Federation Hockey Division II Outlook

2016 was a year the Ken East Bulldogs won’t soon forget. A thrilling OT win at the State Championship provided a lifetime of great memories for a lot of players and coaches. Many of the stars from that dream team have moved on. Which means Division II is open for business and there are five other teams looking to wear the crown.

Williamsville East

2015-16 Record 5-7-3-1 (14 Pts), 41 Goals for, 53 Goals Against

Mike Steffan returns for his fourth and final year. The Flames Captain was a 2nd team All-Star last season. He’ll be counted on even more this year as the Flames have a young team.  “We have been working really hard the past couple weeks to get ready” Steffan said shortly after signing his Letter of Intent to play D1 baseball at Canisius. “I like our team this year, looking forward to that first game (Frontier on Dec. 1).”

The Flames didn’t have a great regular season in 2015-16 by any means but could take solace in knowing they made it to the small school finals, losing to Ken East the eventual state winner. Just don’t go reminding them of that.

The core group of seniors have moved on and Steffan along with Jack Kelly the other senior captain will have to set the examples that they have learned over the past few seasons that includes a run to the state final in 2014-15.

The Flames have two junior goaltenders in Evan Kumpf and Jude Rajakrishnan. They have a big team up front including junior defenseman Ryan McFadden (6’3″) and senior forward William Mann (6’2″). Expect Williamsville East to come prepared every game as they try to reclaim 1st place in Div II.

Bishop Timon

2015-16 Record 9-7-0 (18 Pts), 55 Goals for, 52 Goals Against

Timon was unable to attend Hockey Media Day

The Tigers have 12 seniors on this year’s roster. “We’re cautiously optimistic about the season” assistant coach Panek said. “We have two big goalies returning and our defense is pretty big too so we’ll be tough to play against.” Timon lost team scoring leader Jake Giacobello to graduation and Matt Myers will sit the season out to concentrate on football.

The Tigers will roll four solid lines and will look to play at a high-tempo. They open up Monday against Hamburg at Harborcenter.

Clarence Red Devils

2015-16 Record 6-7-2-1 (15 Pts.) 30 Goals for, 38 Goals Against 

Head Coach Brooks said goodbye to three senior goaltenders last winter. He says that puck possession and solid play at both ends of the ice will be the key to a successful season. “Losing three is tough but we have a good battle going on right now for the job so we’ll have to see how it all shakes out” Brooks said. “We have three good lines and a 4th that won’t hurt us either.”

Brett Naylor a 6’4″ senior forward thinks his team is a little undersized physically but “have speed, we’re fast and play good defense. We’ve been working really hard, everyone on the team has so that’s been good for us” Naylor said.

J.D. King, a 9th grader made the final roster and coach Brooks believes he’s ready to go. “I don’t want to bring in a kid that young just to sit. That’s not going to help us and it won’t help him. He’s going to play and we need everything he’s got.”

Expect the Red Devils to continue building on the past two seasons where they finished in the semi-finals. Goaltending will be the biggest unknown. Clarence opens the season Sunday Dec. 4th against Bishop Timon.

Hamburg Bulldogs

2015-16 Record 4-8-2-2 (12 Pts.) 36 Goals for, 56 Goals Against

Hamburg continues to get better each year and for the 2nd season they are back in Division II playing better competition. That them believing they are ready to break through. It also does not hurt having Griffin Coppola between the pipes. Coppola returns for his senior season and wants to make the most of it. “I thought I played well last year, this season I want to be better. I’m good at handling the puck and staying in position” Coppola said.

The Bulldogs lost to Will East in the semi’s last season and know they have to find a way to cross that bridge. The regular season featured some big wins including a 4-1 decision over division I Orchard Park. They are still ways away from competing with St. Joe’s and Canisius but having Coppola back and a solid defense that includes Joe Iafallo, Owen Gonter and Colin Bartoo the Bulldogs should be able to close the gap.

Also returning are forwards Joe Dubill, Neil Dake and Jason Delmont, whom assistant coach Gavin Hillery believes are ready to make a significant impact in their senior seasons. “We lost Jason Luccarelli and Josh Dake, two great leaders and our captains. They left a foundation though these kids can build off of” Hillery said.

Coppola has played in some big games for Hamburg over the past few seasons. He almost pulled off the playoff upset two seasons ago when the Bulldogs lost to Kenmore East 1-0 in a four OT thriller. With Coppola leading the way and a goalie that can keep you in games anything is possible.

Frontier Falcons

2015-16 Record 2-11-2-1 (7 Pts.) 29 Goals for, 74 Goals Against

The Falcons know they have a lot to improve upon in 2016. They have a new coach in Brian Dehlinger who is ready for the challenge. “Last season the team just couldn’t finish. They were in most games” the new coach said. “We have a well-rounded group this season, with strengths throughout, so that’s a positive.” Dehlinger brings 24 years of hockey coaching experience to the Falcons. Most of that came from the Hamburg programs, spread throughout the Club and Fed.

The Falcons lost captain Ryan Piniewski to graduation. An emotional player that the team could count on to keep them together.  Jonathon Baker a senior defenseman knows he’ll have to help fill that void “He helped build that family atmosphere in the locker room. I want to do the same, bring leadership.”

Hockey is a physical sport but coach Dehlinger knows the importance of being mentally prepared as well. “Most of these games can be won from above the shoulders. We didn’t play so great in the scrimmages, we got better as the day went on. We weren’t out-talented. The good news is that everything that didn’t go our way, is fixable.”

Frontier opens up Dec. 1st against Williamsville East.

Kenmore East Bulldogs

2015-16 Record 9-6-1 (19 Pts.) 50 Goals for, 34 Goals Against

The Bulldogs know that every team throughout the Fed will be gunning for them. It comes with the territory when you win a State title. That’s ok with them. A solid group of hockey players have moved on and a new look Ken East team will look to carry on the legacy those players left behind.

“We’re a work in progress” coach Kyle Pray said. That they are, but some key ingredients to last season’s championship team are still cooking. Russ Riggio, who scored one of the biggest goals in school history (tying goal in Championship Game) returns along with senior defenseman Sam Balesteri. At 5’6″ Balesteri often plays at above 6′ as he loves to throw his weight around. Another senior, Chase Ford will be depended upon between the pipes. He played very well in a back-up role to Brad Hermann last year and has the ability to steal games. Ford went 5-0 last season with two shutouts.

The Bulldogs will also look to juniors Dan Spors and Frank Gengo to help Balesteri lead a young defensive unit. Riggio will rely on seniors Adam Smith, Justin Watson and Jacob Kluge to take some of the pressure off of his shoulders. Michael Greiner and Alex Ghosen both Freshman made the final roster. Coach Pray believes them to be reliable components that will help East remain competitive.

“This is a hard-working bunch; they’ll need to grind. If we can play good system hockey we should be fine.” Pray expects some peaks and valleys along the way. “We have some growing pains to go through with this group but I know as the season goes on we’ll continue to get better” Pray said.

The Bulldogs are heading up to Lake Placid this coming weekend for a trio of games before heading back to WNY to open the season against Williamsville East Dec. 8th.