(JKHA) JKHA MS boys hockey team won their first game of the season vs. RYNJ last Thursday. Two hat tricks from the team helped secure the victory—Eli Tarzik and Jack Salomon, both JKHA eighth graders. The first period ended with RYNJ leading 1-0. The game went back and forth during the second and third periods, and with two and a half minutes left in the game, the Kushner Cobras were leading 4 -3. Then RYNJ tied it up and the race was on, but Tarzik scored to make the score 5-4. RYNJ took out their goalie, and the game intensified. JKHA’s goalie, seventh grader Shai Merlin had some amazing saves and the defense kept the ball under control to keep the lead. With two seconds left, Salomon scored again, making the final score 6-4. According to Eric Freedman, father of Akiva Freedman, “This team came from behind and pulled out a win!” After the game, RYNJ provided Fruit by the Foot and Pringles for the Kushner team and they all davened Maariv together. If the Cobras keep this up, the sky’s the limit.

In line with the JKHA school theme this year of #middotmatter, the JKHA middle school Athletic Department has owned their responsibility to incorporate values into athletics, understanding that it’s not just about the victories, it’s about the values as well. All student athletes participated in an athletics orientation, and weekly “Middot Moments” are distributed each week highlighting the many ways the athletes displayed their midot that week in sports.

Another new addition to the middle school Athletics Department is the Cobra Athletics Media Club. This group of students are serving as reporters, photographers and scorekeepers for the middle school athletics. Their post-game recaps and photos are appearing in athletics newsletters, and their videos and photos are making their way to the new middle school Cobras athletics Instagram page.