Photo courtesy of Tracy Valko. To view galleries of photos, click on the following link: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f833388304
By GORDON GLANTZ
A year ago, the goal for the North Penn ice hockey team was to earn a stamp of approval and earn an invite to the Flyers Cup after a two-year hiatus.
That goal was achieved, albeit with a No. 12 seed and first-round exit, and it left the Knights – coached by Kevin Vaitis – searching for more in 2024-25 with a strong returning nucleus.
So far, so good.
The Knights find themselves in the upper echelon of the elite National Division with a 10-2 SHSHL record (86 goals for, 28 against).
Council Rock South is the unbeaten pacesetter at 12-0. While the Knights sit in second place, Central Bucks South (9-2) and Pennridge (9-3) are all within striking distance.
“We feel good with where we are at right now,” said Vaitis. “We have had some tough games with CB South and Pennridge and Rock South. I think what we are finding, lately, is that any time you are at the top of the standings, you have to bring your best game.”
An example of that was an 11-1 win over Souderton, followed by an 8-7 win over the same team a few nights later.
Another was in a 3-1 win over CB East that was knotted up, 1-1, with 10 minutes left in third period.
“In a way, it’s good for us,” said Vaitis. “It keeps pushing us to continue to get better. The boys have done a nice job responding.
“Last year, we knew we were going to have a fairly young team. In a lot of ways, that was good for us. While we graduated five or six seniors, a number of the players that we are relying on this year got a lot of good experience last year. We are starting to see some of that this year.”
The Big Five
The Knights, who are back in action against CB West Wednesday (7:20, Hatfield Blue), are spearheaded by the top line of senior Cole Pluck (16 goals, 24 assists), Samuel Norton (14 goals, 20 assists) and Nolan Shingle (16 goals, 12 assists) and the top defensive pairing of James Boyle (6 goals, 13 assists) and Danial Cabrales (9 goals, 5 assists).
However, Vaitis rolls three lines and goes five deep on defense.
“We get contributions from all three lines,” said Vaitis. “From a points perspective, (Norton’s) line leads the way with points, but each line chips in.
“It’s nice to see that, if one line doesn’t score, one of the other lines will step up.”
Vaitis pointed to the line of Declan Leahy (7 goals, 7 assists), Derek Lagura (2 goals, 3 assists) and Christopher Silvotti IV (1 goal, 8 assists) as a pleasant surprise.
“Those three have really stepped up, and not only offensively, but on special teams as well – power play or penalty kill,” said Vaitis. “We knew, going into the season, that Sam, Cole and Nolan were going to be our top line. Getting the contributions from those other players has really had an impact for us.”
That list includes the likes of Declan Willison (2 goals, 1 assist) and defensemen Gabe Dunn (4 goals, 3 assists) and Landon Hostetter (2 assists).
Aside from Pluck, almost the entire team will be returning intact.
This will make the Knights the odds-on favorites to dominate next season, but there is a season to be played out in the present.
“At the beginning of the season, we wanted to compete more in the Suburban League,” said Vaitis. “I think we are demonstrating that. I would be great to be the No. 1 seed, but being one of the top two seeds means a bye into the semifinals of the playoffs. That would be great for us.”
“We are hoping to be playing a home game but maybe going on a little bit of a run there in the Flyers Cup.”
In the Crease
The Knights have a solid goaltending situation, now and in the future, with sophomore Aidan Quigley (4-1 in 6 games, 1.71 goals against average, .928 save percentage) and freshman Andy Norton (7-1 record in 8 games, 2.51 goals against, .883 save percentage).
“They have split time for most of the season,” said Vaitis. “We feel like we can rely on either one of them in any game. They each have shutouts under their belts and have done a nice job for us.”
Leading the Way
No ice hockey team is consistently successful without leadership, and third defenseman Chase Kelly Del Ricci (2 goals, 4 assists) is the quintessential captain.
“What is great about Chase is that, whenever he gets on the ice, he gives 110 percent,” said Vaitis. “That’s in games or in practice. I think that helps to drive and motivate the other players on the team.”
Pluck, Shingle and Luke Haftel (5 goals, 5 assists) make up the rest of the leadership group that has created a family atmosphere within the team.
“When we go to any away games, we take a bus,” said Vaitis. “Just seeing them on the bus, everybody is talking. From seniors to freshmen, they are all hanging out together.
“What’s really exciting is that, if you look at the way we are made up, we have a fairly young team. That bodes well for the future.”
Biscuits in the Basket
In the American Division, where unbeaten PW (10-0) is running away with first place and Wissahickon (6-3) and Hatboro-Horsham (6-4) are locked in a death struggle for second place and likely Flyers Cup invite, the scoring title sees a three-way battle between HH’s Vincent Graziani (13 goals, 16 assists), PW’s Daniel Guller (10 goals, 18 assists) and HH’s Nathan Nemchinov (13 goals, 12 assists).
All eyes should also be on the goals race, where Wisshickon’s Ben Raebiger leads the way with 15. Next, with 14, is HH’s Victor Wilkins.
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