Ice Hockey is a lesser known club sport at Mater Dei. The team has been part of the Anaheim Ducks High School Hockey League (ADHSHL) since 2017. The Mater Dei program has gone through major coaching changes in the past few years, and is composed of not only Mater Dei students but athletes from other schools like Corona Del Mar, and Foothill, amongst others. 

Junior goaltender Zachary Spillman has been on the team since his freshman year. At that time there was a varsity D2 team and a JV team. The 2023-2024 season had the same two teams but quite a few of the athletes graduated in 2024. In early August 2024, the coaches held tryouts for the current season. This year the Monarchs moved to just one team, a varsity D3 team. 

“The hockey program has recruited a lot more players and we have grown as a group, allowing us to have a more cohesive team,” Spillman said. 

Throughout his high school career so far, Spillman has experienced both highs and lows with the team but cherishes the good times they have had bonding. 

“The most memorable moment was my first game with the team my sophomore year, we won in an 11 round shootout. It was a lot of fun hanging with the boys and [seeing] how much energy everyone had afterwards.”

While the hockey team is like a family in many ways, each athlete has their own role in playing the game as a cohesive unit.  Spillman is a goalie for the team, meaning he is a key part of the team’s success. A goalie in hockey is the player that stands in front of the net to stop the puck from going inside of the net and thus scoring a goal for the opposing team. Being a goaltender is a very important role to have, as you become the base of the whole team. He finds the position very rewarding as he has made many saves, leading the team to many victories. 

“The most rewarding part [of being a goalie] is being the backbone of the team,” Spillman said. “Being able to create energy during games and allow people to depend on you creates trust within the team and feels very special.” 

The team energy has a big impact on how players may perform in a game. Good chemistry is a key to performing well, as well as helping uplift others who may be off their game or struggling at times. Hockey can also help shape who you are as a person, teaching valuable life lessons. Freshman Finn West discusses the valuable experiences hockey has given him so far in his young career.

“I think my experience with hockey will greatly change my future,” West said. “Ice hockey teaches responsibility, respect, sportsmanship, accountability, and even develops team skills. This can help with other jobs in the future.”

Every player starts the season with some goal in mind, whether it be scoring many goals, skating faster than when you started, or blocking more shots. West describes his personal goals for the new season.

“My goals for this season are to become a better player than I was when I started this season of club and high school hockey,” West said.

West really enjoys the experiences he gets to have while being a part of the team, not only is he a member of the team, but he feels a part of an eternal brotherhood that will hopefully last long past graduation.. 

“I think [hockey] fosters team unity because the sport relies on communication,” West said. “The reason it is so important is because hockey is a very physical sport and you have very limited time to think while playing, and teammates communicating can make things so much easier for you.” 

Every player’s start to hockey is initially due to some sort of inspiration or dream. For some people, it could be watching it on TV growing up. Parents are also a strong form of inspiration for players. Sophomore Phoenix Dickinson was eager to learn hockey from a very young age.

“Something that inspired me to play hockey was my parents, especially my dad, [and] the girl in preschool that told me to join a learn-to-play program,” Dickinson said. 

Hockey can help develop interpersonal skills and athletic skills that go far beyond the ice.

“Hockey has really shaped my abilities to skate fast and also be able to work [as a team]!” Dickinson said. “I think I’m also a faster runner because of the skating [and] training.” 

Hockey can help an individual grow and improve in many aspects of life. Many of the current Monarch athletes are involved in other programs on campus and beyond.  

“Some other programs I’m in are surfing and the music program [at Mater Dei],” Dickson said.” I’m also starting a skateboard program at Mater Dei. I think that [these] don’t interfere with hockey that much. [Although] skateboarding might since it also depends on other people’s schedules.”

Open communication, optimism and high energy help fuel the team as a whole, igniting them to take pride in being a Monarch. The common goal and mutual respect has brought the team together..

“Off the ice we all talk on how to improve, and it is really important to me and the rest of us to have a strong team chemistry and really have a good synergy for when we do perform on the ice,” Spillman said. “On the ice, it is really important that we see the game is bigger than ourselves. We represent the name on the front of our jerseys and not the back, and we do our best to support each other in each contest.”