SOL SHSHL Ice Hockey Notebook (1-18-17)

This week’s notebook features Neshaminy, CB West and Lower Moreland and includes Brian Good’s three stars as well as SOL SHSHL point leaders.

By Brian Good

SHSHL NATIONAL – NESHAMINY:

The Neshaminy team we saw in November is much different than the one we’re seeing today. It started off the season 2-3-0 in the opening months and looked as though it would be improving on last year’s 4-12-0 regular season record.

Unfortunately for the ‘Skins, the rest of the season hasn’t been as kind to them as the opening month was. The Redskins have lost seven straight games dating back to the beginning of December, and what was working for them early on seems to be a thing of the past.

“It’s been kind of a weird season for us,” said Neshaminy head coach Dave Dugan. “We started off 2-3 and we were really excited, looking to string a bunch of wins together, but a couple bad games just snowballed.”

The main issue for the Redskins has been their scoring. Goalie Steven Glik has had a solid season between the pipes, but because they struggle to put shots on net and score goals, his efforts haven’t translated to wins.

“A lot of times, we just aren’t taking the opportunities when they come to us,” said Dugan. “We’re always looking for the perfect shot out on the ice or making one too many passes. We’ve struggled to just simplify things, get shots on net and crash the goal for the rebound. I keep telling them if we could do that the goals will come.”

If the Redskins are going to get themselves out of the hole they’re currently in and into a Flyers Cup spot, which is still the goal of the team, they’re going to need guys like Andrew Sabatini and Aric Miller to step up.

Sabatini (10 points) and Miller (9 points) have shown flashes of what’s needed to put the puck in the net, but consistency is needed to win at this level, and the team has lacked that.

The tough start hasn’t diminished the hopes of the team in terms of their end-of -season goal. They are still aiming to sneak into the Flyers Cup if they can get some wins down the stretch and once that happens, anything is possible.

“Towards the end of the season, you never know,” said Dugan. “If we can somehow get into the Flyers Cup and finish the season strong, anything can happen. We lost our Flyers Cup game last year by just one goal and it was anyone’s game, so we’re still using that as motivation.”

SHSHL CONTINENTAL – CB WEST:

Being at the top of the league in November and being there in late January (with just over a month left in the regular season) are two completely different things. CB West has experienced both this year.

When they were first featured in the notebook earlier in the year, head coach Dave Baun didn’t know exactly how good his team was. Now, he and the rest of the league have a much better idea and they look to be the real deal.

“When last we spoke, the team was more of a work in progress and what we would be able to get from the team was largely unknown,” said Buan. “Since then, our experiences have been pretty positive and we’ve beaten some great teams like CB South. I think they’re the ‘gold standard’ that double ‘A’ teams should be measured against, and we availed ourselves well against them.”

The Bucks are 9-1-0 on the year with their only loss coming at the hands of “AAA” opponent Holy Ghost Prep. Their success is due in large part to their team defense and the outstanding play of goaltender Jonah Brous.

Brous has continued his remarkable season, posting a 5-1 record with a 1.41 GAA and a .932 save percentage. He has an unbelievable defensive unit in front of him, but when shots do get through, he’s almost always up to the task.

In their most recent win, which came against defending state champion CB South, the Bucks were outshot 40-27, but 38 saves from Brous allowed them to escape with a 5-2 win.

“Jonah Brous has always been good, but he has continued to get even better,” said Baun. “A lot of times he is able to hold off the tide that may be turning against us as it did in the CB South game, and in a way, that allows us to stabilize.”

That CB South game didn’t go exactly the way CB West had planned. After jumping out to a 2-0 lead, they found themselves tied at the end of two periods with almost no momentum. That’s when a player that not everyone would necessarily expect stepped in front of the team and reassured them that they still controlled the outcome.

“CB South had come back on us, they had clearly taken the momentum and we were scrambling and I was thinking to myself maybe these guys are just better than us,” said Baun. “Scotty Cappuccio, who has been a good player for us but not a huge scorer or anything like that, stepped up. After CB South had tied it, we had a timeout and I stepped down and was going to talk to the team and Scotty (Cappuccio) came over and just started doing it for me and I just let him take care of it. That’s the type of leadership we have.”

