What most people do not know is that at Freedom there is a hockey team. Not a team affiliated with our High School, but with Quigley Catholic. Just like every other winter sport, these students practiced and conditioned hard, but they did it under the Quigley name. To end the regular season, the Quigley Spartans had three losses and one tie, but 19 wins allowed them to advance to the Nailer Cup Championship. Skating against the Harborcreek Huskies Tues., March 6, Sophomores Nate Lundy and Kristian Skogsholm took the ice. The Spartans proved victorious in a game that ended 8-4, permitting them to advance to the state competition. Last year, the Spartans were knocked out by the Huskies in overtime, but this year they made sure that it wasn’t going to happen. On Thurs., March 8, two Freedom students competed in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League or PIHL championships. The team that the Spartans played was the victor of the Greensburg-Salem and the Indiana Chiefs Cup. It turned out that the Indiana Chiefs were victorious and the Spartans would be facing off against them. Late into the third period, the Spartans tied the game, sending the game into overtime. Both the Spartans and the Chiefs scored a goal in overtime, causing a second overtime. Finally, the game would end with a winning goal by an Spartan striker from Ambridge, with a score of 5-4. Quigley’s team isn’t just composed of Quigley, Freedom and Ambridge kids, but also includes OLSH, Shenango and South Side. The majority of the kids come from Quigley and Ambridge, and they receive the most ice time. Quigley and Ambridge have a combined ice hockey team where the freshmen play for Ambridge’s junior varsity team and the rest play for Quigley’s varsity team. “I hope Freedom gets a team, but it depends on the school’s involvement,” Lundy said. Two years ago, Freedom tried to get a team, but they were not very successful. There were meetings and some kids seemed interested; however, there was not enough interest to create a team. It will be harder now than ever, especially because of declining enrollment and budget cuts. Lundy has played hockey for four years now and this is his first championship. “I think [the season] went really well considering we won states,” Lundy said.