Students, families and friends gathered to watch South defeat North in the rivalry ice hockey game Friday night, ending with a score of 4-0.

To South players it means everything to beat North, Bobby McKillop, head coach, said.

“This is what you play for, you play for your rival games, this is what you want to win,” McKillop said.

The players were pleased with the outcome of the game, but were hoping to have beat North by a larger lead, according to Will Frame ’18, defense player.

“Its North so it’s a big game, we beat them 4-0, but we were expecting a little more,” Frame said.

The team did not start as strong as they hoped, but improved throughout the game, Frame said.

“As a team we were pretty together, we were a little slow at first, but as we went further in the game we played better together,” Frame said. “We’re getting better every game.”

McKillop agrees it was a good win for South, and thinks that there were lots of emotions out on the ice.

“We did okay, it was a little bit of an emotional game. We can be better, but it was a good win for us,” McKillop said. “This is an intense rivalry, so the temperature is a little bit hotter in these games, and emotions are running high.”

For intense games like these, the team prepares as if it is just another game, McKillop said.

“It’s the same way we always do,” McKillop said. “We just did our normal stuff and got prepared the way that we normally do, and just go out and do what we do.”

The players each have their own ways of getting ready before games, according to Frame.

“You have to go to bed early the night before, get (to the rink) early, get ready in the locker (room) and play music, and get some smelling salts,” Frame said.

The support from the students at the games is appreciated by the team, McKillop said.

“It’s nice to play in front of your student body,” McKillop said. “A bunch of the student body was here today, even though we have the basketball teams playing each other tonight too. It was nice to play these games, and it’s fun for the kids, so I’m happy for them.”

Students attend the games, to support the team and have fun with friends, according to Stephanie Schervish ’18.

“I think it’s really fun to have all of our classmates around us, outside of school, we’re able to just have fun together,” Schervish said. “My favorite part of the games is probably when we win, or being able to see the fights on the ice is really fun to watch, because everyone gets really loud.”