Guilderland High School’s ability to field an ice hockey team has become so tenuous, it needs two schools to partner with it to have enough skaters to barely exceed the state minimum.
This season, Guilder-land has teamed up with Mohonasen and new addition Scotia-Glenville to create the Storm. Even with that assistance, there are only 12 players on the roster. The state minimum is nine players.
“If I had all of my kids who were eligible to play, I’d have 18 to 20 kids,” said G/M/S coach Ed Koivula. “But there were a couple who I felt weren’t ready yet, and several more decided not to come out.”
The dozen players Koivula has have some talent, he said. But without any depth, wins will be hard to come by.
“The expectation this year is first and foremost keep the program going,” said Koivula. “Play some close games. Maybe win some games. And then, use that moderate success to draw interest from other kids. But the first goal is to keep the program going.”
For the Storm to have any success, sophomore goaltender Tim Brisley will likely have to be the backbone of the team. That, though, may take some time, according to Koivula.
“He’s got some technical issues that we’re working on and some physical issues that we’re working on,” said Koivula. “He can stop the puck, but he’s having some trouble moving side to side right now.”
Two Scotia-Glenville players – defenseman Jimmy Brady and forward Chase Howard – are among those Koivula said he is hoping will provide some offense.
“He’s probably our strongest kid,” Koivula said of Brady. “He plays defense, but he’ll probably score a couple of goals for us.”
Senior forward Tyler Phillips – one of six Guilderland students on the roster – is another player Koivula said will be counted on for some offense. But with only seven forwards on the team, everyone will have the chance to contribute.
“I have enough for two lines (of offense) plus one player,” said Koivula.
That’s only if there are no injuries or illnesses. If too many players get sick or injured at the same time, Koivula said he won’t be able to put a team on the ice.
“The state says you can play with nine on the ice. So as you can see, we’re tiptoeing close to that number,” said Koivula.
The one thing Koivula can control is the condition his players are in. Since all can expect to log a lot of minutes, Koivula and his staff have been running drills to give their legs a chance to handle the high workload.
“I probably run about 15 to 20 minutes of drills, and then we do some other things to improve their conditioning,” said Koivula. “At least, the kids are in good shape out there and can play a lot of minutes.”
The Storm won’t have it easy out of the gate. They host Shenendehowa Saturday, Nov. 30 and defending state champion Saratoga Springs Tuesday, Dec. 3 at Union College.
Then, they get eight days off before playing Bethlehem Wednesday, Dec. 11, at the Bethlehem Area YMCA.
The rest of the season will be just as tough, said Koivula.
“It’s a very tough mountain to climb because certain schools are only getting better,” said Koivula.”Burnt Hills merged its program with Ballston Spa a few years ago, and now they have four goaltenders on their (23-man) roster. South Glens Falls and Hudson Falls just merged their program with Glens Falls, so they’re only going to get better. And then, you’ve got traditional powers such as Shen, Saratoga, Shaker/Colonie, CBA and LaSalle.”