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Season Preview: Health, leadership key for boys’ hockey

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Senior captain Ed Scriven (top), senior assistant captain Owen Manning (bottom left) and junior assistant captain Adam Solari (bottom right). / Photo by: Sue Moss

After missing out on the tournament by two points last season, the boys’ hockey team is healthy and ready to go.

After an injury-riddled second half of the season led to the Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ hockey team missing out on the playoffs by two points last winter, everyone’s healthy, and the team is looking to show what it can do when it has a clean bill of health.

“It’s safe to say one of the goals is to qualify for the state tournament,” said eighth-year head coach Chris Googins, in the third season of his second stint with the club. “It hasn’t happened for a while and it would be pretty neat for the kids.”

Sophomore defenseman Kevin Willis, who sustained a torn ACL last season, is one of the key players back from injury for the Panthers. He, along with classmates Jack Allen and Josh Pike and junior Reed Watson, will see significant time on the blue line.

“I’d say the level of importance on defense is our strength,” Googins said. “It’s one of the first couple of things we discuss through the course of the year, whether on or off the ice, and they really bought into it the first couple of days it looks like they’ve been doing a good job just defending.”

Junior forward Chris Stoddard, who was tied for fifth on the team with nine points through 12 games last winter, was sidelined for the final three weeks. This season, he’ll be joined by classmates John Hagan and Eddie Collins on the second line.

“They’ve been in the program for three years,” Googins said. “There’s high expectations for that group.” On the first line for the Panthers will be senior captain Ed Scriven, senior assistant captain Owen Manning and junior assistant captain Adam Solari. All are multi-sport captains and provide the team with substantial leadership.

LEADERSHIP

“We have three really good captains this year,” Googins said. “They’re also good mentors.”

Scriven’s 11 goals were second on the team last season, and he’ll be relied upon heavily to make up for the production lost with the gradation of league all-stars Korey Howard and Alex Uva, who combined for 27 goals and 26 assists.

“Ed’s got a dynamic shot,” Googins said of Scriven, who also captained the golf team. “He’s got a very hard shot, and he’s put in a lot of time. He’s put in a lot of work in the offseason. He’s a very good and a very fluent skater with a dynamic shot, so that’s a goodcombination to have in high school hockey.”

Manning, who was also a golf captain, scored seven goals and dished out six assists last winter.

“Owen is a highly respected kid on and off the ice,” Googins said of Manning. “Owen brings a nice level of grittiness and he’s got a real good hockey IQ. He knows when to shoot and he knows when to pass. I consider him to be one of our top playmakers.”

Solari’s eight-goal, 11-assist campaign last winter shined a light on what he can bring to the table. But so did his election as an assistant captain.

“It speaks for himself as a junior to be elected a captain by his peers,” Googins said of Solari, who also captained the boys’ cross country team. “He’s very well respected by his peers. He’s got a really quick release, a real quick release, and he’s got a knack for the net, and I’m hoping that can carry over from last sea son.”

In net, it’s a three-player battle between junior R.J. Flynn, sophomore transfer from Archbishop Williams Bobby Siders and freshman Erik Dean to take over the reins from Ricky Welch.

“Competition is healthy, it really is,” Googins said. “It makes everyone better.”

The Panthers open the season Saturday, Dec. 8 at 3:10 p.m. at Hobomock Arenas against league opponent Pembroke.

“The kids are very receptive to learning, very knowledgeable of the game,” Googins said “They know the level of intensity that needs to be present at practice, and there’s minimal motivating at practice because it’s pretty up tempo. They know what the barometer is now.”

Whitman-Hanson’s Uva scores lone South goal in Shriners All-Star Classic

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Alex Uva (No. 6) scored a late second-period goal. / Photo Credit: Twitter/@WHBoysHockey

Whitman-Hanson Regional High senior Alex Uva scored the only goal for the South team in Saturday’s boys’ hockey Shriners All-Star Classic.

Alex Uva provided a silver lining for the South team in a 10-1 loss to the North on Saturday in the Shiners All-Star Classic at the Canton Ice House.

