Sidelines: St. Francis wearing a bull's-eye (2.4.10)
Printer-friendly versionArticle published February 04, 2010
HOCKEY
Knights are No. 1, but would rather be on top at end of year
By MARK MONROE BLADE SPORTS WRITER
Lofty aspirations always accompany aNo. 1 ranking but the St. Francis de Sales hockey team knows the potential pitfalls of those great expectations.
The Knights also know that it won't matter unless they finish on top at season's end. St. Francis (23-2-2) has been the top-ranked team in the state for most of the season.
Senior captain Scott Loy leads the high-powered Knights with 56 points (23 goals, 33 assists).
“It's nice to be known as the No. 1 team. But it also puts a huge target on us,” Loy said. “You get the best game from every team you play. Coach says it means nothing until the end.”
The Knights have outscored opponents 147-37. They average 5.4 goals per game while yielding only 1.4. They also are outshooting the opposition by an average of 39.3 shots to 15.6 per contest.
Senior forward David Torchia said when the first state poll came out in December with St. Francis ranked second behind Cleveland St. Ignatius, the players took exception.
“We wanted to be No. 1 and we started working really hard,” Torchia said. “Then when we got to No. 1 we might have laid back.”
Senior goalie Jeff Davis said the top ranking is something to work for, but that it doesn't mean that much now.
“It can be a distraction,” Davis said. “It can make every game harder and harder.”
Coach Brian Kinsella, a former Toledo Goaldigger who is in his third season at St. Francis, led the Knights to the state semifinals in 2008.
“This is the most skilled team I've had,” he said.
But Kinsella said the No. 1 ranking makes every opponent raise its level of play.
“If you're not ready every night, someone will be happy to knock you off,” he said. “It's nice to be acknowledged like that by the state. But I challenge the kids with it. If they want to be No. 1 they have to go out and show why. They have to live up to that reputation.”
Sophomore Ben Torchia is second in scoring with 30 goals and 21 assists. His senior brother, David Torchia, has scored 23 goals and has 20 assists.
Three other players have collected 36 or more points this season: junior Tyler Murphy (17 G, 26 A), junior Nate Opblinger (9 G, 32 A) and Connor Frey (16 G, 20 A).
Six skaters are averaging more than a point per game.
“We pride ourselves on getting lots of shots,” Loy said.
The Knights give Davis credit for their stellar record. Davis is 19-2-2 with a miniscule 1.56 goals-against average. Davis also has a .912 save percentage.
“Jeff Davis has been playing really well,” Loy said. “He has kept us in a lot of games.”
“He is a fantastic goalie,” David Torchia said. “That gives the defense confidence.”
Davis said he has the most talented players in the state in front of him.
“They're excellent forwards and excellent defensemen,” he said. “They're smart and they're experienced. It's the best team I've ever been on.”
Kinsella said the coaching staff was expecting big things out of Davis and he's delivered.
“He's a senior and he's been in a lot of games,” Kinsella said. “He's been huge for us. When he's focused, he's hard to beat.”
The Torchias have been paired with Loy to form St. Francis' top line. The brothers played on the same line last year.
“It's a lot of fun playing with Scott,” David said. “He has the size and reach [6-3, 185] and that helps in the corners.”
Ben Torchia said Loy's work in the slot and down low creates chances for everyone.
The Torchias are among five players who had competed on junior and travel teams in the past that have joined the Knights this season, instantly boosting the program's skill level.
The Torchias played together on a junior team in Michigan. Murphy, junior defenseman Bryce Connor (20 points), and sophomore forward Reid Kersey also did not play for their high school team last year.
“We knew they had a high level of talent, so coach set high expectations,” Loy said.
“I knew right from the second I skated with these guys we would be a good team,” David Torchia said.
Kinsella said the new players want to impress the coaches.
“That got the others hyped up and playing harder. That's when they realized, ‘Hey, we have a chance now,'” Kinsella said.
After surviving a key showdown with rival St. John's Jesuit last Friday, the Knights saw their unblemished league record vanish Saturday. St. Francis (6-0-1 NHC Red Division) beat the Titans 4-3 in overtime, but then lost to Northview 2-1 in a shootout.
“I think it was a good thing because I think some of us were getting big heads and a little too cocky,” Loy said. “That grounded us and put us back on task.”
Davis said his team did not play like it had been earlier in the year, which included a 4-0 shutout of Northview.
“Hopefully we learned a lot from that loss,” Davis said.
Kinsella said the excitement and adrenaline did not seem to be there. “That loss brought us back to reality,” he said.
Kinsella believes his team can play better defensively.
“We need to clean some things up if we want to be as good as we can be,” Kinsella said. “We need to be more competitive heading into districts.”
St. Francis has never won a state title and the Knights also are seeking their first NHC title since 1999. St. Francis is tied with St. John's and they will meet again Feb. 12 when another crowd of about 2,000 is expected at Tam O'Shanter.
“It's better than any other sport,” said Loy, a standout football and lacrosse player. “Just the noise is incredible. It feels like the fans are right on top of you.”
Kinsella said he expects another wild game.
“It's a great rivalry that brings out the best in both teams,” he said.
Ben Torchia said winning the division would likely give the Knights the top seed in the district.
“That would give us a boost going into the playoffs,” Ben said. “But we have to play a lot better than we did last weekend. We have to play more as a team.”
Kinsella said he tells his players if they continue to be successful, “the league will take care of itself.”
The road to Columbus starts in the district where Kinsella and his players believe any of the other Red Division teams could emerge as champions.
“It's a tossup,” Loy said. “It's so close.”
Kinsella said the main objective now is to get opponents to play his team's game.
“They need to play at our level,” Kinsella said. “We are a speedy team. We can do amazing things with the puck if we all work hard. It's tough to cover all of our guys.”
David Torchia said he likes the team's confidence and chemistry.
“Our school has never won a state title in hockey,” he said. “This could be the year if everything works out and everyone plays like they should.”
Contact Mark Monroe at:mmonroe@theblade.comor 419-724-6354.
