By GORDON GLANTZ
In the race for first place, Council Rock South fell off the pace in the National Division race after a recent 7-5 loss to Pennridge.
“I wouldn’t call that a surprise loss,” said veteran coach Joe Houck. “Pennridge lost a lot of players, but they still have a couple of really good players, and that’s all it takes.
“It was a little bit of a setback, but we will bounce back.”
And part of that optimism about bouncing back stems from a deep belief that you learn more from your defeats than your victories.
“Absolutely, man, absolutely,” said Houck. “I always tell the kids that you have to become good losers before you become good winners.
“Winning is easy. Losing is the hard part. I’ve got a young team right now. It’s like this, ‘If you’re not contributing out on the ice, you’re not doing me any good.’ But we’ll bounce back and, hopefully, be prepared for the last 4-5 weeks.”
With first place drifting further out of reach, the Golden Hawks are hoping to cling to the precious second seed, which would mean a first-round bye in the playoffs.
“All in all, we’ve got to buckle down,” said Houck. “We have to be more particular about what we do on the ice and not make mistakes and pay attention out there.
“Coming down the homestretch, we need to just work hard at practices and get these kids to all be on the same page. It’s all you can do.”
Destiny at Hand
The Golden Hawks control their own destiny with games against teams chasing them. They face Pennsbury on Feb. 5 (8:45, Grundy B) and Central Bucks South (7:20, Grundy B).
They will wrap up the regular season with defending Flyers Cup and state champion North Penn on Feb. 18 (7:20, Hatfield Blue).
“Pennsbury is a good team, and C.B. South is a very good team,” said Houck. “We beat those guys 3-0 once, but they work hard. We’ll see what happens.
"And, North Penn is the best team in the league. They only lost one player from last year, but they are still beatable.”
For the Record Books
Houck’s Hawks are led by co-captain Jake Weiner (26 goals, 11 assists), who became the program’s leading scorer in the loss to Pennridge, surpassing Pat Grilli.
“He has been playing since his freshman year,” said Houck. “Jake is a natural goal scorer. Every time he has the puck, you know, you have to keep your eye on him. He finds a way to get to the net and put it in. He is physical guy.
“He’s a really good kid, who has been coming to me for four years now. He has a good personality. He doesn’t just show up, play and leave. We chat a little bit.”
Weiner – already signed by a junior team in Mercer, N.J. -- is joined on the first line by fellow captain Jordan Sarne (13 goals, 12 assists) and Allen Pronin (8 goals, 12 assists).
“My problem this year is that I only have one line that can score goals,” said Houck. “I’m still trying to find what works to get some productivity out of other players on the team.”
Depth comes from Brendan Rooney (7 goals, 5 assists), Keagan Spence (8 goals, 4 assists), Jacob Cohen (5 goals, 6 assists) and Mitchell Grinberg (1 goal, 9 assists).
“Those guys are all good players,” said Houck. “They need to keep on working hard for me.
“I’m basically a two-line deep team, although I can put three lines together. I’ve got 20 kids on the bench, and that means that there are a couple of kids who don’t even play. We don’t have a JV league (in the SHSHL) this year, and I didn’t want to cut kids. We made ninth graders practice players.”
The defense is led by Wesley Mallon (7 assists). Aidan Judge (2 goals, 4 assists), Connor Holland (5 assists) and Chase Stratton (1 goal, 2 assists) fill out the top four while others fill in.
“I’ve got a young D-corps,” said Houck. “I can’t play my top guys the whole game.
“I go three deep, but I still try to run six, or at least four.
“Wes Mallon is my top guy. Connor Holland is another good one, and Chase Stratton is sophomore who came in from Princeton Day School and has been doing a good job. (Judge) is another defenseman. He is a sophomore. He needs a little bit of work, but he’s a good player.”
Trey Prozzillo , who is 7-2, is the senior netminder. He has a 2.78 goals against average and an .887 save percentage.
“Trey does a real good job,” said Houck, who has high hopes for sophomore Evan Ayala (0.47 goals against, .952 save percentage in three victorious starting assignments) as a goalie of the future.
In Timeout
Weiner and Judge were forced to sit out Wednesday’s 8-1 win over Neshaminy, each committed four penalties, accounting for 8 of 14 total trips to the sin bin (as compared to four for Pennridge).
Houck, who referees 30 games a month, did not want to hear any excuses.
