Continuation of Abrakadabra / Blog Moves on to Discuss Varsity Ice Hockey Teams

As the weather turns colder many people in the Portledge community get a big smile on their face because they know it means the start of hockey season. Hockey is a big part of this small school it and has been from the institutions early days. Few people realize that two Portledge graduates were back to back captains of the Cornell University Mens Ice Hockey team in 2002 and 2003, or that two Portledge alums Doug Murray '98 and Eric Nystrom '01 are currently playing in the Nat'l Hockey League, while several others, such as Will Bodine '99, Ryan Vesce '00, Bob Goepfort '00 and Gerard Miller '01, play professionally in the North American minor leagues or in the elite leagues of Europe. In addition, three Portledge graduates, Lois Liotti '03, Garret Vassel '03 and Danny Markowitz '06, are currently among the top collegiate players in the nation, leading their teams at Northeastern, RPI and Dartmouth, respectively. Then there are all the other great players like Evan Wax '99, who starred at Yale, and Kenny Turano '99, who was a four year letter winner at Harvard, that have come through the Portledge program. Even further back we could mention Keith Merkler '89 a Portledge Bowl and Slanetz Award winner who was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs and was a collegiate star at Princeton, or Justin Ort '90, who after graduating from Portledge went on to be one of the all time leading scorers in the history of Williams College ice hockey. I guess you all get the picture, that there have been some incredible student athletes and tremendous teams throughout the relatively short history of the school. I do apologize for all those I left out, because there are so many other fantastic and accomplished athletes I failed to mention. One of those is our current Varsity Boys Assistant Coach and former Portledge Captain, Jon Sandos, who has returned to Portledge, after a wonderful four year hockey career at Cortland State, to contribute once again to the legacy of Portledge Hockey. So, let's get on with it and see what's up with this year's Varsity teams.

Can the Varsity Boys Team Make a Move Towards Returning Portledge Hockey to its 'Glory Days' ? ( *Thanks go to to the Boss for the Question)

Head Coach Mike Coope and Assistant Jon Sandos worked hard last year to rekindle the spirit of Portledge Hockey gone by. They received tremendous assistance from last year's captain Zack Lombardi '08, and our best wishes are with Zack, who after taking a year off after graduation is in the middle of the college selection process, and all the other Seniors from the Class of '08. This work really paid dividends as the 08-09 version of Portledge Hockey comes together. It is a relatively young team that has only two Seniors, assistant captain Tim Morrison and winger Renny Kraft, and two Juniors, team captains David Wilson and Sal Magliocco. These four provide the leadership base that is necessary to build a program up. They have all been through many tough games and are very happy, and committed, to seeing the program rise once again. Joining with Morrison and Kraft in the team's attack is the young line made up of of Sophomores Kurt Krotz and Ori Benyamini and Freshman winger Matt Crockett. Both Benyamini and Crockett have older brothers who were successful Portledge Hockey players before them, and it is nice to see this continuity in the program. This is a talented line that has already demonstrated that it can dominate a game even at the highest levels. Playing along side Morrison on another line are Freshmen Brendan "the Governor" McGovern and slick stick handling winger Jesse Schandler. This has also been a great line so far, and gives the offense a real one/two punch. Anyone who knows real Prep School Hockey though, realizes you are only as strong as your third unit. After some fine tuning the coaches made a bold move by pairing returning Sophomore Tom Parise, one of the team's most experienced players, with Sophomore Stephen DiBartolomeo and Senior Renny Kraft. During the Princeton Day Tournament this line worked great together as Parise, who also plays point on the power play, went on to receive recognition ( The Christopher Reeve Award ) as one of the Tournament's top players. A host of other forwards including Junior Sam Cohen and Sophomores Ryan Murray and Anthony Pergola, Freshman Daylin Frantin and 8th grader Dylan Stuart will keep the pressure on the top nine by all consistently making a case for playing time.

On defense the team is anchored by co captain Wilson, but he has a great deal of help in the form of Sophomores Ron Fishman, Ryan Gottfried, Pat Condon and Matt Janketic. The coaches are also developing an even younger core of defensemen that includes Freshmen Matt Sullivan, Zach Pilson and Andrew Reiter, as well as early season surprise, 8th grader Michael Conslato. Behind all of this is returning keeper and team captain Sal Magliocco. If " Mags " can produce the type of netminding we saw last year, this will be a tough team to beat. So far, after early season victories over Fairlawn High and Rye Country Day the young team ran into some really competitive play in losing to Brunswick and Millbrook. Then came the early season highlight of a championship win in the Annual Princeton Day School Invitational Tournament. The Panther's victories over Holy Ghost Academy from Philadelphia and the host school, PDS, brought Portledge its third ever PDS Tournament trophy. The other times Portledge captured this prestigious crown came in 1986 and 1997. Both of these championships propelled the program onto some great runs of form. Hopefully that is what will happen now!!!!