With 44.5 seconds remaining in the second period, the Whitman-Hanson Regional High senior, who was an assistant captain on the boys’ hockey team, took a feed from Blue Hills’ Anthony Sarno and buried it home, bringing the South within 8-1.

“It felt great scoring a goal in the game,” Uva said. “It was a great way to finish my high school career.”

On Thursday, Uva was awarded the Charles P. Driscoll Community Service Award for his fundraising efforts for Shriners Hospital for Children.

“I want to send a special thank you to all who donated,” Uva said. “I was happy to be selected as an all-star and it was great to play in the game with all that talent.

“The best part of the experience was being recognized with the community service award. Raising money to save kids lives is what the game is all about.”

Season Review: Battling through a tough season

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The Panthers during a Jan. 17 game against Hanover. / Photo by: Sue Moss

One season after posting a single win, the Panthers raised that number to eight, as they just narrowly missed out on the tournament by two points with an 8-10-2 record.

The Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ hockey team knew it could improve, and a fixation on its vision fueled its turnaround this winter.

One season after posting a single win, the Panthers raised that number to eight, as they just narrowly missed out on the tournament by two points with an 8-10-2 record. W-H head coach Chris Googins said the success had nothing to do with anything he tweaked, but was largely in part due to what his returning juniors and seniors set out to accomplish.

“It has a lot has to do with the players that came back,” Googins said of the turnaround. “The core group that came back from last year were very serious about improving and they showed that in the offseason. A lot of the kids played summer hockey, a lot of the kids played fall hockey and I think they saw the fruits of their labor of putting in that extra work.”

Through their first 10 games, the Panthers sat at 6-3-1, highlighted by a 1-1 tie against Duxbury, a pair of wins – 7-3 and 4-2 – over Abington and a 3-1 triumph over Silver Lake. All those teams would go on to make the tournament, but W-H would not, as some of the aspects that you can’t control in sports caught up to it.

“It’s pretty evident that three kids went down with significant injuries [and] along with any other team, we had a bout of the flu,” Googins explained. “At times, there were kids playing that weren’t used to playing so much. We had a lot of key players out.”

At one point, the Panthers were dealing with a pair of broken wrists. Senior defenseman Ryan Lincoln had one of those, and he even returned with a week remaining and a cast on to try and salvage the Panthers’ playoff chances.

“Ryan Lincoln [is a] high-character [kid],” Googins said. “He’s just a tough kid who said I want to come back, got cleared and really couldn’t even shoot the puck, but it showed he wanted to come back, and he was a kid that was out for a while that we needed.”

Kevin Willis was another key defenseman out of the equation after suffering a torn ACL toward the latter half of the season.

“You’re talking two of your top four defensemen out,” Googins said. “It hurt.”

Sophomore Chris Stoddard, who was tied for fifth on the team with nine points through 12 games, would also be sidelined for the final three weeks.

But, despite the injuries, there was no lack of drive from the Panthers, especially out of their elder statesmen.

“The best thing that stands out was the group of seniors that every night just gave their best effort, they really did,” Googins said. “I don’t think it was one particular game or one shift. Just every night it seemed like whatever seniors were in the lineup, they would just almost be like assistant coaches and help out. They were just there to get the kids fired up, and I appreciated that. It was such a pleasure to come to the rink every day. It really was, based upon those kids.”

It is certainly a unit – led by captain Ryan Sawtelle and assistant captains Korey Howard and Alex Uva – Googins will have tough time replacing.

Howard (18 goals, 10 assists) and Uva (9 goals, 16 assists), both of whom were Patriot League All-Stars, paced the team in points. But, ranking behind them were junior Ed Scriven (11 goals, 11 assists), sophomore Adam Solari (8 goals, 11 assists) and junior Owen Manning (7 goals, 6 assists). Sophomore goalie R.J. Flynn, who posted a 3.22 GAA in limited action, is likely to take over the reins from senior Ricky Welch. Freshmen Jack Allen, Josh Pike and Kevin Willis also form a solid nucleus set to return inside the blue line.

“I’m very optimistic of the retuning players,” Googins said. “What they need to understand is that they need to take a couple months off from the game, but then you have go to start to re-fire the engines up again.”

