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Kovacs' 3 goals key Canfield
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The Cardinals overpowered Twinsburg, 6-3, for their 10th win this season. By JOHN KOVACH VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF BOARDMAN
— The Canfield High ice hockey team had defeated Twinsburg twice this season before Friday's game, and so the Cardinals suspected they weren't going against the Tigers' regular goalie in their third meeting at the Ice Zone. Canfield capitalized on the Twinsburg goalie Joel Sands' inexperience with a strong offensive attack. Zack Kovacs fired in three goals and added an assist to lead the Cardinals to a 6-3 decision in a Cleveland High School Hockey League game. "We knew that we were playing against an inexperienced goalie and that we had to be patient [and we would score]," said coach Joe Villano of Canfield (10-9-1, 4-6 CHSHL). "Kovacs knew he had to be patient [and he was]. "This is the third time we played them. We now are 3-0 against them," Villano said. Kovacs, a senior forward, scored two of his goals without help, one coming on a penalty shot and the other unassisted. His other goal came on an assist from Connor McNamara to give him a hat trick. Kovacs is the Cardinals' leading scorer this season with 25 goals and 10 assists for 35 points. "[Kovacs] pretty much plays like this all the time. He has had hat tricks before. He is our leading scorer," said Villano, whose team got off to a strong start with a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Greg Firestone and Tom Cheslik. Tyler Buchenic and Tom Carney got the respective assists. "We maintained control in our zone," Villano said. "We were keeping the puck in our zone. We were able to maneuver it in our zone." Sands' first time in goal Coach Val Hernandez of Twinsburg (7-15-1, 3-8) said that although substitute goalie Sands gave up six goals, that he also played a good game for being in goal for the first time. "I was very pleased the way he played," Hernandez said. "You couldn't tell that it was the first time that he played goalie. "And we even played better defense because we knew we had to do that to back him up," said Hernandez, who explained that the team lost its goalie due to academic ineligibility. "We lost our regular goalie, Josh Arnold, due to ineligibility. He was on top in the Blue Division in save percentage. He is a junior. We lost him to grades," Hernandez said. "We have no back-up goalie. A defensive player [Sands] played goalie," Hernandez said. "We put him in there because we had no other goalie. This is the first time he ever played goalie." "[Sands] will play there the rest of the season. Arnold will be out the rest of the season." Cameron Labry scored two goals for Twinsburg while Sean Williams had the other tally. Kovacs strikes Williams' goal on assists from Bob Bartok and Peter Judy cut Canfield's lead to 2-1, but Kovacs' first goal on McNamara's assist boosted the Cardinals ahead by 3-1 entering the second period. Then Labnry scored on assists from Bartok and Grayson Collins to pull the Tigers within 3-2, before Kovacs scored two in a row on a penalty shot and without assist to make it 5-2 after two periods. Labry struck again on Collins' assist to make it 5-3 with about 13 minutes remaining, but Kovacs final score on McNamara's assist with about 2:35 added insurance. Villano said that Mark Takach was outstanding on defense while Tyler Buchenic played well at center. "Takach was real strong back there. He had an excellent game," Villano said. "Buchenic is our third-line center. He was flying around the ice with good speed and made good decisions." Villano also said goalie Brian Moore made some nice stops. "Our goalie Brian Moore was coming off an injury. It's tough to play in goal when you are not getting [a lot of] shots," Villano said.
