Armstrong Hockey Hopes to Repeat Last Seasons Success

by Jake DeLuca

The River Hawks hockey club has been practicing for two months and now with their first week of games in the book they will look to repeat as a number one seed in the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League (PIHL).

In the 2015-16 season the River Hawks had great success as they made it all the way to the semi-finals before they were upset by Mars 4-2.

This year will be a different team as Armstrong graduated nine seniors from last years squad, making this a pretty fresh team.

Even though Armstrong lost some of the leaders from last years Head Coach Doug Anthony believes he has the players to step up and fill the void.

“Some of the younger guys who are the older guys this year have really grown from last season and have started to fill those (leadership) rolls. That’s the biggest thing, finding leadership. They’re a close bunch of players, they really seem to like each other, the locker room has been fun, the practices have been energetic so I think we’re going to be able to fill those spots from last year,” Anthony said.

One player hoping to fill that leadership role is assistant captain Zack Kutch, who has really embraced the role of being a leader in the locker room and on the ice.

“Last year we looked up and had leaders and this year we look at it that we have to be the leaders. It’s definitely new, but I’m getting the hang of it, everyone cooperates really well and they like it when I speak up, so it’s really going well,” Kutch said.

This year Anthony says to expect his top two lines to move the puck north and south and dominate the back-checking department. Anthony went on to talk about some players to watch out for on the score sheet this season.

“ Zach Kutch should have a tremendous year and that’s not just putting it in the net, because he’s an all around up and down the ice play maker who can score and pass. “

“Jace Rearick he comes out of the mold of Christian Miller. Miller was a player for us a few years ago who lead the league in scoring and (Jace) just has a knack for putting the puck in the net,” Anthony said.

The bottom two lines are going to be your classic group of grinders, but as the season moves forward Anthony is open to allowing some creativity.

“Our third line is more of a grind line and the fourth line is dump and chase and grind, so they are a little less experienced, but as the season goes on and they start feeling comfortable they can start being more creative and they can start skating more with the puck, but right now their job is to keep the puck out of our end and to keep the puck out of the net,” Anthony explained.

They say defense wins championships across all sports and that’s no different for the River Hawks this year according to Head Coach Doug Anthony.

“Our defense is going to look pretty nice this year. We have four veterans that skate very well; Sammy Long, Tanner Stennett, Tanner Stivason who plays football, Kolt Livengood, and then we have a couple new guys. I think our blue line is going to be one of our strengths this year for sure, I’m excited to see these guys play this year and get involved.”

The River Hawks next game will be at home against Bethel Park at the Belmont starting at 9:00 PM.