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2018-19 High School Hockey Preview

By Warren Mayes | www.westnewsmagazine.com, 10/28/18, 8:30PM CDT

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From West News Magazine

Westminster Christian Academy has won the Wickenheiser Cup for the past two seasons but coach Dean Penberthy is keeping expectations modest for the Wildcats.

He said the goal this year is to attempt to win the Central Conference and then see what happens in the postseason.

“This season will be a real test for us,” Penberthy said. “We have several players that have differing schedules that will force them to miss games. We have a young group of kids who will continue to improve and get acclimated to playing against bigger stronger players.

“At times we will have a short bench and those kids will be forced to step up and compete and grow as players as the season progresses. ”

De Smet finished second in the Challenge Cup last Feburary, losing to St. Louis University High.

Coach Chris Durso, who is entering his second year as head coach at De Smet, said his team has one goal: To win De Smet’s 15th championship.

“Based on what I’ve seen in the preseason, there should be a lot of parity among the top six to seven teams in the league,” Durso said. “It could be anyone’s to win. I’m confident we will put ourselves in that conversation and hopefully make another run at getting to Enterprise Center (and) this time with a better result.”

CBC coach John Jost will begin his 21st season behind the bench for his alma mater. The Cadets lost to De Smet in the semifinals last season.

His team is ready to go.

“Maybe because of the way our season ended last year but our guys, in particular our veterans, seem very hungry to get the season started,” Jost said.

Marquette finished second in the Wickenheiser Cup tournament to Westminster. Coach Gary Tockman has 22 Mustangs returning who saw playing time last winter.

There is one new coach this season. Brian Waddell is entering first year as head coach at Parkway West, where he went to high school.

There will be no team for Whitfield this winter.

Gary Wesolowski, the club president, said there were not enough players for the Warriors to put a team on the ice.

“Unfortunately, Whitfield will not be fielding a varsity team this year,” Wesolowski said. “The head coaching position remains vacant at this time. (We are) short on players this year. Hoping to rebuild for next year.”

Whitfield’s program has had its successes in the past with two Wickheiser Cup (2012 and 2008) titles and three Founders Cups championships. The Warriors the 2018 Founders Cup earlier this year. Previously, Whitfield won the Founders Cup in 2011 and 2014.

Here is a look at the teams that responded to requests for information in alphabetical order:

CBC Cadets
2017-18 record: 21-5-3. Lost in Challenge Cup semifinal series to De Smet.
Coach: John Jost. Entering 21st year as head coach at CBC.
Assistant coaches: Nick Carosello (21 years) Randy Staub (20 years). The coaching staff is CBC hockey alumni.
Returning number of players and starters: 19 Players. 10 Starters.
Team captains: Senior Mike Deeba. Assistant captains: Senior Grant Kleinschmidt, senior Jack Troll and sophomore Brogan Rumpf.
Players on team to watch for this winter: Senior forwards Mike Deeba, Grant Kleinschmidt, Jack Ritter, Jack Troll, Mike Hibbard, and Mitch Feeney. Senior defensemen James Myer and Trevor Jones.
Newcomers expected to contribute: Freshmen forwards Jack Larrigan and Dominic Vansaghi
Players who have committed to college: None.
Team strengths: Biggest strength is the goaltending with juniors Matt Smith and Ryan Yaeger. Also have a much more mobile defense compared to last year and more scoring depth up front.
Goals: The team goal like every year is to improve as a team throughout the season to the point where team is playing its best hockey in February.
Teams in Municipal Conference: CBC, Chaminade, De Smet, Edwardsville, Oakville, St. Louis University High, Vianney.
Favorites to win conference: SLUH with some very good teams chasing them.
First game: CBC versus Westminster Christian Academy, 6:30 p.m. Monday (Oct. 29) at Queeny.
Quote: “Maybe because of the way our season ended last year but our guys, in particular our veterans, seem very hungry to get the season started,” Jost said. “It should be a fun season.”

Chaminade Red Devils
2017-18 record: 16-8-4. Lost Challenge Cup playoff series to St. Louis University High.
Coach: Joe Watson. Entering first year as head coach at Chaminade.
Assistant coaches: Tom Kaiman, Chris Ambrose.
Returning number of players and starters: 15 returning varsity players.
Team captains: All seniors. Captain Jacob Behnen. Assistant captains Beck Markarian. Jack Kremer, Vinny Servizzi.
Players on team to watch for this winter: Senior Goalie Hampus Blomdahl, junior goalie Nick Jacoby, senior defenseman Jacob Behnen, senior Vinny Servizzi, senior Beck Markarian, Junior Ryan Yemm.
Newcomers expected to contribute: Freshman Connor Williamson, freshman Andrew Clarke, junior Landon Boothe.
Players who have committed to college: None.
Team strengths: Overall team depth, elite defensive core and depth in goal.
Goals: To win a state championship.
Teams in Municipal Conference: CBC, Chaminade, De Smet, Edwardsville, Oakville, St. Louis University High, Vianney.
Favorites to win conference: Chaminade.
First game: Chaminade versus Parkway South at 6:30 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 1) at Queeny.
Quote: “I am very excited and lucky to have this group of young men,” Watson said. “The guys seem very excited about this coming up year and should be. Our team is very deep with one of the strongest D-corps in Midstates along with a solid 1A and 1B situation in net. Any given night we can play Hamp or Nick, and feel we are going to have a chance to win.”

