The 2026 season for Belmont Hill Hockey was expected to be a rebuilding year. Yet, the 2025-2026 hockey team performed better than anyone expected. With the loss of many key players from the year before and the recruitment of new players, many of whom had never played prep hockey, it was unclear how the team would perform.
Coming into the season, there was certainly a different atmosphere surrounding the team than the prior year, in large part due to the influx of young talent, but the tone quickly shifted. After tryouts and practices, the mentality transformed from a new team looking to gain experience to a strong team wanting to win it all. Coach Phinney said, “The team did an excellent job of keeping their attention on the day right in front of them and focused on the things they could control. Rather than worrying too much about standings and outcomes, the team worked to improve each day.” The lessons and practice the team gained from its trip to Lawrenceville for the annual tournament were indispensable, even if the team did not achieve the desired results. Following that tournament and after returning to school, the team went on a tear. With victories over high-ranked teams, Govs, in mid-January, followed by a dominant 3-1 win over St. Mark’s in late January, and finishing with a 4-2 win over Tabor, Belmont Hill was starting to make its way up the rankings.
Making the Elite 8 tournament was the team’s final goal. After two back-to-back losses to Sebs and a nail-biter 3-2 game to Thayer, the boys knew that they needed to finish strong to make it into the tournament – and they did exactly that with key victories against Milton and Tabor, culminating in beating Westminster for the first time in several years. Belmont Hill finished 7th and earned a spot in the Elite 8 tournament. Alas, in the first round, held at #2 St. Mark’s rink, the boys unfortunately lost and were eliminated from the tournament.
Despite this unfortunate loss, looking back on the season, the team completely outperformed expectations and with such young talent, can look forward to a strong future – and maybe winning it all next year. The Panel would like to congratulate the varsity hockey team on another successful season!