After a promising start to the season with a 10-0 win over Hamilton West, the High School North ice hockey team is off to a rough start, winless in its last 12 games. The squad is now 1-12 on the season.
Despite the lack of wins, though, second-year Knights head coach Andrew Ferencevych said he has been impressed with the team’s work ethic this season.
“I think the work ethic has been strong and the players, their ability to learn in practice,” Ferencevych said. “A lot of the players come and they work hard, they try to learn. They don’t just zone out or fool around in practice so I think that’s helped in terms of the positioning and in terms of their skating ability and passing.”
With fewer players on its roster (14), North has struggled with depth issues. A lack of players has caused matchup problems, hurting the Knights later on in games.
“A lot of games this year we’ve been able to keep close for a period and a half, but we wind up giving up a lot of goals in the second half of the second period because the players get tired,” Ferencevych said. “The other teams are able to use more players so they’re more rested in the second half of the second period.”
Despite the struggles, leading scorer Greg Olsson is averaging over a goal per game with 15 total this season. Freshman David Corell has earned quality minutes and has four goals, while Olsson netted six shots in North’s only win.
“Probably his skating ability and his shot [have been most impressive],” Ferencevych said. “I wish his shot was a little more accurate, because he’d probably score some more, but when he puts it on net he scores a lot of the time.”
Ferencevych said Issac Kim, Sam Weiskopf, and William Cobb, a Ewing High School student who’s playing on the team as part of the first year of a co-op between the two schools, have improved this season. Kim, a center, has taken shifts on defense to help the team’s depth.
Gordon Sine has also stood out this season.
“He’s a second-line center, and he’s been very solid on the defensive end and he’s contributed a couple points during the season,” said Ferencevych.
South is having slightly more success with a 5-5-2 record. The Pirates already met one of their goals, taking the annual David Bachner Cup with a 7-2 win over rival North.
According to South coach Laurent Lassance, the team wants a winning record and double-digit victories. South has 10 games left in the season to reach that mark.
“[There have been] at least three games up to date that we should’ve won that we either lost or tied,” Lassance said. “Consistency right now is what needs to be better for us to attain the goals that we set for ourselves.”
Lassance said Jon Matthews and brothers Brian and Patrick Tso have stood out this year. Brian Tso has 16 goals, while Matthews has 13.
“They’ve always played well just because they’ve always played together since they came in as freshmen, so they have good chemistry,” Lassance said.
Patrick Tso, a senior, took over the goaltending duties this season. He has a .945 save percentage.
“I always knew he had the talent, it’s just that there was always a junior or senior in front of him who was just as good, if not better, than him,” Lassance said. “This is basically the year that he gets to try to go out there and shine, which he’s done a very good job for us.”
While inconsistency has been an issue for the Pirates, Lassance pointed to his team’s depth, like North, as its biggest weakness. The Pirates have six good forwards, giving the team only two top lines.
“Once we get into our seventh to ninth offensive player, we’re not as good as some of the top teams either in our conference, like Hopewell or Notre Dame. Eventually that wears down on you,” Lassance said. “A big factor in the game is depth, especially when we play teams that have not necessarily more skill but just more bodies to put out there to be able to rest more of their top guys.”
Defensively, freshman Daniel Wang, despite his rookie status, has earned quality minutes of playing time.
“He is making freshman mistakes, which is going to happen, but skill-wise he’s definitely a pleasant surprise and he has been playing regular shifts for us,” Lassance said.
To help fill defensive depth, Lassance has also been using forward Shikky Rathor on the blue line.
“We’ve needed some help back on defense, and he was willing to go back there,” Lassance said. “He’s arguably our best defenseman right now.”
While depth has been an issue, the team is front-loaded with upperclassmen. The Pirates have seven seniors, who have supported the younger players. The Tso brothers and Matthews are all seniors.
“The majority of talent that we have this year is a large group of seniors. They’ve been together and they’ve pretty much played regularly since they came in as freshmen,” Lassance said. “Chemistry is really well, on the ice as well, and when the young guys do get out there, the seniors support them.”
#b#Hockey Honors#/b#
High School South senior forward Brian Tso was one of seven athletes named a December New Jersey Devils high school players of the month. Tso scored 14 goals and amassed 27 points throughout the month and was the lone Colonial Valley Conference selection.â
