Just as teams adapt mid-season so do we here at Summit City Sports. Moving forward we’re going to change the way we cover high school hockey on our website. Instead of weekly recaps we’re going to go with a bigger roundup every three weeks that ties the previous rotation of games together in our power rankings and add some additional notes as well. So with that said, the first regular season power rankings…
1.) Carroll (3-0-0; 6 pts.)
No surprises here as Carroll continues to run the show without showing signs of slowing down after last year’s great run. Their biggest test thus far was in Week Two against Leo and they were able to pass it with a 2-1 win that we discussed last week. They followed up on that with a business as usual 5-2 win over Homestead on Wednesday. That was a game that saw the Chargers without Dylan Braun but much like when he missed time last year with an injury it didn’t seem to matter as the rest of the team filled in the gaps. The most notable of the players stepping up was the two goal effort from Viktor Wolff. If Wolff can keep up his goal per game pace in league play that will bode well for Carroll as they continue solidifying their middle-six forwards this season, who might I say could actually be an improvement on last year’s group as crazy as that might have sounded last season.
Also warranting mention on that note from the last three weeks in Sam Krauhs. Krauhs seldom saw the ice as a freshman two seasons ago but after showing some solid improvement last season has made another big jump this year with an increased role in the Carroll offense. Krauhs already boasts four points this season (2G – 2A) which leaves him just two points shy of his output in 15 league games last season. As it pertains to the reigning league scoring leaders, Finn Cupp has had the best start of that group, punctuated by two goals and three assists against the Spartans. That brings his total up to four goals to go along with four assists, a 2.67 points per game pace. Carter Gnau and Braun have both been held largely off the scoresheet though with the pair of them combining for just four assists, a stark contrast from last year when Braun had 13 points through three games. Also working in Carroll’s favor is the strong play of Luke Vanantwerp. Stepping into the #1 role for Carson Carteaux was a big ask after last season but Vanantwerp has held up his end of the bargain only surrendering four goals thus far.
2.) Leo Lions (2-1-0; 4 pts.)
Leo hangs on to the number two spot and without much debate. If Carroll was better than expected to start, I think the same could be said for Leo. The forwards group has done a good job and leading that charge has been Colten Calhoun. He was particularly noticeable during the Week Three matchup against the Vipers where it seemed like he was involved almost constantly. For his efforts he was rewarded with the opening goal of the game which was huge at the time with no one able to score in the first 28+ minutes of that game before the power play tally. Alex Hendricks has also continued to be an important contributor to the Lions in a larger role now. He was credited with three assists against the Vipers which brings him up to five points through three games. Leo has also had a number of other players that have helped them off to their 2-1 start. We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention Tyson Finefrock who is at a point per game pace right now after having one point during the entire league slate last season. Not far behind is Sam Schwartz who has a pair of goals at this point, including a short-handed goal last Wednesday. Schwartz deserves a higher point total than he has at this point but a 3-1 game against Carroll in Week Two has limited the counting stats for players across the board, a theme that we’ll see more of as we move further down the rankings.
On the backend Austin Amick has done a tremendous job of helping fill the void left but Aaron Amick’s departure. He brings a similar physical presence that can frustrate opponents as evidenced by a penalty he drew from Braun in Week Two as those two repeatedly came together. Beyond that defense has been solid but not spectacular, which is really all that’s needed with their potential upfront and their elite goaltending. Speaking of goaltending of course we have to give kudos to Drew Baumert who has been doing his thing back in the blue paint. Through his two appearances (Xander Mulholland took over the net against the Vipers, going 16/18) Baumert has stopped 75 shots for a 0.949 SV% and four goals against. Limiting Carroll to two goals in their Week Two matchup was big for the Lions who put a good game up against Carroll. For Leo the next step is obvious, score more than one against Carroll and give yourself a much better chance at winning that game, which should be their #1 priority in terms of city play right now. That’s easier said than done but we know the goaltending will likely hold steady so that’s where the margin is for the Lions.
3.) Homestead Spartans (1-2-0; 2 pts.)
The Spartans have been who we expected them to be so far, picking up a win over the Vipers but falling to both Carroll and Leo. Even when looking at goals for and goals against they sit third-best in both of those categories. As a result, there’s not a whole lot to say on them. Nothing has gone against preseason expectations and the players expected to be leading the way have been. Their leading scorer so far is Andrew Litwinko (1G – 2A – 3pts) and backing him up are Cameron Hurley (2G) and Daniel Martinsky (2G). The issue here is that Hurley went down hard last Wednesday and didn’t return to the game making his status uncertain for the time being. That would be a huge loss for Homestead as one of their most experienced players, especially on the blue line. He is a bit like Antoine Nicol was back in the day in terms of having offensive upside as well as a physical presence, albeit to a lesser extent than Nicol was when he was a force for the loaded Spartans teams of years’ passed.
