By GORDON GLANTZ
As post-Thanksgiving action is set to resume this week, defending Flyers Cup and state champion North Penn resumed its spot on the throne as the king of the hill in the SHSHL National Division.
“We have a pretty good start to the season so far,” said coach Kevin Vaitis, who revealed that the 5-0 league start, which includes outscoring opponents to the tune of 31-5, only tells part of the success story.
The Knights have also used the early part of season to take on all comers from outside of the SHSHL as a means to test their mettle and be in midseason form.
With so many returning players from last year’s championship run, it was seen as vital to up the ante and guard against complacency.
“We have played four or five scrimmage games as well,” said Vaitis. “Coming into the season, and with so many guys coming back this year, the goal still remains the same.”
Those goals are anything but a secret.
“We want to win a Suburban championship, a Flyers Cup championship and a state championship,” said Vaitis. “We wanted to push the players a little bit more this year. We ended up setting up a bunch of scrimmage games in the Inter-County League, as well as AAA Flyers Cup-eligible teams.
“We played Holy Ghost Prep, St. Joe’s Prep, Malvern Prep and Downingtown West. We didn’t win all of those games, but all were good competition, and it pushes us to get better and better each week.”
The result has been resounding league success in the early going.
Added Vaitis: “It has really helped us early on the season because other (SHSHL) teams may have only played five or six games while we have played 10 or 11 so far.”
Seeking Clarity
Vaitis added that more insight about the National’s power structure will be revealed this week, as the Knights take on Pennsbury Wednesday (7:20, Hatfield Blue).
The Falcons are 2-2 in league play and are paced by Shane Gleisner (8 goals, 5 assists).
Vaitis will also be keeping an eye the second game at that location Wednesday, when Council Rock South faces off against Souderton.
CR South is led by veteran sniper Jake Weiner (11 goals, 3 assists) and Jordan Sarne (2 goals, 7 assists) and backstopped by Trey Porzillo (1.75 goals against average, .935 save percentage).
Souderton is led by Maxwell Ryon (9 goals, 7 assists), Julia Kaminsky (9 goals, 3 assists), Jackson Kelly (6 goals, 7 assists) and Cameron Fairweather (3 goals, 8 assists).
Both teams will be putting 3-1 records on the line.
On Thursday (8:30, Hatfield Blue) Central Bucks South takes on Central Bucks East.
The Patriots (3-1) feature a balanced attack that is led by Ethan Cenci (5 goals, 2 assists), Cole Kleindorst (2 goals, 5 assists) and rearguard Benjamin Dempsey (3 goals, 3 assists).
The Titans (3-2) are led by Dominic Gibson (goals, 3 assists) and feature goalie Nathan Napolitano (3.80 goals against average, .886 save percentage).
“You have Council Rock South, C.B. South, Souderton, Pennsbury and C.B. East are kind of like the top teams right now,” said Vaitis. “There are bunch of good games coming up this week.
“This is where you start to get more clarity about the other teams in the league. Usually, by the holidays, you have played everybody at least once. Souderton is the only team we won’t play before the New Year, but then we play twice in the first two weeks of January. We will have feel soon of what other teams have, and of who their better players are.”
Overall, as the teams in the National fall into distinct categories, Vaitis has empathy for the teams in transition.
How could he not, considering where the Knights were once where teams like Pennridge (1-4) and C.B. West (0-6) are now?
“It’s interesting,” he said. “There a couple of teams at the top. There is that middle of the pack and a couple of teams that are rebuilding phase.
“I talk to the coaches who are in that rebuilding phase. I tell them that, ‘You just have to keep pushing and stay positive.’ We were there ourselves three years ago.”
Goal-Oriented
The present version of the Knights is a well-oiled machine with clearly defined goals.
It started with the County Line Cup, which resulted in an 8-1 win over CB South on Thanksgiving eve.
The next milestones are the regular season and league titles, followed by repeating as Flyers Cup and state champions.
“They have a great mentality,” said Vaitis. “It’s one game at a time. All we are thinking about now is Pennsbury, who we will play on Wednesday.”
Beyond that healthy mentality, the Knights have the legs to outlast opponents, as Vaitis rolls four lines and plays five defensemen.
So far, it has paid dividends in the third period of games.
“The third period is when we really kind of break the game open,” said Vaitis. “I think that’s because we have so many lines who can just play, we wear the other teams out by the third period. Credit that to the boys. They just continue to work throughout the games, and push themselves to maintain focus. They do the right things. They don’t panic. They know that their opportunities are going to come and they capitalize on them.”
He also boasts two starting caliber goalies with 1.00 goals against averages – Andrew Norton (.930 save percentage) and Aiden Quigley (.946) – at his disposal.
“We’re very fortunate to have two of the top goalies in the league,” said Vaitis. “We really rely on both a lot. We know, with either one in net, that we are going to get a solid effort back there. We just have to play well in front of them.”
With forward Cole Pluck being the only major loss from last year’s team, his spot on the top line – along with veterans Samuel Norton (4 goals, 4 assists) and Nolan Shingle (5 goals, 2 assists) -- has been filled by sophomore Izzy Cabrales (3 goals, 5 assists), whose brother, Danny Cabrales (2 goals, 3 assists), is a returning senior defenseman.
“Izzy missed all of last season with a shoulder injury, and he was someone we were really counting on as a freshman,” said Vaitis. “He has just come right in this year and is playing with Sam Norton and Nolan Shingle on our top line.”
Vaitis added that the younger of the Cabrales brothers is filling the void on the top line without fanfare.
“He’s a really good compliment to Sam and Nolan,” said Vaitis. “He does a really good job of dishing the puck, while Sam and Nolan are good at finishing. Having someone like Izzy there, with his playmaking ability, gives them an extra weapon on that line.”
The second line is just as lethal with Chris Silvotti (8 goals, 4 assists), Derek Lugara (1 goal) and Declan Leahy (3 goals).
The coach also praised freshman defenseman Gavin Lombardi for fitting in alongside the likes of stalwarts James Boyle (2 goals, 8 assists) and Chase Kelly Del Ricci (1 goal, 6 assists).
“He has given is a big lift back there,” said Vaitis, whose team has already potted five shorthanded goals in league action. “The last three games we played – against Boyertown, Council Rock South and C.B. South – will probably be three of the top teams to beat in the Flyers Cup at the end of the year, and Gavin was out there playing against those teams and was holding his own against them. He is doing a real nice job as a freshman.”
American Dreams
While the National Division is sorting itself out, the American has quickly turned into a two-horse race between Hatboro-Horsham (6-0) and Plymouth Whitemarsh (4-0).
As fate would have it, the Hatters and Colonials meet twice this week: Wednesday at 7:20 at Grundy and Friday at 8:30 at BCI.
PW is paced by Daniel Guller (4 goals, 14 assists), Blake Ambler (5 goals, 7 assists), Cooper Kanze (8 goals, 3 assists) and Ryan Jagher (2 goals, 7 assists).
Hatters to watch are Nathan Nemchinov (10 goals, 12 assists) and Vincent Graziani (9 goals, 12 assists), while they can count Eric Miller (2.56 goals against average, .880) to make the big saves.
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