After securing a perfect regular season and the divisional title with a 5-4 victory over Whitman Feb. 10, the ice hockey team extended its win streak into the playoffs with a 6-1 defeat of Bethesda-Chevy Chase Feb. 13, bringing the team’s record to 10-0.

The 6-1 victory over B-CC played out very differently from the Whitman game only two nights before, where the game was tied 4-4 until a last minute goal by senior Derek Gritz.

“It was a close game,” Gritz said. “We wanted to go undefeated but the game was also important because we have to play them again in the playoffs.”

Gritz’s goal came with only 31 seconds left on the clock, on an open goal. It saved the Bulldog’s perfect season.

“I didn’t realize that it won us the game until afterward,” Gritz said. “I would say I was pretty psyched.”

A 12-0 rout of Sherwood Feb. 3 left the team on a strong footing as it headed into the final game of the regular season. The blowout victory was preceded by a 6-3 victory over B-CC Jan. 27.

The team hopes to repeat last year’s state championship run and has managed to stay on track despite several injuries affecting its roster.

“We’ve had a fairly strong season, even though injuries have made games difficult,” junior captain Zach Satin said. “It’s been difficult to perform at top notch, but there are players who have stepped up.”

The squad has been plagued by injuries throughout the season. Junior captain Zach Arden missed multiple games with an injured arm, including the final game of the season against Whitman and the first game of the playoffs against B-CC. Freshman Jacob Arden will be unable to play the rest of the season due to injuries. Senior goalie Jake Sherker missed the B-CC game Jan. 27 with injuries.

“I didn’t expect all of our injuries,” sophomore Connor Liu said. “But they show that we’re an adaptable team.”

The 4-3 victory over Wootton on Jan. 20 is an example of this adaptability. The win resulted in a sweep of the Patriots in regular season league play, the other win coming in the first game of the season. The win improved the teams record to 7-0.

“We had a solid win against B-CC, even though we were missing players,” Satin said.

Players missing that game included junior Arden and goalie Sherker.

The Bulldogs play Whitman in the regional finals, and the winner of that game goes on to the state tournament semi-finals.

“We have all the tools to make another great run,” said Gritz. “If we play our game, we don’t give up anything easy.”