SOL SHSHL Ice Hockey Notebook (1-4-17)

Pennsbury, Souderton and Hatboro-Horsham are featured in Brian Good’s latest SOL SHSHL notebook.

By Brian Good

SHSHL NATIONAL – PENNSBURY:

An experienced defensive unit can make up for a lot of mistakes in high school hockey, allowing a team to take more chances with the puck and rely on their defenders to make plays when necessary. Adversely, an inexperienced defense can cause a team to struggle and play more cautiously than they may like. For Pennsbury, they’ve experienced the latter as they have struggled early in the season on their way to a 1-7-0 overall record.

“We kind of knew this was going to be an issue with the young defense we have,” said Pennsbury head coach Joe Deery. “This is the first year most of these guys have really been together, and they just need to get time on varsity to get better. I have some guys returning but we’re mixing in some new guys and it kind of hurt us early on in the season.”

However, more recently the team has started to pull it together and improve as their young guys get more varsity action.

After an 0-6 start to the year, the Falcons beat CR North 10-5 for their first win of the season. Then, in a matchup against defending state champion CB South, they came into the final period down just 3-0 before surrendering some late goals, but they looked just about as good as they could have in a tough loss.

“The guys are really coming around and starting to buy into the system and we saw that in those last two games before the break,” said Deery of the CR North and CB South games. “In these next 10 games, the second half of the season, I really think we’re going to see a big improvement in the team and how they are performing every night.”

The Falcons have an opportunity to get a few wins here in the next couple of games. Over their next five contests only one opponent (CR South) has a winning record this year. If they can continue playing the way they were before the break, they could get hot and get a few much needed W’s.

Part of the problem for the team has also been their offensive consistency. Nathan Raccagno (7 goals, 7 assists) and Jake Sieger (3 goals, 6 assists) have provided almost all of the scoring for Pennsbury this season, and outside of that, the Falcons have struggled to beat the goaltender.

“We have got to get some of our other guys going a little bit,” said Deery. “We’re not going to be able to replace all the guys we’ve lost the last couple of years, but we need to see other guys step up and score for us.”

It’s obviously been a tough start to the season for Pennsbury, but with the way they played before the break and the schedule they have ahead of them, the Falcons should be able to gain some momentum. If they can add another dimension to their offensive attack and continue their growth on the defensive end, they could string together a few wins in the next couple of weeks.

SHSHL CONTINENTAL – SOUDERTON:

There are lots of teams with strong pedigrees in the SHSHL Continental. Between North Penn, CB South and this year’s top team, CB West, it’s hard to find a game that you can steal within the division. That’s why when Souderton, a team that has struggled in recent years, shot out to a 4-1-1 start to the season, it turned some heads.

The Indians weren’t necessarily dominating teams, but they were getting the points they needed, despite being outplayed by some of their opponents.

“The hot start for the team definitely picked us up to start the season, but the name of the game is to be able to keep that going,” said Souderton head coach Matt Montagna. “That game against North Penn (a 6-5 win) was a good game to steal points, and that’s what you need to be able to do in games like that.”

The Indians dropped two games before the break to CB South and CB West, but even as they sit next-to-last in the division with nine points, they are just three points out of second place.

A large reason for that is the play of Gabe Evans, who is second in the league in goals with 14 and tied for fourth in points with 20.

Evans and linemate Tyler Johnson have caused matchup nightmares for opponents all year. They both possess the ability to score from anywhere in the offensive zone with their slick shooting and have been taking advantage of it.

“Johnson and Evans playing together is a really good duo and can be really tough to defend,” said Montagna of his two leading scorers “Tyler (Johnson) is just like Gabe (Evans) where he can really fire a hockey puck. That is their strength, and hopefully they can continue to put each other in position to score.”

Perhaps most important about this Souderton team is the approach the Indians are taking to being in such a tough division. Rather than just fighting to improve or stay competitive, they go into every game expecting to win, no matter who their opponent is.

“This league is usually very balanced, even with the strength at the top,” said Montagna. “Even with all those top teams, I go into every game to win it and so do my guys and we just need to improve every game in the second half and anything can happen.”

In order to make a surge up the standings their defense is going to have to improve. The Indians have gotten some good goaltending from goalies Dawson Anders and Joshua Smith, but they need to be more consistent on defense.

It’s going to be a tall order to compete with undefeated CB West and one-loss CB South, but if Evans and Johnson can continue to score at the clip they have been, Souderton becomes a dangerous team.

SHSHL AMERICAN – HATBORO-HORSHAM:

Three years ago (the 2013-2014 season), there was no Hatboro-Horsham varsity hockey team due to dwindling numbers. The following year, when the team came back, the Hatters struggled to stay competitive in games and had to make sure their players all made it off the ice.

“When we came back, we were just getting shellacked in our games and trying to make sure our kids came off the ice in one piece,” said Hatboro-Horsham coach Gus Salfiti. “We’ve been steadily moving forward, and this year we’ve really seen some improvement.”

After managing just four wins all of last season, the Hatters are 3-3-1 and in the middle of the pack in the SHSHL American division, looking to build a program that can maintain continued success at every level, but especially varsity.

The new, more competitive Hatters aren’t quite at the same level as Archbishop Wood and Plymouth Whitemarsh, but they can compete night in and night out, which is a huge step up from where they were.

“It’s a lot more fun now that we’re in every game again,” said Salfiti. “We’re able to implement strategies and teach these players because they have a hockey foundation instead of just having them skate out there and hope for the best.”

This season the scoring has mainly come from two sources in Jacob Mueller (10 Points) and Nathan Reilly (7 points), and while their on-ice contributions have been huge, their off-ice tutelage of the younger players has set up the program to continue its success.

Having players that are willing to take a step back and help out the less experienced members of the team has gone a long way in improving the program from the ground up.

“Having those two (Reilly and Mueller) play so well and then be willing to show the other kids what’s required of them has been key,” said Salfiti. “it’s not just production on the ice, but it’s more the production they’ve had with the other kids showing them what to do and where to be and that’s been even bigger.”

This may not be the Hatters’ year as Wood and PW look to be in a two-team race for the American division, but if they can continue the growth they’ve experienced so far, it’ll be their turn in no time.

** No 3 Stars of the Week as the SHSHL was on break**

SHSHL LEAGUE WEEK 5 LEADERS