Fresh faces power boys hockey team to exciting start
By Jay Turner
Sophomore Jeff Chaput and the new-look CHS boys hockey team are off to the races in the 2021 winter season. (Mike Tureski photo)
An exciting new era is underway for the Canton High boys ice hockey program and the early returns have been quite promising.
Powered by a new-look lineup made up mostly of underclassmen, the two-time defending state champs are off to a 2-0 start in this COVID-shortened season. Already dealing with scheduling changes, the Bulldogs have managed to make the most of their opportunities and have looked sharp out of the gate in consecutive shutout wins over Kelley-Rex Division opponents Attleboro (7-0) and Mansfield (2-0).
“They’ve look good,” veteran head coach Brian Shuman said of his young roster. “I’ve gone through a couple of these cycles now as a coach where you graduate a class that was a cornerstone and a foundation for multiple years — and that was certainly the case with last year’s senior class. So it’s been a while since I’ve had this many fresh faces. I’ll tell you it’s been a lot of fun. They’re all so positive and coachable, and just being on the ice with them has really been energizing.”
Among the returning rotation players are junior Eamon Kelly, who currently leads the team with three goals and has looked excellent in the early going, and junior captain Sean Connolly, who is back to help anchor the defense along with emerging sophomore Vinny Sica.
Other varsity players stepping into bigger roles this season include senior captain Dylan Coyne, who Shuman said has improved significantly and has embraced his role as a leader, as well as senior James Delello, juniors Andrew Valkanas and Sam Carlino, and sophomore Jeff Chaput.
Junior forward Eddie Gillis has also shown promise, as has sophomore defenseman Leo Owens, and forwards Tommy Phaneuf and AJ Thomas, who both scored goals in the win against Attleboro.
Manning the net through the first two games has been junior Aiden French, who held both opponents scoreless while making some quality and timely saves.
While expectations were understandably tempered going into this season after an historic two-year run (46-1-4) and the departure of 13 seniors, Shuman said the new squad has certainly exceeded expectations and they should be fun to watch over the course of this season and beyond.
“If we had a full regular season and got to play the usual 20 or so games, it would have been great to see their growth from the first game to the last,” he said. “But we’re grateful to be able to get in the games that we can and it’s so much fun watching these guys get better from game to game.”
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Posted by Jay Turner
on Jan 15 2021. Filed under High School, Sports.
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