PI hockey counting
on new starters on defense
By Kevin Sjoberg
Sports Reporter
PRESQUE ISLE – The Wildcat ice hockey team enters the 2010-11 season with the hope of playing for another Eastern Maine Class B championship, but vital personnel losses from last year’s team will make it a challenge.
Presque Isle went 14-4 during the regular season and beat Winslow in the semifinals before falling to Brewer in the regional title game. It was the third time in the last four years the team had reached the EM championship game, with the 2008-09 squad capturing the lone title in the team’s 20-year history.
Contributed photo/Carla Cyr
WILDCAT HOCKEY TEAM – Members of the Presque Isle Wildcats’ varsity hockey team are, in front from left, Josh MacFarline, manager Melissa Carson, Trevor Levesque, Mikey Michaud, assistant coach Darren Carlisle, head coach Carl Flynn, Ryder Soucy, Kate Campbell, manager Clarissa Buck and Nic Davis. Back row, Adam Flynn, Isaac Lajoie, Scott Rhynold, Derek Sczuroski, Jordan Hallett, Tyler Seeley, Jacob Buck, Evan Waddell, Caleb Buck, Andrew Michaud, Nathan Sperrey, Connor Shaw and Cody Merrill. Absent when photo was taken was assistant coach Greg Cyr.
The ’Cats have plenty of key players to replace, including the top two defensemen and five of their top seven point scorers.
“We graduated five seniors and have taken on five freshmen, with a majority of them expected to see a lot of ice time,” said sixth-year head coach Carl Flynn, “so we’re young, especially on the defensive end.”
Even though veterans Jacob Buck and Jordan Hallett will start as defensemen, neither have received the playing time you might normally expect from returning seniors. Last season, they played behind talented backliners Steven Ford and Jason Martin, who both graduated after stellar careers. Buck is the team’s captain, while Hallett is one of the assistant captains.
Others who will be part of the youthful PI defense include a pair of freshmen, Mikey Michaud and Andrew Michaud, and junior Nate Sperrey.
Staff photo/Joseph Cyr
WILDCAT JUNIOR ISAAC LAJOIE controls the puck during a regular season game last year. LaJoie is the second-leading returning point scorer for the Presque Isle hockey team, which begins its season Friday at home against Gardiner.
The offense is promising, even though it will be tough to make up for the loss of the Wildcats’ all-time leading point scorer in Brennen Shaw, who last year contributed 35 goals and 28 assists and who was, in Flynn’s opinion, “the best offensive player in the state.”
Of the seven players from last year’s team who scored at least 20 points, only two are back. Connor Shaw, a junior and Brennen’s brother, was second on the team with 33 points (17 goals and 16 assists). He will help lead the offense along with junior Isaac LaJoie, who was third on the team in assists with 17 and tallied 23 points overall.
“They both have produced in their first two years with the team and certainly are good scorers,” Flynn said.
The coach will have them center different scoring lines, pairing LaJoie on one with junior right wing Cody Merrill and freshman left wing Tyler Seeley.
“Cody has worked hard to get in shape to get on one of the top lines and he’s ready to play,” Flynn said. “Tyler is a six-footer and is aggressive and will be an instant impact player who will do a lot of digging and banging in the corners.”
Shaw will center a line that will also include sophomore left wing Adam Flynn (3 goals and 9 assists last year) and to begin the season, junior right wing Evan Waddell. Senior Caleb Buck (5 goals, 5 assists), who is another assistant captain, is recovering from knee surgery and could miss the first six games, according to coach Flynn.
The checking/penalty killing line features senior center Derek Sczuroski (1 goal, 3 assists), flanked by sophomore left wing Scott Rhynold and junior right wing Kate Campbell.
Freshmen Ryder Soucy and Trevor Levesque are the other forwards.
The team’s two goalies, senior Josh MacFarline and junior Nic Davis, were part of a platoon system a year ago, and Flynn said that will be the case again this season.
MacFarline received a majority of the playing time last year and had a goals against average of 3.07 and an .893 save percentage. During his action, Davis allowed two goals per game with an .879 save percentage.
“It will depend on the hot hand who is out there,” the coach said. “Goalie is the experienced aspect of our team and they’ll have to be leaders on and off the ice in order to be successful.”
Presque Isle played in a preseason tournament in Bangor Thanksgiving weekend and got in a total of five games, winning one (4-3 over Old Town), tying one (2-2 against John Bapst) and losing the other three by a combined score of 23-1.
“We showed we are young, a little slow and out of shape,” Flynn said. “There is nowhere to go but up.”
The coach is glad to have Darren Carlisle aboard as an assistant coach. Carlisle was a part of two state championship teams at St. Dominic’s High School and also was one of the most talented players to come out of Presque Isle. He had been the school’s all-time leading point scorer before Brennen Shaw eclipsed the mark last year.
“He has brought a lot of intensity to practices,” Flynn said.
Also lending a hand is volunteer assistant Greg Cyr, another Wildcat alum and one of the best defenseman the school has had, according to Flynn. He’ll be key in working with PI’s current youthful defensive corps.
The coach feels Brewer, last year’s champion after moving in from Class A, and Houlton will be the top contenders in EM Class B this year, and that Lawrence also looks to be strong.
“After that it’s everyone else, including us, Old Town, Orono, Winslow and Hampden,” Flynn said. “We’ll have to fight to get one of the final play-off positions.”
Still, he is anxious for the season to begin to see how his revamped team will respond.
“These kids know hockey and many have been part of our recent tradition of winning, and I think they can learn from that experience,” Flynn said. “At the same time, we need to get healthy and getting (Caleb) Buck back soon is important.
“We struggled a bit in the preseason scoring goals, so we need to make the most of our offensive chances and defensively, at least until we get our feet under us, have to play smart and safe and keep the puck on the perimeter,” he added. “Also, our goaltenders need to play like two kids with a combined seven years of experience under their belt.”
The Wildcats open their season Friday with a home game against Gardiner. Opening faceoff is slated for 6 p.m. at the Forum.
