Hill boys ice hockey’s newest member is none other than Rex Geng, a 3rd former from Beijing. Geng was pulled up to the varsity squad in the second week of his first JV season at Hill.

Geng began his hockey career at a very young age when his cousins, who played in the United States, introduced him to the sport. Since then, he has made hockey his whole life, despite it not being a popular sport in China. He lived there for over 10 years before deciding to come to Hill.

His journey to varsity was different from most of his teammates. According to Coach Sean O’Brien, “I didn’t know anything about him. You know, he’s from Beijing, China. So obviously, all the players that I know, I recruited. He was a player I did not know; I hadn’t seen him play. So when he wanted to try out for the teams, we tried him out, and I liked what I saw from him.”

O’Brien’s decision was very well received by both Geng and his teammates, including Peter Galindez ’23. “He’s almost like our good luck charm. We try to teach him and be big brothers to him and try to get him acclimated to the hockey environment at Hill. We really like him as a part of the team,” Galindez said.

Being the youngest member of a competitive team comes with its challenges, but Geng has faced them head-on. “The competition is just completely on a different level. The players here are much more physical, they’re a lot more skilled,” Geng said. “So I feel like this is a challenging step for me to make as a freshman to the varsity team because there’s a lot of changes.”

Geng’s contributions to the Hill hockey program are not limited to varsity; in a JV game versus LaSalle College High School, Geng had two goals in the overtime win, including the game-winner.

But this accomplishment is only one of his many so far at Hill. This season, the Hill team won the Barber Tournament against some of the best competition in New England. “It was unforgettable,” Geng remarked. The freshman earned time on the ice, which helped contribute to the win in shootouts against St. Marks.

Geng reflected on his experience so far with Hill boys ice hockey: “I feel like this experience really shaped me into a more gritty person, more perseverance. I feel like at first I was having a lot of challenges and encountering a lot of problems. I still have some issues with my game that I have to continue working on, but I feel like it makes me a more resilient person overall.”