Uva a Shriners’ All-Star

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Photo by: Sue Moss

Alex Uva was one of 52 Massachusetts boys’ hockey players to be selected to play in the Shiners All-Star Classic, which will take place Saturday, March 31 at 4 p.m. at the Canton Ice House.

Whitman-Hanson Regional High senior, Alex Uva, will be capping off his high school hockey career at the 2018 Shriners All-Star Classic.

Uva was one of 52 Massachusetts boys’ hockey players to be selected to play in this event, which will take place Saturday, March 31 at 4 p.m. at the Canton Ice House. Uva, an assistant captain and four-year varsity player for the Panthers, said he was informed of the selection after a Jan. 24, 8-3, victory over Pembroke.

“We came out with a big win that day and after the game coach [Chris] Googins told me that I had been selected,” Uva said. “I was very proud and honored to be selected to the Shriners All-Star game. I thought of my teammates, too. I wouldn’t be in the position to be selected without them.”

Googins, who was the one to nominate Uva before he was selected by a committee, said in the two years he’s known Uva, his commitment at excellence, both in the classroom and on the rink, was unparalleled.

“His dedication as a student-athlete has been really noticeable,” Googins explained. “Just his passion and love for the game, along with his character is probably what stood out to me to nominate him. He’s a high-character kid and he’s very passionate about the game, and I respect that.”

Uva said he first began skating when he was 3 years old and shortly thereafter was playing competitively. He credits his father, Jeff, who is an assistant coach on the boys’ hockey team at Cardinal Spellman, for his success on the ice.

“Ever since I first put on my skates, I fell in love with the game,” Uva said. “My dad is my biggest hockey influence and he has taught me everything I know about the game. Without him, I wouldn’t have made it where I am today.”

DONATIONS

With the selection to the Shriners All-Star Classic comes an immense responsibility: raising money. The game is centered around generating proceeds to benefit the Shriners Hospital of Children. Uva is using the three standard options offered by Shriners to accept donations.

• The first option is a $75 donation to sponsor him. This donation comes with a polo shirt and two tickets to the game.

• The second option is a $30 donation to be a hockey patron — that gets your name in the program.

• Third, you can donate any amount ($2 minimum) and write Uva a short message wishing him the best of luck in the game.

If you are willing to donate, Uva can be reached at alexuva@comcast.net.

All checks, which should be written out to Shriners Hockey Classic, and donations must be in by Feb. 28.

MORE THAN A SHOWCASE

“The Shriners game means a lot to me,” Uva said. “Of course, it is great to be recognized as one of the top high school players in Massachusetts, but this is so much more than just a showcase. Being able to help raise money for such a great cause is something I take pride in.

“At the orientation, they showed videos of what patients go through at Shriners. The severe burns and other awful injuries these kids deal with makes you feel terrible. What really hit me was when they said that all the money we donate as a group can save a child’s life. I’m willing to go above and beyond in fundraising to be able to accomplish this goal.”

A win for Lori: Panthers erupt for five goals in third period to win one for Sawtelle

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WINNING FOR LORI: The W-H Panthers wore specially designed memorial jerseys for the Saturday, Jan. 6 Lori Sawtelle Memorial Game. / Photo by: Sue Moss

The Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ hockey team played with heavy hearts Saturday.

ROCKLAND – Saturday evening was Lori Sawtelle Night as the Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ hockey team honored the late mother of its captain, Ryan Sawtelle.

The team broke out its black jerseys and donned an oval “LS” decal on the top right shoulder, all of which were part of the tribute to Lori, who lost her battle with cancer last March. After a brief pre-game announcement to remember Lori while showing support to her family, the puck was set to drop.

On the ice, the Panthers weren’t about to be denied — not on Lori’s night — as they rallied behind their captain and his family for an emotional 6-1 victory over Plymouth North at Rockland Ice Rink.

“We definitely knew what we were playing for tonight and this whole season, too, so it meant a lot,” Sawtelle said.

When W-H (4-3-1, 1-2-1 Patriot League) took the ice for the third period with the score reading 1-1, the feeling in the rink was palpable — it was going to get the job done.