De Smet Jesuit Spartans
2017-18 record: 19-7-4. Lost 4-0 to St. Louis University High in Challenge Cup championship game.
Coach: Chris Durso. Entering second year as head coach at De Smet
Assistant coaches: Casey Ott and Nick Blase.
Returning number of players and starters: 18 returning.
Team captains: Seniors Justin Reynolds and Ryan Brickhaus. Alternate captains are seniors
Josh Abel and Dan Kinzel, and junior Cameron Osdieck.
Players on team to watch for this winter: Seniors Jack Estes, Justin Reynolds, Dan Kinzel, Ben Lodes and juniors Colton Walpert, Michael Mullen.
Newcomers expected to contribute: Junior Colton Walpert, freshmen Harrison Brown, Vito Biondo, Kelly Coldwater, Tyson Davenport.
Players who have committed to college: None.
Team strengths: Strengths for De Smet this year should be solid defense, led by four senior defensemen. The team also has a lot of depth with two top-end scoring lines.
Goals: The goal is to win De Smet’s 15th championship, but really focus on the details to get there.
Teams in Municipal Conference: CBC, Chaminade, De Smet, Edwardsville, Oakville, St. Louis University High, Vianney, Kirkwood.
Favorites to win conference: CBC.
First game: De Smet versus Wentzville Timberland, 7:15 p.m. Friday (Nov. 2) at Wentzville.
Quote: “I am really ready to get the season going here,” Durso said. “We have a young roster with 12 players with no varsity experience stepping into the lineup. But, we also have a lot of experienced players. It’s a good mix. I think we are building something special with our program and I’m excited to see the progress in year two of my time here. Based on what I’ve seen in the preseason, there should be a lot of parity among the top six to seven teams in the league. It could be anyone’s to win. I’m confident we will put ourselves in that conversation and hopefully make another run at getting to Enterprise Center (and) this time with a better result.”

Eureka Wildcats
2017-18 record: 5-16-2.
Coach: Kevin Markovitz. Entering ninth year as head coach at Eureka.
Assistant coaches: Sam Boyer.
Returning number of players and starters: 10 players returning and eight new to varsity.
Team captains: Senior forward Mitch Gabel. Alternate captains are senior defenseman Adam Bailey and senior forward Bryce Phillips.
Players on team to watch for this winter: Junior defenseman Jimmy Franklin.
Newcomers expected to contribute: Freshman forward Shay Nolen and sophomore forwards Noah Pippinger and Ethan Moder.
Players who have committed to college: None.
Team strengths: Team speed. Will be strong defensively.
Goals: Strive for solid three-period effort per game, use team speed from all positions on the ice to create offensive opportunities.
Teams in Suburban Conference: Eureka, Lafayette, Lindbergh, Marquette, Parkway South, Parkway West, Seckman, Summit, O’Fallon.
Favorites to win conference: Marquette, Parkway South.
First game: Eureka versus Lindbergh, 7 p.m. Monday (Nov. 5) at South City.
Quote: “I am most excited about the makeup of the team from a character standpoint,” Markovitz said. “From player one through 20, we have a group of upstanding, respectable, hardworking players who realize an outstanding effort will lead to positive results. With almost half the team new to Eureka hockey and or varsity, over the course of this season we are looking forward to watching the players gel with one another and come together as a highly productive and cohesive unit. ”

Lafayette Lancers
2017-18 record: 10-14-2.
Coach: Jim Carrico. Entering third year as head coach at Lafayette.
Assistant coaches: Anthony Cappelletti and Jeff Hansen.
Returning number of players and starters: 13 players. 9 starters.
Team captains: Senior defenseman Jacob Rosomoff. Assistant captains junior Josh Hansen and junior Kamren Canova.
Players on team to watch for this winter: Seniors Colin Stewart, Grant Robinson & Jacob Rosomoff.
Newcomers expected to contribute: Senior Trevor Neuse and freshman James Vermeersch and Patrick Johnson.
Players who have committed to college: None.
Team strengths: Our ability to play as a team and to buy in what is being taught to them. With only four seniors we are a young team and will only improve.
Goals: To continue to improve each game.
Teams in Suburban Conference: Eureka, Lafayette, Lindbergh, Marquette, Parkway South, Parkway West, Seckman, Summit.
Favorites to win conference: Marquette.
First game: Lafayette versus Francis Howell Central, 9 p.m. Monday (Oct. 29) at the St. Peters Rec Plex.
Quote: “We are very excited for the season,” Carrico said. “For the first since I have been here we have a team that is all in together. We have the right leadership in place and want to improve as a team.”