The key thing for Homestead in my opinion is finding their “game breakers”, the guys that when they touch the puck you think they can score at any given moment. They had that last year, primarily with Gavin Elkins, and one of the advantages the Vipers have is that they’ve got Jackson Bertels who I’d put in that category. Homestead doesn’t have that yet but that doesn’t mean someone won’t emerge in that role. It’s still early so Litwinko or Martinsky could grow into that but we just haven’t seen enough of them yet as the main guys on offense as they move up the depth chart this year. If they could find that then I think they’re chances of moving up the standings grow but as of the moment I think Leo still has the edge on overall forward depth and their elite goaltending vs Homestead’s good goaltending. On that note, in net the Spartans are sharing the net through three weeks but Connor Gould is their 1A after playing against Leo and Carroll. We’ll see how that’s handled this week and if they do a true 50/50 split or lean more on Gould.
4.) Fort Wayne Vipers (0-3-0; 0 pts.)
The Vipers continue their story from last season of not getting timely saves. Week One was a mess of both unlucky bounces for Brody Rosswurm and straight up bad defense. Week Two despite controlling the entire first period, they found themselves down 2-0 after 15 minutes and then were outplayed in the second period to trail 4-1. Despite a valiant comeback attempt, they were just too far behind to make it all the way back but were much better overall for the last 15+ of that game. Their best all-around effort came in Week Three against Leo. It was a thrilling game from start to finish that featured just one goal in the first two periods and then seven in the third period where it got away from Fort Wayne. Rosswurm was terrific in goal through 30 minutes before it all fell apart in the third, giving up two in the first five minutes and then a shorthanded goal to Schwartz only a few minutes later which made it a 4-0 game. The Vipers were able to stabilize a little bit with a rocket of a shot from Dylan Parks but Leo had restored the four goal lead by the time all was said and done.
Like last season the key for the Vipers is still goaltending and it looks like they might have something here with Rosswurm. I don’t chalk up much blame to him for anything in Week One, and even the ones he would be primarily responsible for were just unfortunate bounces (ex. Kicking the puck into his own net). He also did a good job steadying things against Homestead in Week Two and didn’t give up a single goal in relief, then followed that up with a great showing through 30 minutes against Leo before the tone of that game completely flipped. We’ll see how the Vipers split the net this year but given how reluctant they were to split time last season I’d imagine they’ll ride whoever Head Coach Tyler Mason judges to be the #1 again this year.
Elsewhere in the lineup Jackson Bertels has had a terrific start to his Senior season. He had been involved in every Vipers goal through the first two games of the season before being held without a point against Leo. Even after that game he is still the only player on the team with multiple points, seven other players currently have one point. Remarkably though, not among that group is Logan Ormsby despite being in the mix regularly. Ormsby has always been one that I felt didn’t have the point totals to match what he had been bringing to the table and that has continued on to this season, the difference now being that there are fewer players to add points, making him all that more important. In my opinion this is the most interesting team in the league right now as they might have the most untapped potential but we will need to start seeing that potential soon if they have serious hopes of moving up the standings. Week Five’s matchup with Homestead will be a key reference point next time we assess these rankings.
Notables:
MVP of the Cycle: Finn Cupp, Carroll
The runaway points leader so far in the league and as such he is our first MVP of the Cycle. He leads the league by three and has been the only of Carroll’s “Big Three” to be a force on the scoresheet to this point and has been involved in over half the team’s goals. While there are others that are worthy of mention (see below) Cupp is at the top of that list right now for his outstanding start.
Honorable Mention: Drew Baumert (Leo), Jackson Bertels (Vipers), Andrew Litwinko (Homestead)
Goal of the Cycle: Vipers’ Own Goal
This isn’t necessarily the best goal (as is obvious this time) but the most memorable and so far this one fits the bill, unfortunately its for all the wrong reasons though. Either way I think objectively we can at least agree this was a funny moment now that everyone is a few weeks removed from it, and it’s not like this was the determining factor in the game.
Save of the Cycle: Drew Baumert (Leo)
A big moment between arguably the two best players in the city and the goaltender comes out ahead. In the final minute of the second period with the game tied at one, Dylan Braun picked up the puck in the neutral zone behind the Leo defense and charged in on goal, shorthanded might I add, only to have Baumert stand tall and bail out his team. Had Baumert not made this save the momentum would have been squarely with Carroll entering the intermission but his big time gave his team everything to play for in the third period of Week Two.
Newcomer of the Cycle: Brody Rosswurm (Vipers)
Admittedly there’s not been a lot of newcomers that have stood out so far and none will have more of an impart on their team’s performance than Rosswurm will for the Vipers. It’s a bit unfair to put a lot of pressure on the Freshman but if the Vipers are going to have a lot of success this year it will almost certainly be because he provides strong goaltending. I have a feeling we’ll be talking about him a lot in this section but only time will tell.
Game of the Cycle: Leo Lions vs Fort Wayne Vipers (Week Three)
This could be some recency bias but this game was really entertaining in my opinion. Yes the final result was not close but that totally ignores how we got there. This game was totally deadlocked through 28 minutes but not due to a lack of opportunities. There were chances at both ends and each team had a number of power plays as well but just couldn’t break through. Then finally Calhoun was able to find the opening goal late in the second period. From there the third period was a wild one filled with goals that kept everyone on their toes even as we approached 10:30 on a Wednesday night (something that has been proven hard to do over the past few years). All in all this was the game that kept me the most engaged from start to finish even with it being the late game so for that I have to give this our inaugural Game of the Cycle award.