With roughly nine minutes remaining, senior assistant captain Korey Howard (one goal and two assists) made sure that happened by blasting a wrist shot past Plymouth North (3-3-2, 2-1-1) goalie Chris Kearney to push the Panthers in front 2-1.

“We did it,” Howard said of his initial thought after the goal.

Nearly a minute later, with 8:22 remaining, freshman Kevin Willis poked one home, pushing W-H’s lead to 3-1.

Senior assistant captain Alex Uva enhanced W-H’s advantage to 4-1 with 6:39 left, potting one past Kearney.

“It was awesome,” Uva, who said this was the most packed he’s seen the Rockland Ice Rink, explained. “The atmosphere tonight was great and getting that goal in front of all these fans and for Ryan and his family was awesome.”

The Panthers’ offensive onslaught continued as tallies by junior Owen Manning and sophomore Ed Collins capped a five-goal period.

After falling behind 1-0, W-H drew even at the 8:05 mark of the second period as a blast by Sawtelle caused a pair of rebounds, one of which was slapped in by sophomore Chris Stoddard.

“I knew that I wanted to come out strong and show everyone who we are and what we’re going to do tonight,” Sawtelle, who finished the night with three assists, said.

Uva, who ended the contest with a goal and three assists, said his mindset coming into this one was a simple one.

“Get the win for Lori, she was a great person and I’d do anything for the Sawtelle family,” he said.

Sawtelle said the outpouring of support he received from his teammates, coaches and community meant a lot.

“It shows who’s there for me, definitely a lot of support for me and helped me play through this game,” Sawtelle said

The victory also snapped a two-game Panthers losing streak, to boot.

W-H returns to action Saturday, Jan. 13 at 8 p.m. against Abington at Rockland Ice Rink.

Season Preview: Boys’ hockey aiming to fulfill last winter’s promise

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The Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ hockey team is looking to build off last season’s promise.

After an offseason of hard work, it’s time for the Whitman-Hanson Regional High boys’ hockey team to hit the ice.

The Panthers, despite skating to a 1-16-3 mark last winter, showed a great deal of promise. That promise was on display during a four-game stretch that began in late January and featured 2-2 draws with Silver Lake and Plymouth North (Div. 2 South Sectional tournament qualifier) and a 1-1 stalemate with Quincy (Div. 2 South Sectional tournament qualifier). Also, mixed in there was a 2-0 nail-biting setback to Duxbury, which cracked the Div. 1 South Sectional tournament. A few returning Panthers boasted key performances in that run.

During that span, Korey Howard had three tallies – two of which came in the Lakers tie –, Luke McVeigh and Alex Uva had a goal apiece and backup goaltender Ricky Welch was key in net during the 2-2 draw against the Blue Eagles.

Welch is one player head coach Chris Googins said he is looking at to rise to the occasion this season as he takes over for 2016-17 captain and team MVP, David Perry, in between the pipes.

“Dave Perry is going to be the toughest to replace and I definitely think returner Rick Welch is up for the challenge to step up and repeat the strong performance of David,” Googins, who is in his second season back at the helm of the Panthers after serving as their head coach from 1997-2003, said.

Welch is going to have a strong nucleus around him – spearheaded by senior captain and defenseman Ryan Sawtelle and assistant captains Howard and Uva.

“All three of them are dedicated to the game, program and are great role models for the younger kids,” Googins said.

Googins went on to add that he feels a majority of his team did what they had to over the past 10 months to get ready for the new season.

“A good portion of the players committed themselves to getting better in the offseason and we’re hoping that this transfers into wins,” Googins said. “Ed Scriven, Owen Manning, Adam Solari, Chris Stoddard and Luke McVeigh will be relied on to help propel the Panthers.”

W-H will be back on the ice Saturday, Dec. 16 at 1 p.m. at the Bog Ice Arena in Kingston against Patriot League Keenan Division foe Duxbury.

“Right from the first tryout we have tried to up the standards from the most basic drill to a difficult concept,” Googins said. “We need total focus for the entire time you’re on the ice.”