North Penn will face Boyertown in Tuesday’s Flyers Cup Tournament final. Check out the preview article that features a pair of team’s unsung heroes. Photos provided courtesy of Laura Rowe & Tracy Valko: https://solsports.zenfolio.com/f807679856
By GORDON GLANTZ
While it has become ancient history, the Philadelphia Flyers won consecutive Stanley Cups in the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons behind legendary players like captain Bobby Clarke, leading playoff scorer each year, Rick MacLeish, and two-time playoff MVP in goalie Bernie Parent.
But other teams around the NHL also had their standouts. The difference was the depth provided by a supporting cast of players willing to play their roles for the team affectionately known as the Broad Street Bullies.
For the Flyers, there were players like gritty third-line center Orest Kindrachuk and defensive defenseman Ed Van Impe, who was the captain prior to Clarke.
As the North Penn ice hockey team seeks to repeat as Flyers Cup champions Tuesday night against Boyertown (8:45, Hatfield Gray), coach Kevin Vaitas will be relying as much on third-line pivot and assistant captain Luke Haftel along with defensive anchor and team captain Chase Kelly Del Ricci.
Said Vaitis: “In order for teams to be successful, you need all types of players and Luke and Chase help to bring all type of games that we need.”
Kelly Del Ricci, who has been playing ice hockey since the age of 5, will get the team warmups started and then take it from there, shifting into fierce competitor mode once the puck drops.
“I help set the tone in the games, and just go out and play the way I play in the games and lead,” he said. “I try more leading by example. I will talk, but it’s more about leading by example on the ice by playing physical and doing what I have to do.”
A year ago, when the Knights went on their magical run to win both the Flyers Cup and then the state title, this point was driven home by a notable alumni of the school, Jay Caufield, who had his name engraved on the Stanley Cup in 1992.
“We were fortunate to meet Jay Caufield last year in Pittsburgh in states, as Jay is a North Penn alumni and played on the Penguins,” said Vaitis. “Jay talked to us about everyone having their role.
“(Haftel) does that. He goes out there and gives us energy each shift. He is a physical player and then he’s very vocal on the bench. He doesn’t let guys slack off and wants the team to be successful. He doesn’t care about individual stats.”
According to Haftel, he is just doing his part, whether on the ice or waiting for the next shift.
“On the bench, I can be pretty vocal,” he said. “I think it can really help the team, having vocal leaders. That goes for all of our captains and assistant captains as well. Everyone is pretty vocal and gets the team fired up.
“I’m the third-line center. I like to produce, and we can produce, but I want to provide energy to the team. We are a very deep team. There is so much talent on our team. We like to ride that energy role. If we can provide some offense, too, that’s great.”
Kelly Del Ricci, in his fourth year on varsity, is more of an old school defensive defenseman that Vaitis described as “one of the toughest players on the team.”
That work ethic equates to drawing one of the toughest assignments on a nightly basis.
“There have been games where he has shut down other teams’ top players with his physical play,” said Vaitis. “He has also been our captain the last two years, and he is one of your ideal captains. He works hard, leads by example and never questions his role.
“He doesn’t play on the power play much because that’s not his game but he plays a lot on the penalty kill.”
As a senior, Kelly Del Ricci is part of a senior class that has gone from rags to riches.
Added Vaitis: “I’m fortunate enough to have the chance to coach Chase these past few years and see him develop into the player and person he is.”
No Ship Like Leadership
While the tone is set by Vaitis and the coaching staff, the leaders – like Haftel and Kelly Del Ricci – have kept the team focused during a campaign that saw the Knights go undefeated in the SHSHL regular season and playoffs.
“We wanted to win the County Line Cup, the league championship, be seeded No. 1 for the Flyers Cup and win the Flyers Cup,” said Vaitis. “We have accomplished four out of six so far, but we know that these last two are going to be our going to be our most difficult tasks for the year.
“We have to focus on Tuesday only and on Boyertown.”
As defending Flyers Cup and state champions, opponents have circled meetings with North Penn on their calendars.
“We talked about it all year,” said Haftel. “We know that everyone is going to give us their best game. Everyone is looking to knock us down, and we just continue to play our best game.
“As leaders, nothing changes. The game plan doesn’t change. Everyone continues to play well and do their part. It’s everyone, as a group. We didn’t lose a lot of seniors from last year, and everyone has just stayed so focused all year. We knew, coming into this year, what we could do. We set our goals high. We know we can repeat, but we still have work to do.”
The deeper this year’s run goes, the more the lessons learned from a season ago ring in the team’s ears as much as a pump-up song in the pregame locker room.
“It was something special last year,” said Haftel. “No one had us winning and making a run. For us to continue to win those big games in those big moments, it was a lot of fun.
“During the Flyers Cup last year, we just continued to grow. We are back here again, and we’re ready to go.”
Kelly Del Ricci sees it much the same way, saying: “Last year, we did something that nobody expected us to do. Now, here we are in the championship. I think we know what can do and, if we do what we know have to do, we should have no problem with whatever team we play. We should be fine.”
Bearing Down
Boyertown is not an unfamiliar foe, as the Knights and Bears crossed paths in a regular season clash back on Nov. 14.
Now they meet again, squaring off for all the marbles as the top two seeds.
“We played them once, in a nonleague matchup, and we won that game, 5-2,” said Haftel. “We know, after coming into this game, that it doesn’t really mean anything.
“They are a very strong team. They are the No. 2 seed, so it doesn’t get much better than that. We know it’s not going to be easy at all.
“We have to play our best game. If we do that, then I’m fairly confident we are going to come out on top.”
Through three Flyers Cup games, the second-seeded Bears of the Interscholastic Hockey League are led by Brayden Kotzen’s 10 points (6 goals, 4 assists) and Logan Brown’s six points (2 goals, 4 assists).
Checking in with five points each are Nate Ochranek (3 goals, 2 assists) and Dylan Remick (2 goals, 3 assists).
Lucas Yancey has gone the distance in goal, posting a 2.67 goals against average and an .899 save percentage.
“I know Boyertown has a number of talented forwards and a strong defense and good goaltending,” said Vaitis. “They played a tough schedule this year against very strong teams, so we have our work cut out for us.”
Coming Up Clutch
Through three Flyers Cup games, Nolan Shingle has 10 points (5 goals, 5 assists) and Sam Norton has nine points (3 goals, 6 assists).
Chris Silvotti has added five points (4 goals, 1 assist). In two games, James Boyle has four points (2 goals, 2 assists).
In net, Andy Norton has started twice, posting a 2.00 goals against average and a .927 save percentage. In one winning start, Aidan Quigley also has a 2.00 goals against average and a .917 save percentage.
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