The Plano East boys hockey team is scheduled to return to game action Jan. 14 at Mansfield. Photo courtesy Rayme Dean
By David Wolman
The Plano East boys hockey team has enjoyed plenty of success on the ice over the past decade, and the Panthers are hopeful that translates into more postseason wins this season.
The Panthers opened their season with a loss to Plano West on Sept. 17 but rebounded by winning each of their next four games, earning victories over Plano Senior, Austin, Northwest and Denton County. Peyton Dahlke tallied two goals in the win over Plano. Ripley Dean, Hudson Fay and Braden Dobosh each recorded one goal and one assist. Richard Kong also scored a goal, while Joe McGrane and Devon Hatley were credited with one assist apiece.
Payton Christensen and Travis Ragsdale serve as the two goaltenders for Plano East. Christensen owns a .929 career save percentage, while Ragsdale entered the season with a .919 save percentage.
The Panthers are led by senior defenseman and team captain John Davis, along with assistant captains Dahlke and Dean.
Plano East’s senior class consists of Davis, Dahlke, Hatley, Kong, Luke Dickey and Nathan Ohayon. Ohayon plays for the varsity bronze team.
Thomas Joyse is the head varsity coach. Max Lebel serves as the varsity bronze coach, while Brendan Ast is Plano East’s junior varsity coach.
Plano East has been idle since Dec. 11 and is scheduled to return to game action at 7:15 p.m. Jan. 14 at Mansfield. The Panthers will then face Allen at 9 p.m. Jan. 21 in McKinney, West Texas Selects at 11:30 a.m. Jan. 25 at Euless, Keller at 8:45 p.m. Jan. 28 at Euless and Austin at 1:15 p.m. Feb. 1 at Mansfield before closing out the regular season against Northwest at 8:45 p.m. Feb. 4 at Euless.
Last season, Plano East finished 7-2-1 and placed fourth in its district, scoring 51 goals while allowing 44.
The Panthers have accumulated plenty of hardware over the years. Plano East won the Summer City Tournament last season, while the varsity bronze team captured the City Champions Tournament two years ago. Prior to that, the Panthers claimed the Texas 2A state championship in 2022 and the Texas 2B state championship in 2023.