By Scott Huff
The Suburban High School Hockey League has a fine combination of the old and the new in the varsity coaching ranks this 2010-2011 season.
The ‘old’ can be seen in the 16-year tenure of Neshaminy head coach Ray Sherno, and the ‘new’ can be seen in first-year Pennridge varsity coach Dave Lewis.And then there is the saga of Hatboro-Horsham head coach Tricia Silvestri. Silvestri is new in her role as head coach of the Hatters, but she has been a part of the program as either a player or coach for some time.
SHSHL American Division
Hatboro-Horsham (7-1 overall, 5-1 SHSHL) has jetted off to a swift start under the leadership of Coach Silvestri.
“I told the players at the beginning of the year that we want to win the Flyers Cup,” said Silvestri. “I told them that we want to shoot for the stars – be confident that we can win every game.”
Silvestri was behind the Hatter bench last season as a varsity assistant, and also coached the Hatters’ junior varsity team. She was more than ready for the shot at the varsity job.
“This has been an awesome experience,” said Silvestri. “I’ve played ice hockey since I have been seven years old, and I was the only female player to play for the Hatters.“I was recruited to play at SUNY-Cortland and Rochester Institute of Technology,” added Silvestri. “I love being around a hockey team. It is like a band of brothers – and sisters.”
Hatboro-Horsham has a pair of female players on its team. Kelsey Koelzer in on the No. 1 offensive line for the Hatters and has scored eight goals and has 13 points. Lindsay Howard has scored a goal with four assists so far this season.
“We have been able to spread the scoring around this season,” said Silvestri as six Hatters have scored in double digits. “We don’t depend as much on Manny (Billones) to carry the scoring load.”
Billones still leads the Hatters scoring with nine goals and eight assists for 17 points.
“I have really been impressed with the play of Pat Durkin,” said Silverstri of her 5-foot, 4-inch dynamo. “He is an extremely smart player that sees the whole ice and can make plays.
“I moved him up to the No. 1 line with Manny and Kelsey, and he has been great,” added Silvestri. “It has been a positive change.”
Durkin has scored 14 points with five goals and nine assists.
“I didn’t expect us to come right out and beat almost all of the teams,” said Silvestri. “We had a speed bump with that one loss (5-3 to Lansdale Catholic), but that was a good thing. It got us to refocus.”
And that should more than help the Hatters down the road to a possible Flyers Cup trip.
SHSHL National Division
Neshaminy (3-2-2 overall, 2-2-2 SHSHL) is an extremely young team that should continue to improve as the season moves forward.
How young?
The four Redskin defenders consist of a pair of freshmen, a sophomore, and a junior. Nick Sweeney and Nick Verdi are the ninth graders, Jake Kitchenman is the 10th grader, and the ‘old man’ is junior Zach Thomas.
“They have been really hard workers so far this season,” said Neshaminy head coach Ray Sherno. “We have a bunch of young guys in key positions, and I am going to have to be patient with their development.
“Considering how young we are, I am happy with the start of the season in terms of wins and losses,” added Sherno. “We can’t get too full of ourselves, though. We have to play hard every game.”
The Skins boast a serious scoring No. 1 line in senior DJ Bell and sophomores Jordan Ducko and Steven Lee.
Bell is the second leading scorer in the SHSHL National Division with 15 goals and 13 assists for 28 points, while Ducko is the third leading scorer in the division with five goals and 12 assists for 17 points.
“That line has pretty much carried our team so far in scoring,” said Sherno. “But as the year goes on, and we get more experience, we should be able to spread the scoring around.”
SHSHL Continental Division
The new varsity coach behind the bench for Pennridge (3-5 overall, 3-4 SHSHL) is Dave Lewis. Lewis is no stranger to the Rams as he was the junior varsity coach last season.
“Right now I’m trying to assess the team,” said Lewis who returns just one senior from last year’s hockey club. “I’m looking forward to working not only on the skill level of the players, but to work out a style of play.”
The lone senior for the Rams is captain Richard Thorton.
“He is without question one of the best players on the team, and we are going to have to count on him for leadership,” said Lewis. “He doesn’t say a whole lot, but he sets a great example by the way that he carries himself out on the ice.”
Pennridge is hopeful the development of sophomore defenseman Derek Wilson will pay dividends later in the season.
“I have been very impressed with the way that Derek has played this year,” said Lewis. “He is good, and he has been very consistent. We can count on him to make good decisions.”
Matt Brown, Justin Roberts, and Joseph Root have carried the scoring load for the Rams. Brown has scored five goals and 12 points; Roberts has five goals and 10 points; and Root has four goals and 10 points.
“So far we have split the goaltending duties between Dustin (Wexler) and Eric (Mccrorie),” said Lewis. “Some games they have played great, not so great in other games. They are both still competing for a No. 1 job.”
Suburban One Sports.Com – Super Six
1. Council Rock South Golden Hawks
2. Central Bucks East Patriots
3. North Penn Knights
4.. Central Bucks South Titans
5. William Tennent Panthers
6. Hatboro-Horsham Hatters
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