2017-2018

(From the Stanstead College yearbook)

Senior Boys

The accomplishments of this group of players are unmatched by any other team I have coached. While our success did not manifest itself in championship trophies in our league or at the national tournament, the quality and speed of play and the adaptability of the core group of this team epitomized a standard of play that I have not seen from any group I have ever coached. Significant wins against New England prep school best KUA and top echelon SAC were wins that put Stanstead College hockey in the midst of the best in North America. Our best players led the way with offensive output throughout the year, the likes this program has not seen in recent history. The leadership and vision of our captains kept us on course the entire year and play-making ability of the team as a whole proved that our approach and development is best seen when great players come together. I felt comfortable against all of our opponents. This speaks volumes, as our schedule is now among the toughest it has ever been. I believe that the success we enjoyed this year will catapult this program to even greater heights in terms of attracting quality. I am excited for the opportunities that lie ahead and will be forever grateful for the quality of leadership this year's team had. The example set by Trevor Grasby in particular was the most impactful I have ever seen. Those leaving this program have quality opportunities ahead of them and should fondly look back at this year as the springboard to their future.

Prep Boys

The 2017-2018 season was positive on so many levels. Our coaching staff benefitted from the opportunity to work with amazing young men every day on and off the ice. With such a strong core group returning to ploy with each other for a second season, and the addition of some new talented players, the team had more depth and potential than ever before. As a result, we finished the season with an overall record of 30-20-2-2.

Regardless of wins and losses, this young group made great progress throughout the year. Although we were always the youngest team on the ice, we developed a reputation for being a tenacious bunch who never ever backed away from anyone. Our ability to compete hard each and every night, while always playing with class is something I will always remember. It was an absolute pleasure to coach this team. Although we lost in our league playoff semi-finals, this team accomplished more than anyone ever imagined at the start of the season. Thank you for all of you efforts, gentlemen. Best to all of you moving on, and looking forward to working with all of the returning players next year. Thanks for a wonderful season, fellas.

Bantam Boys

I have coached the Bantam hockey program for three years, and it pretty much continues to evolve. In my first year, we had 1/3 of the ice for practices, shared with the prep team. Second season, we had a mix of 1/3 of ice and full ice, still shared with preps. But this season, was it awesome to benefit from FULL ICE all season! Yes, it helped us a lot to improve and enjoy the game of hockey. In the 2015-2016 season, we played 10 games, with 3 wins, 2 ties and 5 losses. In my second year, the 2016-2017 season, we had 13 games: 3 wins, 3 ties and 7 losses. This current year, we played 19 games. Thank you Mr. Rioux for letting this program expand and evolve. We had an amazing team this year. In fact, it was like two teams in one. A senior roster, and a bantam/junior roster, players from Grade 7 to Grade 11. Not that easy to manage, but that has been possible because of Mr. Rioux, Mr. Vanasse, Mr. Sandersen and Mr. Varro. I want to thank them very much for all the knowledge, the passion and the dedication they brought to that team. We did well this season. 19 games: 12 wins, 2 ties and 5 losses. Thanks to all for you, the 24 players, who worked hard, who committed to this beautiful sport and who were part of the team. A special thank you and good luck to Hidenobu Kaga for those great three years of hockey, and also to a few senior players who will not be allowed to play Bantam in Grade 12: Patrick Young, Timothy Smith, Patricia Tamayo, Olivier Daniel, Mackenzie Dias-Leclerc and Mathieu Duval-Sotto. I also wont to thank each and every player. I think we had a positive experience, and you are a big part of that. Good job, Spartans!

(From the Stanstead College website, November 7th)

The state of hockey

In Minnesota, the dream of many hockey players growing up in places like Eden Prairie, Wayzata, Blaine, Duluth or Bloomington, to name a few, is simple: these kids want to grow up and win a state high school hockey championship.

Unlike a lot of North America, where AAA programs and Junior options take on more importance, in the “State of Hockey,” elite hockey is played through high school rivalries.

Much like here at Stanstead College, these athletes strive to be the best student-athletes they can be and hopefully give themselves a chance to play for a State Championship. The state playoffs in Minnesota are played at the Xcel Energy Center, home of the Minnesota Wild, and if you want to get a picture of the importance and level of play for these games, just think about this: the state playoffs sell out. Yes, high school hockey fills an NHL rink to its capacity. How cool is that!

Just before all of these players begin their seasons with their respective high school programs, the High School Elite League (a league with 9 teams from Minnesota and surrounding area that encompasses the best high school players in the area) hosts the International Invitational Tournament. For the second year, Stanstead College was a member of the eight-team tournament. Also at the tournament were Shattuck St. Mary’s, Chicago Mission, Tier One Elite All Stars (representing the Tier One U18 league), Michigan Development Hockey League All Stars, Red Bull Academy from Austria and two all-star teams from the High School Elite League.

To understand the level of play at the tournament, one needs to look no further than the fact that of the 12 games played, 10 ended in scores with a two-goal or less spread, and an amazing eight games were decided by one goal, not including empty net goals. This was a wonderful setting for our team to play in.

The Spartans played three games starting with a 3-2 loss to Chicago Mission, and Saturday we defeated the Michigan Development Hockey League All Stars 5-3, and on Sunday we lost to the Tier One Elite All Star Team 2-0. All three games were extremely even and fun to be a part of. The Spartans played well and, as a younger team in the tournament, showed skill and team tactics. Despite a 1-2 record, it was an impressive performance and display of development.

