langley Ice Hockey!”
With a 29-16-10 record, the Washington Capitals are ranked fifth in the NHL (as of week 19) and are the main source of sports pride that D.C. currently has to offer—sorry Redskins, Wizards, and Nationals.
Additional reporting and writing done by Nick Malpede