Vindicator Sports:
CANFIELD HOCKEY Loss to Aurora is minor setback By Tom Williams Sunday, January 13, 2002
The Cardinals still have five wins in their last eight games. By TOM WILLIAMS VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN -- Canfield High ice hockey coach Dave DeJoe says young players often struggle when they play the puck instead of an opponent's body. DeJoe said his young Cardinals struggled with that battle in Saturday's 7-4 loss to Aurora in a Greater Cleveland Suburban League game at the Ice Zone. Aurora's Drew Troy scored four goals to lead the Greenmen to the Blue East Division victory. Reasoning: "Maybe we got a little too cocky," said Canfield junior Jeff Kane after Aurora scored five consecutive goals for a 6-2 lead. "They certainly picked up their play in the second period." Part of DeJoe's frustration is knowing how well his squad (5-7-1) played against Aurora in the first game, a 7-1 victory. "This is a funny game," DeJoe said, citing how well Canfield played in Friday's 5-1 victory over Cuyahoga Valley Christian Academy. "We jumped out to a 2-1 lead, then we stopped playing," DeJoe said of Saturday's game. "That's the problem with a young team sometimes, getting them to play for a full 45 minutes." Still, DeJoe said he feels good about Canfield's 5-2-1 record in the past eight games. "If you had told me at the beginning of the season that we'd be 5-7 at this point, I'd have taken it in a heartbeat," DeJoe said. Early lead: Kane put Canfield ahead 1-0 on an assist from Steve Kline. "I set up in front of the net and Steve sent me a great pass," Kane said. Troy responded with a powerplay goal. Sam Crowe put the Cards ahead 2-1 when he buried a rebound of a Josh Gestosani shot from the point past Aurora goalie Adam Swift. In the second period, Troy netted another goal on a powerplay, scoring the first of the Greenmen's five straight goals. Steve McCreight broke the tie with an end-to-end rush, pulling Canfield goalie Ryan DeJoe down and flipping the puck in. Late in the period, Kyle Olson scored his first of two goals for a 4-2 lead. Seconds into the third period, Olson scored off a faceoff, then Troy followed with his third goal. Rally: Canfield got back in the game temporarily when Kline deflected Kane's shot past Swift. Taylor Murdoch's goal four minutes later cut the Aurora lead to 6-4. But 40 seconds later, Troy's fourth goal sealed Aurora's win. "Any time you score four goals, it's an exceptional game," Dave DeJoe said of Troy. "But we were very confused around our net and left a few too many rebounds." Canfield's next game is a makeup contest with CVCA Monday at 7:30 p.m. at the Ice Zone.
Canfield Has a Hockey Team?
The Canfield High School hockey program began in 1997 as a club team. In 2000-01 the team became officially sanctioned by the Canfield Board of Educatation, and recognized as a sanction high school team,in the Ohio High School Athletic Association. All players must attend Canfield High School or live in the Canfield School District and follow all athletic guidelines under the Canfield High School Athletic Code of Conduct, OHSAA, and have a physical on file at the school.
Where are games and practices?
We practice and play our home games at the Ice Zone on McClurg Rd. in Boardman. Official practices generally start in early November and the season runs through mid February with two practices per week. Our away games are in the Cleveland suburban area. We travel by school bus to our away games.
What League does the team participate in and who do they play?
Canfield hockey is part of the Greater Cleveland High School Hockey League. The league in broken up into three divisions based on skill level. The Red Division is the highest level, White Divison is the middle, and the Blue Division lower. We are part of the Blue Divsion (East) with teams such as Brush High School, Twinsburg High School, West Geagua HS, and Nordonia HS. We also play other teams which amounts to roughly 20-25 game schedule.
I've never skated before, can I still go out for the team?
We encourage any athlete who has the will and desire to achieve to play on our team. At the varsity level, we generally have 15-18 players on the roster, but for those not ready for that level, we have a developmental team that consists of 5th thru 9th graders. If you are a novice you can learn to skate and learn the game at a slower pace with our developmental program.
More About the Developmental Team?
Our developmental team is designed to prepare our athletes to compete at the the high school level. The team is a sanctioned USA Hockey team, however, is considered a club team and not sanctioned by the Board of Education, due to the fact the team has a wide range of ages participating. The team practices twice a week, also at the Ice Zone and has a 12-16 game schedule, playing some away games in the Cleveland area. The developmental team starts in September and goes through mid February. All new players start out on the Developmental team, until varsity tryouts take place in November.
Do I need equipment and skates?
The athlete is responsible to provide their own equipment, however, the hockey team does have some used equipment and skates that have been handed down. This gear is given out to the player until he/she can gather their own. Uniform jerseys and socks are provided for the season.
What are the costs?
Ice time costs to the team are $275 an hour, so therefore a fee must be charged for each athlete to participate. At the varsity level the fee ranges from $850-$900 per season. The Canfield Hockey Boosters have fund raisers that help defray costs to players, and can significantly reduce fees by participating in the fund raisers.
Do I have to pay the athletic fee to the school also?
No, the Canfield High School hockey team operates independently from the school when it comes to fees and collection of those fees.
Are there off season work outs?
We will have summer sessions with dates and times to be announced.
Does the team have a website?
More info can be discovered at www.eteamz.com/canfieldhockey
Who are the coaches and contacts for the team(s)?
Chris Richards is the head coach of the varsity team. His assistant is JoeVillano. Contact Greg Cooper , athleic director, at the Canfield High School athletic office or any Canfield Hockey board member for more information.
