Photo courtesy of Tracy Valko. To view photo galleries, click on the following link: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f833388304
By GORDON GLANTZ
It’s an exciting time of the year in the SHSHL, as teams in the hunt for playoff berths/seeding and Flyers Cup invites continue jockeying for position.
For other teams, the 2024-25 season is more of a dream deferred.
An example is a still-winless Central Bucks West squad that has had a difficult season in the National Division.
With three games to go, the Bucks are 0-14 and have allowed 101 more goals (142) than they have scored (41).
But the doesn’t tell the whole story.
In the last two seasons, for example, the Bucks only saw one incoming freshman hit the ice.
That equates to going for a blood transfusion without much fresh blood.
“It’s been a tough season for us,” conceded longtime coach Dave Baun. “Mainly, it’s a function of the cyclical nature of high school sports. The good news is that, in the next few years, our numbers will start to pick up.
In addition to eight sophomores getting a baptism by fire in the present, the pipeline looks promising.
“We know we have a good number of freshmen coming in,” said Baun, now in his 20th year as head coach. “The year after that, we will have more coming in, so the cycle will start to repeat.”
Senior Citizens
Baun is quick to point out that no one has thrown in the towel and that several seniors deserve praise for not quitting and not letting anyone else quit.
“They are the ones I really kind of feel for,” said Baun. “It’s their senior year, and we always like to have our seniors have an enjoyable year. Winning always makes everything more enjoyable, and that’s not the case this year.”
In particular, he is talking about his top line -- Zane Sanders (10 goals, 15 assists), Anthony Dowd (11 goals, 12 assists) and Jack Misoda (7 goals, 5 assists).
“Our captain, Zane Sanders, has been our best player,” said Baun. “He has had a good season. He is just a good kid. He comes and he works hard.
“Anthony Dowd has been a good player for us. He has been a good goal scorer. Jack Misoda, is also a solid senior. Those three play on one line together. When they are on the ice, it’s usually a pretty even game.”
Baun also singled out defenseman Brandon March (3 goals, 6 assists) and fellow senior rear guard Blake Hager (2 asssists).
“(Hager) is an interesting case,” said Baun. “As far as I know, he never any high level hockey before. The highest level he ever played before was last year for us. He’s a really good high school baseball player. He loved hockey and came out for the team last year. This year, he is a solid defenseman for us. He’s a good athlete.”
History 101
It wasn’t that long ago that CB West was a powerful program for a 15-year stretch that included undefeated seasons, a trip to the Flyers Cup finals and several league titles.
In an era of short memories, especially with COVID thrown into the mix, the legacy doesn’t quite register.
“We had one of the best programs in the state for years,” said Baun. “We have kids in the program now who don’t remember that.
“They’ll say, ‘Geez, coach, we have stunk for a long time.’ Well, from their perspective, maybe, but not from mine.”
Baun still believes that history can repeat itself.
When it comes to looking for players to build around, one of the best guys for the job might be a young lady who has seen a lot of ice time from the blue line and has added a pair of assists.
“One player who has really impressed me is a sophomore girl, Tessa O’Keefe,” said Baun. “I was a coaching instructor for USA Hockey for 15 years. We always talked about how the coachable player can make up for a lot, and she is just the quintessential coachable player.
“She is playing defense, and a lot of it is in your head. A lot of it is technique and learning angles on how to defend.”
O’Keefe has shown improvement over the season, and Baun is looking forward to improvement over her career.
“She pays attention in practice, and we see her doing things in games that we worked on in practice, and what a difference that makes,” said Baun. “She has been pretty remarkable.
“You see a girl – a sophomore girl, no less – on defense, and you are thinking, ‘We are going to have to hide her.’ She is out there against senior boys, and we don’t hide her at all. We put her out there against their best players, and that’s a credit to her. She’s really good.”
Another sophomore Baun pointed to was Alex Korolev (3 goals, 7 assists).
“He is a skilled player,” said Baun. “He’s tall. He’s skinny now, but he is going to have good size. He’s athletic, and he’s a good player. He is only going to get better.”
The sole is freshman on the team is Tyler Ricci (4 goals, 3 assists).