Whatever Cappuccio said must’ve resonated with the team because they went out in the third period and scored three unanswered goals to stay undefeated in league play and continue their dominance.

Cappuccio, who came into the game having not scored since Nov. 18, also netted two goals to contribute to the team win, something that proves just how well rounded CB West is and that even if they don’t play their best game they can still find ways to win.

“Before the season begins, coaches can evaluate talent a lot easier than you can the character of your team,” said Baun. “Those types of things are really only revealed to you when they’re necessary, and we really hadn’t been in a situation where we were down and out in league play yet so what was really important to take away from that game is the team’s character and commitment because that can take you places.”

SHSHL AMERICAN – LOWER MORELAND:

For most teams, success is measured in wins and losses. After the season they can sit down, look at their record and gain some sort of understanding of how they played throughout the year.

For teams like Lower Moreland that are trying to build a program, it’s more complicated than just where the Lions end up in the standings.

“We don’t look at the season as wins and losses,” said Lower Moreland head coach Anthony D’Orazio. “Would we like to win more as an organization? Absolutely. But we measure ourselves by how we’ve played and improved and compete, and we’ve done a good job of that this year.”

So far this season, the Lions have managed just one win on their way to a 1-7-0 record, but that doesn’t mean they won’t be encouraged by what they see on the ice and that starts with Coleman Peppelman.

“As Coleman goes, so goes this team,” said D’Orazio. “He plays back on the blue line but has my permission to play up or rush the puck or keep the other team on their heels whenever he wants, and that’s when our offense has been most successful.”

Just a sophomore, Peppelman is eighth in the league in goals with 15, and he’s done it while playing in just six games. He leads the team in goals and points and is second in assists. With Peppelman on track to play two more years for Lower Moreland, the team is headed in the right direction. It’s not just his presence on the ice that stands out either, but also his demeanor off it as well.

“The kid just loves to play and is a joy to coach,” said D’Orazio. “I’ve known him now since middle school, and between the way he plays and the way he is off the ice, there are some good things to come for him down the road.”

Even with Peppelman on the roster for the next two years, the team is going to have some challenges going forward. The size of their school makes it more difficult to compete with most of the bigger schools, and while they are only graduating four players this year, they only have about four players scheduled to come up to varsity, so they will once again be one of the smaller teams.

It’ll be important for them to find consistent goaltending as they progress as a program, and if they plan to take the next step, they are going to need more players that can put the puck in the back of the net as well.

“We have inexperience at goaltending and some other positions that will improve as we go on,” said D’Orazio. “Our goaltenders this year have stepped up for us, but they’ve faced a huge number of shots. If we can get experience at a few positions like that and can get a little more depth that’ll change what we’re able to do as a team.”

SHSHL 3 STARS OF THE WEEK

1.     Mark Tosti, F, CR North– 4 Goals, 2 Assists

This season hasn’t gone according to plan for CR North, but Thursday, behind a 6-point effort from Tosti, the Indians finally got their first win. Tosti has been the offensive leader of the team all season long and put forward his best performance to date in the win against Neshaminy, scoring a hat trick in the first period and adding a goal and two assists later on.

2.     Andrew Galetta, F, North Penn – 5 Goals 1 Assist

The Knights have had an up and down season to this point, but if they can keep getting these types of efforts from Galetta, they may be able to make a push down the stretch. Galetta scored five of his teams six goals in their 6-3 win over CB East last week and assisted on the only goal he didn’t score. He’s top five in the league in points, goals and assists and doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon.

3.     Perry Carpenter, F, Abington –  4 Goals 0 Assists

Carpenter has been a goal scoring machine all season long, and last week was no different as he netted four goals in Abington’s 12-2 win over Lower Moreland. The Ghosts were on a bit of a slide throughout December but seem to be playing much better here in January.

SHSHL LEAGUE WEEK 7 LEADERS