Not every game will go as smoothly for the Niskayuna/Schenectady hockey team as Saturday’s home opener against South Glens Falls, but it was a promising start for a young Mohawks squad.
Britton Leone scored twice off Greg DuCharme assists to lead N/S to a 6-0 victory over South High at the Schenectady County Recreation Facility in Glenville.
Chris Farah, Sam Hartz, Matt Kimmey and Mike Casey also tallied for the Mohawks (1-0), who are in a rebuilding mode after graduating several forwards from last year’s team.
We’ve got a handful of returning players, so we have some experience, said N/S coach Todd Templeton. `But we don’t have a lot of depth, and we’re young at certain positions.`
The Mohawks are especially young up front. Leone, Kimmey and John Watson are the only seniors among the team’s 10 forwards. Hartz, who scored his team’s second goal, is only a freshman.
Fortunately for Templeton, he has an experienced group of defensemen anchored by senior goaltender Scott Hartz. Bryan Bruce, Chris Kugler and Mike Pasley give the Mohawks a trio of seniors on the blue line.
`Defense and goaltending are our strengths. That’s where we have our experience,` said Templeton. `Our challenge will be trying to score goals.`
The challenge for N/S this weekend will be winning the Saranac Lake Tournament, which brings together some of the top North Country programs.
`Obviously, we’re going up there with the intention of winning the tournament, but more importantly it gives us a chance to gain some experience, move forward and hopefully continue to improve,` said Templeton.
Once the Mohawks return from the North Country, they get back into the Capital District High School Hockey League schedule with a Tuesday game against Guilderland. They then host CBA ` which lost to Shenendehowa in last year’s Section II, Division I finals ` next Saturday at the Schenectady County Recreation Facility.
`We’ve got to be ready to play every night,` said Templeton. `If you don’t show up ready to play every night, anything can happen in this league.“