Can the Varsity Girls Team Recapture its Amazing Play of a Year Ago?

We must start the section of the blog by stating that for the first time ever there is a young lady that can be spoken about in the same way as all of the aforementioned former stars of Portledge Hockey. There is no doubt that she will receive many accolades throughout the season, she already has orchestrated a huge early season win over Canterbury that avenged last year's only loss not to Mo' Beard, but it would be remiss if we didn't start the recognition here. You see, I'm not sure there would still be a Portledge Girls Ice Hockey program without the contributions of Siena Falino. She is the last remaining member of the six original girls hockey players who started the program six years ago, and with all due respect to Jess Sarrantonio and Kelly Alefeld, both former recipients of the Craigmyle Award for contributions to girls hockey, it is Siena Falino who put Portledge Girls Hockey on the map. She is regarded as one of the top, if not the top, female player under 19 in New York State. Her decision to remain at Portledge for her prep school career drew other girls to the program, and her subsequent leadership of these players has been unparalleled in all my years of coaching secondary school sports. I have seen Siena, or "C" as she is known around campus, do some amazing things on the ice, but it is really the kind and respectful way she goes about her day to day interactions with everyone that has left such a positive mark on our school. It looks like Siena will be playing her college hockey at Northeastern University; we wish her the best of luck, and strongly recommend that you mark off Monday, January 26th on your calendars, as this will be the last time you will be able to see Siena grace the ice down at Beaver Dam as a member of the Portledge Girls Ice Hockey team.

As great a player as Siena is, she could not have reached a mark of 14 wins and 3 losses last year all by herself. Whenever Siena is on the ice, you can usually find her trusted sidekick Addie Reilly on the wing. Reilly has become an excellent prep school ice hockey player and demonstrated her significance to the team by scoring a huge short handed goal in the third period of the big early season win over Canterbury. Addie is tough in the corners, faster than you think, and has a wicked shot. When Falino and Reilly are not on the ice, the forward tandem of Sophomores Ashley Wade and Alyssa Parke usually are. This dynamic duo is incredible at controlling the puck in the offensive zone, as they regularly cycle it between themselves, eventually drawing down the forwards and opening up the points for wide open shots. These two really love to play the game and are definitely a major part of this year's team. When she is not out there on defense, Maria Robbins can be found playing wing on one of these two lines and getting involved in the play in front of the net, and when she is at the point....watch out for the boomer as she loves to let go of the big slap shot. Freshman Katherine Gahagan is working hard to learn the game and contribute up front, as are Sophomores Sophie Steell and Ali James.

On defense the Lady Panthers are led by the returning duo of Junior Emily Prey and Sophomore Chelsea Caracciolo. Caracciolo was an WHILMA All League First Team choice last year and Prey can skate the puck out of the zone with the best of them. Added to these two fine players is 8th grader Erin Brand. Although she is the youngest player on the team, Brand is one of the most well rounded. She skates, passes, shoots and plays defense like a veteran and has certainly earned her spot at crunch time. Another newcomer to Portledge Girls Hockey is goaltender Olivia Rivera. Rivera is a top notch student as well as an accomplished goalie. She has brought a tremendous amount of athleticism to the Porledge cage and I look for her to be a key down the stretch.

Led by the fine play of Falino and the emerging scoring power of the Wade and Parke line, the Lady Panthers cruised through their early season schedule by notching wins over prep school powers Rye Country Day and Canterbury and registering victories over league foes Princeton High and The Hill School. In the case of the league games, both opponents thought before the game that they had closed the gap on the Lady Panthers from last year, only to find out that this year's version is faster and more well balanced than its predecessor. The girls finished off the pre break part of their schedule by competing in the Deerfield School Holiday Invitational. At this tournament the Portledge girls played against some of the toughest girls ice hockey teams in North America, and even though they were winless in four games, everyone who saw the games said that they played well and gained some excellent experience as they move forward in hopes of capturing a Mid Atlantic Championship. We all know, however, that this road runs through a little town in New Jersey called Morristown. The girls will return to play a big week of hockey against Rye Country Day, Shaddy Side and Holten Arms all on the road, followed by critical mid season games at Lawrenceville and Millbrook, before welcoming Mo' Beard to Beaver Dam on January 26th (4:00pm) for the first of two regular season meetings with the Crimson.

A big congratulations goes out to Mrs. Zoe Schwam for putting together such a great team, as well as a heartfelt 'welcome on board' to Mr. Ian Wisotsky, who has also joined the ice hockey coaching staff at Portledge.

One last note, come out to see the Portledge Middle School Little Panthers as they will compete every Thursday after holiday break down at Beaver Dam in the newly formed Middle School Ice Hockey League. The league includes Portledge, Green Vale, East Woods and Friends Academy and there will be two games every Thursday under the roof; one at 3:45, and another at 5:00. Check to see which time Portledge will play every week and come on down!!