Marquette Mustangs
2017-18 record: 18-9-2. Lost 4-2 to Westminster Christian Academy in Wickenheiser Cup championship game.
Coach: Gary Tockman. Entering fourth year as head coach at Marquette.
Assistant coaches: Craig Campbell, Gregg Rohlfing, Mikey Selby, Nathan Pflantz.
Returning number of players and starters: Of the 30-man roster, 22 players returns that got time last year. Return 10 starting forwards and four starting defensemen.
Team captains: Senior Ben Chase, senior Sam Wheeler, senior Daniel Fridman, senior Trevor Keune and junior Adison Brueck.
Players on team to watch for this winter: Senior goalie Nick Stewart is returning from last year and is another in a long line of top St Louis goalies at Marquette. As in years past, we build from the net out and will ride him as far as he will take us. Senior forwards Ben Chase, Trevor Keune, and Sam Wheeler lead a young but quick group of forwards, including nine juniors who will certainly be a big part of our plans this year. I would expect both Adison Brueck and Andrew Farrell to continue to be top players for us and play in all key roles. Two returning sophomores in Riley Brueck and Justin Rapp will also play larger and more important roles for us this year. The defensive group is skilled and quick, led by senior Daniel Fridman. Senior Blake Zimmer made the move to defense this year and brings a new dimension to our team. As usual, we are strong at D and have a good mix of speed and physical play.
Newcomers expected to contribute: We have a couple of freshman in Dom Bartchesko, Gavin Delfosse and Luke Chase that can really play and a player in sophomore Ben Doran that returned to St Louis after a stint in Philadelphia last year. While not new, there are some junior players like forwards Josh Salmon, Devin Tockman, Zack Maupin and defenseman Drew Cuba, Andy Richmann and Charlie Katke that logged good minutes last year and should be even more valuable this year.
Players who have committed to college: None.
Team strengths: We always live and die by our defensive play since we are always blessed with top goaltenders. This year however, we also have the quickest group of forwards from top to bottom that we have ever had so we won’t by shy about a track meet with anyone. We have some schemes that we incorporate to help keep our opponents uneasy and as the newcomers learn them, we should be able to compete with just about anyone this year. Our biggest challenge will be getting all the players in the lineup and enough ice time to keep them developing.
Goals: Our goals never change. We preach team first and unity within the team as goal number one, knowing with that, the other goals — win our conference, play in the Challenge Cup, play in the last game of the season — will take care of themselves. We really only focus on things we can control.
Teams in Suburban Conference: Eureka, Lafayette, Lindbergh, Marquette, Parkway South, Parkway West, Seckman, Summit.
Favorites to win conference: I have not even begun to pay attention to other teams yet but am sure that they will all be good. There are a lot of good coaches in our conference so teams that may not be as strong on paper can jump up and bite you. We will not take anyone lightly, that we can promise.
First game: Marquette versus Chaminade, 8:15 p.m. Monday (Nov. 5) at Queeny.
Quote: “We are cautiously excited this year,” Tockman said. “We are relatively young but do have some older experienced players to lean on–again, nine juniors in the top 20 who will be important for us. We are excited to see new kids in the program as well as some returners that will see more ice than last year. We have a lot of captains because we ask a lot of them. It is not just a letter on the jersey for us and they earn that letter each and every day. Win or lose, we will get after it each night. I am lucky to have such a great and dedicated staff to work with. Each of them has an important role on the team and I lean heavily on them. Without them, we just don’t have any success.”

MICDS Rams
2017-18 record: 17-7.
Coach: John Mattingly Jr. Entering eighth year as head coach at MICDS.
Assistant coaches: Spence Myer, Charlie Mohr.
Returning number of players and starters: 17 returning players.
Team captains: Jacob Lefton. Assistant captains have yet to be named.
Players on team to watch for this winter: The entire senior class is very talented: Ross Danforth, Jacob Lefton, Nick Mellanby, Matt Cowley, Jonas Hart and Samar Hajji.
Players who have committed to college: None.
Team strengths: Have a veteran squad this year that look to build on the success of the program over the past two seasons.
Goals: Team goal is always the same — to win the Central Division and win the Wickenheiser Cup.
Teams in Central Conference: Clayton, Fox, John Burroughs, Ladue, Lutheran South, MICDS, Northwest, Priory, St. Mary’s, Webster Groves, Westminster Christian Academy, Whitfield.
Favorites to win conference: Priory MICDS and Ladue are strong contenders.
First game: MICDS versus Vianney at 6:15 p.m., Friday (Nov. 2) at Kirkwood .
Quote: “MICDS has a very talented group of seniors and a solid underclass presence,” Mattingly said. “We should be one of the top contenders in the Central Division and playoffs.”

