There are three games remaining in the regular season, but with an undefeated 14-0-3 record, the 2024-25 Duchesne Pioneer Ice Hockey Team has already locked up the St. Charles Division Title in the Mid-States Conference.  For this Pioneer team, though, that does not mean pumping the brakes - not even a little.

On Friday Night, Jan. 10, Duchesne took on Francis Howell Central and it was also Duchesne's Senior Night where five hockey seniors and three hockey cheer seniors were recognized prior to the game.  Just a week before this game, Duchesne embarrassed St. Dominic on their Senior Night with an 8-0 shutout win, so they knew they did not want to give their outgoing seniors anything less than a victory.  In fact, they wanted to give them something to remember always.  The game did not disappoint.

Going into the third period, Duchesne led by only one goal as Central had put up a valiant fight for two full periods.  Max Hackmann, Ryan Adkerson, and Nick Morgan had put up three goals through those two periods to give Duchesne a 3-2 lead going into the third.  But it was Team Captain Carson Kuhn's goal with 10:14 left in the game that put the Pioneer's up by two goals and motivated teammates Hudson Bomerschein, and Trenton Gebben-Thompson to score three more unanswered goals to make the final score 7-2 when the buzzer sounded.

What made the game even more exciting was the turnout from the student population of Duchesne High School.  It was perhaps one of the largest student turnouts since the Wickenheiser Cup Championship in 2020.  Those students got to see a game that had a little bit of everything - big goals, big saves, a very rare penalty shot, and even a few big fights.

Already the best regular season record in Duchesne Ice Hockey history, there is still more history that the team would like to make.  For starters, with three regular season games left, the team would like to continue making history with three more wins.  To do so, they will need to notch those three victories over the course of four days - Jan. 21 versus Holt, Jan. 23 versus MICDS, and Jan. 24 versus Ft. Zumwalt East.  That final game will take place at 7:45pm at the St. Peter's RecPlex.

The other history that could be made by the end of the season is the single-season points record.  Currently, Duchesne alumni Vinny Conti ('19) holds the record with 59 points (41 goals, 18 assists) during the 2018-19 season.  Senior Nick Morgan, with three games and playoff games still remaining, sits at 50 points (39 goals, 11 assists).  With his nearly 3 point per game average, Duchesne fans could get to witness history in any of the upcoming games.

But Morgan isn't doing this alone.  Out of 795 registered hockey players in the Mid-States Conference, Duchesne currently boasts the Top 3 scorers and a fourth player in the Top 25.  Freshman Owen Kelsey currently sits at 45 points (18 goals, 27 assists) and leads all of Mid-States in assists.  Senior Trenton Gebben-Thompson has worked his was to the #3 spot with 39 points (17 goals, 22 assists), and Senior Carson Kuhn sits in the Top 25 at the 24th spot with 22 points (9 goals, 13 assists).  The most any other team has is two players in the Top 25 in points.

Defensively, Duchesne continues to dominate under the leadership of Senior Lucas Daleo who is also the points leader on the team defensively with 11 points (3 goals, 8 assists).  Junior Ryan Adkerson has also been a key contributor defensively with six assists this season. 

In the net, Duchesne continues to dominate with three goalies who all currently have over a 90% save percentage and a combined Goal Against Average of 2.53 through 17 games.  Juniors Dillon Kuhn, Quinn Meyer, and Freshman Braylon Douglas have all performed solidly in the net all season and offer that last bit of insurance when the puck makes it to them.

There is one statistic, however, that Duchesne sits at the bottom of the conference in - penalty minutes.  With the exception of SLU High School, Duchesne has the second to last number of penalty minutes out of 35 Mid-States teams with just 96 penalty minutes.

All of these positive statistics come from two other statistics that are not measurable - confidence and teamwork.  In years past, when this team would get down by a goal or two, they lacked the confidence to get themselves back into the game.  That is not the case this season as they have been down in the goal count on several occasions but have always managed to come back in each case.  And the teamwork shows through the shared scoring.  To have the Top 3 scorers in the league proves that nobody on this team is selfish when they get the puck.  The goal is to win - period.  And that is exactly what this team is doing.

Do yourself a favor and come to a game before this season ends.  Duchesne Hockey games do not disappoint when it comes to action and excitement.  And maybe you'll get to witness some history in the process.