By GORDON GLANTZ
The 2023-24 edition of the Central Bucks South ice hockey team has grinded itself into a firm grip on third place in the National Division of the SHSHL.
“We are in the thick of things,” said coach Sean McGinty, who makes sure to enhance his team’s Flyers Cup profile with a rigorous nonleague slate against the likes of La Salle, Father Judge and Holy Ghost Prep (not this season, though). “We have been riding that line of third place for the season.”
While there are some featured talents – like captains D.J. Lindenmmuth (20 points, including 15 goals, through the first 12 games) and Sean Cutter (19 points, including 12 assists, in 12 games), as well as Jeremy Kvecher (9 goals, 10 assists) and Ryan Frey (12 goals, 5 assists) – it is a team that is deep and balanced.
Defenseman Aidan Linso boasted 3 tallies (to go along with 12 assists for 15 points).
Heading into Wednesday’s game with Pennsbury, there were five others with at least 4 goals.
Also, through 12 games, 9 players have played in every contest while four others had appeared in 11.
That all adds up to stability for McGinty.
“The team is playing well,” he said. “Our goal scoring is spread out throughout the entire team, which is nice. That’s hard for other coaches to coach against. Everybody can do damage. That’s a great thing.”
The System
In its most simple form, the system calls for short shifts (30-45 seconds) of maximum effort.
Depending on the situation of the opponent, McGinty can roll four lines and two pairs of defensemen.
“We try to work the wall and work our cycle and really try to drain teams on shifts,” said McGinty. “We have a very physical, grinding team.
“We have three very balanced lines. When needed, I can roll four lines. That’s great for a high school program. We can utilize that to propel our will as far as depth, and that’s a big advantage.”
McGinty is himself a former player at Council Rock (Class of 97) who went on to skate collegiately - along with several other area players - at Lebanon Valley College.
“The boys are really playing a solid team game this year, across the board,” the Titans’ coach said. “That’s with all the players, offensively and defensively. We have four goaltenders battling for ice time. It makes for great competition with goaltending depth. It’s all good stuff.”
Heading into action this week, CB South (9-2-1, 30 pts) is all but assured of a playoff berth and is on track for a coveted Flyers Cup invite.
“I couldn’t be more proud of the boys,” said McGinty. “We have been battling the last few years to find our way back to the top again.
Treasure Trove
While many SHSHL teams roster one goalie and feel fortunate to have two, McGinty has four – one in each grade -- at his disposal.
“We’re very blessed,” he said. “We have a senior and a freshman that are going at it pretty good. We also have a junior and a sophomore.
“Early in camp, 1-4 was kind of mixed up. As the year progressed, kids began to prove themselves under the stress of a game. We are very lucky to have four guys to lean on. Even at the JV level, those guys are battling.”
Senior Dominic Varacallo (2.72 goals against average, .889 save percentage, 5-2-1) and freshman Nathan Napolitano (1.00, .938, 4-0) are the main goalies.
“The two will now cornerstone the team as we compete throughout the second half of our season, playoffs and Flyers Cup,” said McGinty.
Holding Down the Blue Line
Defensively, the depth is more of a concern, as JD Crouch, a sophomore, is out with an injury (a dislocated thumb requiring surgery), leaving McGinty to go with just two pairs.
“I do have a forward or two that I can roll back when needed,” he said. “But, we have been running with four and they are doing a great job.”
McGinty said that Linso, an assistant captain, is “having a huge year” while Jake Kunkle (1 goal, 4 assists) is having a “breakthrough” year.
Mind Games
A father of two children who calls his wife a “saint,” for putting up with him for 16 years, McGinty knows a lot of the game is mental.
And he knows he still dealing with teens who have fragile psyches, even if they don’t admit it or show it.
“The hardest thing as a high school coach is controlling a bunch of teenagers,” he said. “There is a lot of testosterone. It’s not an easy task at times.”
A way to address it to take a chisel to the season and work it down.
“I break up our season into three seasons,” he said. “We are at the second half of our first season, which is the league. The second season is playoffs and the third season is Flyers Cup.”
And it gets even more specific.
“I break up each game by periods,” said McGinty. “If we won the period, it’s 1-0. If we lost the period, it’s 1-0 for them.
“I also break it down, shift by shift. It’s like, ‘If you made a mistake, then do something better the next shift. It’s a clean slate. Learn from it and move on.’ I just try to help these teenagers try to forget it and move on.”
Deep Roots
The CB South program is one with a rich tradition and - much like an oak tree - has deep roots, having in the past been seeded first or second in the Flyers Cup fray.
“We are a nice strong club with a good community turnout,” said McGinty. “We are able to have a varsity and a JV and two middle school teams this year. That’s great for the future as well. It’s great for the club, to have that funnel being filled. That’s a sign of a strong club.
“Luckily, for us, we’re from a school district and an area that has hockey players.”
While the JV pool is small, McGinty is making it work.
“Our JV numbers aren’t great, but we do have a good number of JV players who swing up,” he said. “That creates a little bit of a smaller JV pool, but we are still able to crank out a JV team. We are able to develop guys at that level, which is awesome.”
The success this season is, according to McGinty, a direct result.
“The boys have continued to grow as a club,” he said. “We had a strong JV team last year. Those kids are making their mark this year.
“The boys are playing well. We don’t have a senior line. I don’t do that. We play a very balanced system. It’s a team approach. I couldn’t even tell you who the leading goal scorers are on the team. I really have no idea.”
This also follows McGinty’s time-tested system.
“Hockey is a sprint sport,” he explained. “It’s endurance, but it’s a different kind of endurance. When your feet hit the ice, you are in a dead sprint.
“I hate to say that the way I played is the way I coach, but the way I played is the way I coach.”
There are methods to the perceived madness.
“We are a systems-based team,” said McGinty. “With high school hockey, you are having one practice a week and two games. Then you play club on weekends. I wouldn’t call high school hockey developmental.
“These kids, they have to learn my playbook. They are all given that book, and they have to learn the sign language. They have to learn everything we’re doing because, in a game – with the excitement and the anxiety and the crowd – they have to know what’s going on.”
And it is not sprung on the players at the varsity level.
“That starts with JV,” said McGinty. “They have to learn this stuff. Even at the middle school level, the ‘A’ team - they run a little bit of it. JV runs some of it. High school, we run all of it.
“If kids are in the system for 5-6 years, they are hearing these terms.”
Team Bonding
McGinty, who also singled out senior power forward Colin Mendham (4 goals, 10 assists) for his solid play and leadership, feels a big part of this year’s success is that the Titans are a true team.
And that is both on and off the ice.
“It’s a tight group,” said McGinty. “We do a pasta party together each week. They are together a lot. They are coming to games together to watch games when they’re not playing.
“That just shows their commitment to, not so much scouting, but just their commitment to each other and to the social aspect. That’s a big part of high school hockey, just being together and creating these memories. It’s just nice to see that.”
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