“If you put yourself in trouble, trouble is going to find you,” said Houck, who was also automatically suspended. “I see it when I ref. You act like an idiot when you’re out there, you are going to get yourself caught.”
Twist of Fate
Hatboro Horsham and Plymouth Whitemarsh will go down to the wire for first place, and a first-round bye, in the American Division.
But both of those teams are assured of playoff berths.
The third and final postseason spot will go to either Wissahickon or Springfield.
A year ago, it was the Spartans who surged into third place in a photo finish.
The Trojans were dealing with a numbers shortage a year ago in the stretch run, but they had a full squad on Senior Night to post an 8-5 win over the Spartans, a team they fell hard to, 10-0, back on Nov. 20.
“It was a huge win,” said head coach James Rumsey. “It was good for everyone, especially for our seniors. It was just a good team win altogether. We did play them earlier in the season, but we only had around six people. The other night, we had a full roster, so that was cool.
“We had all of our guys there. It’s a small school, attendance is always tough, especially when you also have club stuff. When we have everybody show up at once, things seem to work out well. It’s just sometimes difficult to get to that position.”
In his third year, Rumsey sees a team determined to get back into the playoffs.
With 12 skaters and two goalies at this disposal, Rumsey believes the Trojans have gone from the little team that could have made the playoffs last year to the little team than should this time around.
“I think they are all ready to go and are all interested in making the playoffs this year,” he said. “They all work so hard. They get limited breaks, but they just carry themselves so well. We try not to pick up bad penalties or do anything stupid that will make our roster even smaller.
“They are all mature, and they have a common goal to win. It’s been good. It’s a gift to have everybody willing to run through a wall for you.”
There are two remaining games against Springfield – Feb. 6 (6:40, BCI) and Feb. 18 (9 p.m., Hatfield Blue) – and both teams were knotted at 4-7 after 11 contest.
“It’s those two games,” said Rumsey, whose squad will take on HH Thursday (7:10, Hatfield Gray). “Ideally, we’d like to take both of them. We definitely have a good shot. In the playoffs, anything can happen.”
Leading the Way
The Trojans’ roster took a hit when Jack Raebiger graduated and his younger brother, Ben, transferred to Devon Prep.
Enter junior Mack Risnychock (15 goals, 7 assists), a transfer from La Salle, who has been a spark plug for the offense while Logan Dicus (9 goals, 7 assists) anchors the defense.
“He’s been great,” said Rumsey of Risnychock. “He played for (assistant coach Jay Jaisle) and me back in middle school. He went to La Salle for two years and came back. We are sure glad to have him back. He’s such a good kid. He’s super mature and a really hard worker.”
Dicus, meanwhile, redefines to meaning of workhorse.
“He plays defense, but he can score, too,” said Rumsey. “He is just super talented. He is one of those who can kind of do anything.”
Dicus doesn’t play the whole game for the Trojans, it only seems like it.
“He plays for as long as you tell him,” said Rumsey. “He takes a seat once a period. He has a motor that just doesn’t seem to stop. He comes off, takes a minute or two to take a deep breath and then he goes right back out there.”
Supporting Cast
Another forward coming on strong for the Trojans is Joey Gambino (5 goals, 6 assists), who adds intangibles not seen on the stat sheet.
“He’s one of our captains, and he has taken over more of a leadership role this year,” said Rumsey. “When he has a good game, everybody kind of has a good game. He’s just a really hard worker. He has been adding some offense for us.”
Depth upfront is added by the likes of Link Matozzo (2 goals, 4 assists) and Dryden Jaisle (4 assists).
The Puck Stops Here
The goalie, Fletcher Lynch, has completely grown into his role after not donning the pads until after middle school.
“He has only been our goalie for a couple of years now,” said Rumsey. “He has been huge there for us, facing a lot of shots at times. He’s just so dedicated to the craft and getting better.”
Lynch has a 6.39 goals against average and an .830 save percentage.
“He is really committed and has gotten really good at the position in just a few years,” added Rumsey.
Youth is Served
Rumsey also praised freshman rear guard Sajan Desai.
“He’s a really smart player who comes all the time,” said Rumsey. “He is solid on defense and has been a really good addition for us this year.”
Another freshman who has helped the cause is forward Chase McClintock (2 goals, 7 assists in five games), who got a late start because of club hockey commitments.
“He has really pumped up our numbers,” said Rumsey. “He has been a huge addition to the team.”
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