“He’s very athletic, and a good hockey player,” said Baun. “He does things that you teach him. His brother played for us, and he was also the same way.”
Baum added Jackson Hirsch (1 goal, 2 assists) to the list of building blocks, especially for filling the leadership void.
“He will be our one senior next year, so we are looking for him to be a leader,” said Baun. “When you look at other teams, you can pick the seniors right out. They are stronger and faster.”
Girl Power
The Bucks also have another girl, sophomore forward Emily Kremser (1 assist), who is not where O’Keefe is currently but who reminds Baun a bit of Isabella Carter, who worked her way into becoming a regular defenseman as a senior last season.
“It’s tough for sophomores, let alone sophomore girls,” said Baun. “Other than Tessa, it’s tough to have young girls be effective and it’s really hard.
“We had Isabella Carter. When she was a junior, and especially a senior, she was really good. But, it’s fair to say she struggled as sophomore. She was out there, up against 18-year-old young men. She was a young girl who weighed 100 pounds, maybe, but she got really good.”
Perhaps the only other sports where girls compete against boys are bowling and golf, and those are not a contact sports like ice hockey.
“How often do you see it? Not that much,” said Baun. “They do it, and they do a good job. I like coaching them, I really do.”
Against the Wind
Tending the twine for the Bucks has been sophomore Isaac Mays. All things considered, he has posted a commendable .774 save percentage.
“It’s a tough position to be in as a sophomore,” said Baun. “He has faced a lot of shots. I think, under the circumstances, he has done a really good job for us. I really mean that.
“He’ll get better as everyone else around him gets better.”
Mays have often kept the Bucks in games early before attrition naturally sets in.
“We played North Penn and, halfway through the game, it was 2-2 -- or maybe 3-2,” said Baun. “It was a really close game.
“But, you know, the players started getting tired and we don’t have a big bench. Our goalie starts getting fatigued from seeing a lot of shots. All of a sudden, he’ll let in five goals on eight shots. Then, the game becomes a runaway and you’re barely competing.”
Another issue is that Mays is the only goalie on the team, meaning the Bucks are an injury away from putting the pads on a volunteer.
That could change as soon as next season.
“We have quite a few freshmen coming in next year, and we will have at least one more goalie,” said Baun.
The Heat is On
There are some huge games this week in both divisions.
On Wednesday, North Penn (13-2) will look to solidify at least second place – and a first-round bye in the National playoffs -- and also knock front-running Council Rock South (14-0) from the ranks of the unbeaten.
The puck drops on Wednesday (7:20, Hatfield Blue).
CR South features a balanced attack led by Jeremy Rayher (26 goals, 25 assists), Jake Weiner (31 goals, 12 assists), Jordan Sarne (12 goals, 19 assists), Jackson Mosley (10 goals, 14 assists) and defensemen Peter Pereborow (5 goals, 14 assists), Jake Maurer (2 goals, 11 assists) and Daniel Filippov (1 goal, assists).
Trey Prozzillo (.880 save percentage, 2.88 goals against average) is man between the pipes.
When the two teams met before – all the way back on Nov. 20 – CR South skated to a 6-3 win.
“Yes, it’s a big game,” confirmed North Penn coach Kevin Vaitis, whose team is led by the likes of Cole Pluck (18 goals, 25 assists), Nolan Shingle (18 goals, 14 assists) and James Boyle (8 goals, 18 assists). “They have been the best team all year. We need to come out and play our best game against them. It should be great game.”
While Plymouth Whitemarsh is running away with the American Division, having not lost in 13 games, the race for the next two playoff berths – and possible Flyers Cup invites – is growing intense.
Springfield (5-8) will be looking for its fourth straight win on Wednesday against Abington, putting more pressure on Wissahickon (7-5) and Hatboro Horsham when they meet Friday evening (6:40, Bucks).
The Trojans and Hatters have split two one-goal games so far this season.
Springfield will be watching closely.
“We think we might have a shot at that third playoff spot if we win out,” said coach Don Quinn, whose team clipped Wissahickon with 2.2 seconds left in regulation last week.
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