Junior Campbell Gwin leaves defense in the dust with seconds remaining. (Henry Rubey’22/Media)
On Friday, January 24, Columbus Academy took on the Gahanna Lincoln Lions at home as lone senior Phillip Soderberg was recognized for his dedication and contributions during his years on the team. A massive student section, “Philled,” the rink for the occasion.
The game started off even, with each side gaining opportunities to score, but Gahanna struck first halfway through the period. The rest of the period was goalless, so after the break, Academy looked to tie it up.
Unfortunately for the Vikes, Gahanna doubled its lead with 9:39 to go in the period. But, with 3:57 to go in the second, Academy pulled one back as sophomore Andrew Zaki scored off an assist from fellow sophomore Jake Carlin. At the end of the second, Academy had the momentum and the game looked to be swinging in the team’s direction.
A few minutes into the third, juniors Luke Budzik and Campbell Gwin each hit the back of the net just seconds apart, taking the Vikes from one down to one up with 10:00 to go in the match. With 5:27 to go in the game, Sophomore Allen Koganov hit a beauty from the blueline which got past the Lions’ keeper to add to Academy’s lead. A minute later, Budzik struck again to put the Vikes ahead 5-2. With 50 seconds to go, Academy slipped up and let one in, but it wasn’t enough for Gahanna to come back, resulting in a big comeback 5-3 win for the Vikes.
The next day, our boys and girls faced off against Dublin Scioto in Dublin. Riding off the back of their big win the night before, the Vikes found themselves ahead just 1:40 into the first when Gwin found the back of the net. A couple minutes after, junior Andrew Golden found Soderberg to double Academy’s lead. A minute later, sophomore Max Walker got in on the scoring off an assist from Carlin and Golden. To cap off the first period, Gwin found the net once more.
When Scioto came out of the locker room for the second, though, the Irish looked like a different team, and with three unanswered goals in the start of the second, it was obvious the Vikes couldn’t cruise for the rest of the match. Luckily, before Scioto could tie it up, Gwin hit his third of the night. Then, Soderberg added a second to his tally to put the Vikes up by three once more. Before the end of the second, both Budzik and Gwin struck to hand the Vikes an 8-3 lead going into the third.
Scioto was determined to come back and once again scored a couple of unanswered goals to begin the period. Luckily, Gwin and Budzik subdued the comeback with their fourth and third of the night, respectively. Scioto slipped one more in at the end of the game, but it wasn’t nearly enough. Academy triumphed 10-6, putting the team in first in its division.
The squad plays again this weekend at 6:00 p.m. against the Olentangy Braves at Chiller North on Sunday, January 26.
Next weekend, Academy will take on Olentangy Orange on Saturday, February 1 at Chiller North and then Thomas Worthington the next day at home.