Parkway South Patriots
2017-18 record: 13-10-2.
Coach: Jim Taylor. Entering third year as head coach at Parkway South.
Assistant coaches: John Ferrarra runs the defense, Pat Gifford runs the forwards and coaches the JV. Jon Ranney is goalie coach.
Returning number of players and starters: 12 players. 8 starters.
Team captains: Captains aren’t selected yet but we do have very good senior leadership.
Players on team to watch for this winter: Goaltender Peyton Stevenson is coming off a junior season that was interrupted by injury that had him out for quite a bit of time. He’s had a productive off season and start to the year in an effort to put in a big senior season. Up front, will be lead by seniors Henry and Jacob Kasten on a line with Max Boyer. That line should be very productive. Will be solid on the blue line, led by Vince Zerega, Gabe Fann, Michael Rancilio, and Chase McClellan, who can also contribute up front.
Players who have committed to college: None.
Team strengths: Should be strong in net with solid competition among seniors Peyton Stevenson and Vincent Rebello and freshman Sam Schmidt. When the entire roster is available, the team speed and puck movement we’re seeing should make us very competitive.
Teams in Suburban Conference: Eureka, Lafayette, Lindbergh, Marquette, Parkway South, Parkway West, Seckman, Summit.
Favorites to win conference: Marquette certainly looked very good in their preseason tournament. They’re probably the favorite as we sit here today.
First game: Parkway South versus Chaminade at 6:30 p.m. Thursday (Nov. 1) at Queeny.
Quote: “We’re certainly excited by how they’ve prepared this year and how the group is approaching practice,” Taylor said. “If that discipline and commitment translate properly, it should be a successful season.”

Parkway West Longhorns
2017-18 record: 6-14-1.
Coach: Brian Waddell. Entering first year as head coach at Parkway West.
Assistant coaches: Rich Meek and John Overstreet.
Returning number of players and starters: 14 returning skaters and 2 returning goalies. Hhave added one new freshman and two out of district players — a junior from Parkway Central and a senior from Whitfield.
Team captains: Four assistant captains now with one to emerge as captain. Senior Tarek Baig, senior Andrew Aydt, senior
Keegan Sidwell and junior Cole Waddell.
Players who have committed to college: None.
Team strengths: Our goaltenders and defense will be our team strength this year. Defense has three seniors and one junior while the goalies are a senior and junior.
Teams in Suburban Conference: Eureka, Lafayette, Lindbergh, Marquette, Parkway South, Parkway West, Seckman, Summit.

Westminster Christian Academy Wildcats
2017-18 record: 15-9-4. Won Wickenheiser Cup with a 4-2 win over Marquette.
Coach: Dean Penberthy. Entering second year as head coach at WCA.
Assistant coaches: Tom Canfield, Sam Canfield, Dave Theranos.
Returning number of players: 15 returning players and six freshman.
Team captains: Not chosen yet.
Players on team to watch for this winter: Senior goalie Sam Haupfear, senior Joe Schroeder and senior Jack Canfield, who is coming off of knee surgery. Junior Aidan Penberthy.
Newcomers expected to contribute: Junior Ben Parres, freshmen Harry Ottsen and Jack Wooldridge.
Players who have committed to college: None.
Team strengths: Goalie Sam Haupfear looks very good so far this season. Junior newcomer Ben Parres and Aidan Penberthy seems to have found a knack for scoring. Freshmen Harry Ottsen and Jack Wooldridge expected to get a lot of meaningful minutes and contribute on both ends of the ice.
Goals: Win conference this year and see what happens in the playoffs.
Teams in Central Conference: Clayton, Fox, John Burroughs, Ladue, Lutheran South, MICDS, Northwest, Priory, St. Mary’s, Webster Groves, Westminster Christian Academy, Whitfield.
Favorites to win conference: The Central is a new conference for us, so other than Ladue and MICDS we really do not know what to expect. We will try to focus on things that will make us a better team and hopefully make teams adjust their play to defend.
First game: Westminster Christian Academy versus CBC, 6:30 p.m. Monday (Oct. 29) at Queeny.
Quote: “This season will be a real test for us,” Penberthy said. “We have several players that have differing schedules that will force them to miss games. We have a young group of kids who will continue to improve and get acclimated to playing against bigger stronger players. At times we will have a short bench and those kids will be forced to step up and compete and grow as players as the season progresses. High school hockey is a unique experience for these kids and is always exciting to see players succeed in front of their friends and classmates.”