Aside from the on-ice component of the weekend, everything else that went along with the IIT proved Minnesota to be the “State of Hockey.” The staff at the New Hope Arena was once again on point, led by their enthusiastic and expert icemaker Scott. Heidi and the rest of the Elite League State made us feel welcome and at home, the “boys”, as our new friends are known as, wore their new Stanstead College hats with pride, and the exposure that our team was exposed to was second to none.

A special thank-you to Mark Bahr and the Lorenz Bus Company, who took it upon themselves to go above and beyond what was expected to help us have as smooth of a trip as possible.

With a day off Monday, the Spartans will be back on the ice on today (Tuesday) in preparation for the MPHL opening weekend in Burlington, Vermont which opens on Friday.

(From the Stanstead College website, January 24th)

Sometimes you have to step away

On Tuesday November 21, the Varsity Boys Hockey team travelled to Middlebury, Vermont and played on the campus of Middlebury College.

A top academic institution in the country, Middlebury is also home to great athletic facilities and programs. Our opponent for this game was Phillips Exeter Academy from Exeter, New Hampshire. Staying with the same theme, Philips Exeter often is considered the top high school in America and is home to wonderful academics and athletics. In our attempt to create the best schedule in prep school hockey, these are the game we need to play in.

As all of my fellow coaches can attest, we do our best every week to make sure our teams are prepared. Obviously, a lot of this is done through development in practice, but without question preparation extends well beyond the practice hours of the day. When we arrived at Middlebury on the 21st, we didn’t feel any different going into this game than the two previous against KUA and Governor’s which we split, winning one and losing one, but overall we had played well.

This is where coaching, especially coaching teenagers can get tricky. Within a minute of the game starting, it was clear, this just was not going to be our day. Why? I have no idea. I still do not weeks later. If I could figure out why a group of teenagers can perform one day and not the next, I think I could make a lot of money, but all the coaching courses in the world or drills in practice cannot uncover the answer to this question. Some things in life are just meant to be a mystery. Unable to figure out why it happened, instead as a coach you need to turn the page and think of how to improve. What is the recipe for making a change and being successful? In this case, we decided it was a little rest and a little hunger.

After the game, the decision was made that we would step away from the rink for a couple of days. We did not adequately use the ice time in the game for development, and as a coaching staff we felt we didn’t want to “waste” time with bad habits at practice the next day. Instead we wanted to create a sense of hunger for each and every time we stepped on the ice.

In the course of a season, all teams go through this type of downer of a game or set of games. Our opponent was strong and deserved the win, but it would have been nice for us to just show more. The key is to not allow this feeling to become present around the team.

The two days away from the rink did us well, for on November 25 we defeated Bishop’s College School 4-1 in front of a packed house here at the Pat Burns Arena, and then on the 17th we beat Kent’s Hill School 5-1. It seemed like we were gaining some momentum.

This past weekend we hosted the Bowers Division of the MPHL and played against Rothsay Netherwood School, Bishop’s College School, Ridley College and Rice Memorial. In a weekend that saw us give up a total of 5 goals as a team we were able to run off a 4-0 record. Although the 8 points didn’t change our position in the standings, it helps to set us up for the second half of the MPHL schedule. In addition, we continued to play well as a team, despite having some good players moving in and out and around the lineup as we dealt with the typical start of winter boarding school flu and cold bug.

This coming weekend we will play at New Hampton School Saturday afternoon before returning home for the annual Christmas Supper and Carol Service, one of my favourite school events of the year.

(From the Stanstead College website, January 29th)

Hockey continues to bring us together

Over the years hockey, has intertwined itself into the fabric that is my family. Long before I began coaching hockey, I have vivid memories of spending one week every summer in Fort Erie, Ontario at the Leisure Plex.

At that point, the arena was nearly brand new, and it had a McDonald’s inside of it. This was also before the time of intense off-season training for all levels and ages of hockey players, so I enjoyed some McDonald’s along with my week of hockey. Despite playing hockey from the age of 6-19, I can only think of one other full-week camp that I went to, which was only on one occasion, and my memories are minimal.

The Peace Bridge Duty Free Hockey School in Fort Erie was not just a week of hockey, it was also a week of family. My brother who never played hockey would run from room to room and bring snacks to us when we got off the ice. My sister and two of my cousins would be in other groups of the camp, playing the game we loved and enjoying the activities that went along with the camp, another cousin was there, but she decided that she and hockey were going to be a relationship from the stands and not the ice. My mom, dad and aunt would be in and around the arena, or back at my aunt and uncle's house in Niagara Falls making sure dinner was ready and laundry cleaned, as we usually came home with lunch on our shirt, and my uncle was on the ice pushing me to be my best.

My uncle Mark was one of the people who ran the hockey school; he played for the Philadelphia Flyers in 1981 and was my hockey hero, along with Wayne Gretzky. He coached his daughters and has to this day been a huge fan and supporter of all of his nieces and nephews in hockey and life. As much as this camp was about helping us all improve on the ice, it was more about family being together and having fun through hockey.

Years later, we are all well past our best hockey playing days, but not passed using hockey to bring us all back together. Often times on the bus after a long weekend of hockey I update my family on how things went. They are fans of the team and want to hear about how things are going.

For much of this year the stories have been quite positive, and centered on a team with the ability to play fast, with good habits and a hard working attitude. This weekend was a chance for them to see it with their own eyes, and I am proud of how our team played. By weekend's end we had accomplished the goal that we set out to do, and continued a streak of playing the game the right way and being successful.

Sunday was a day of rest on the bus, a little marking for me, homework for the players, a couple movies and maybe a little sleep for some, but on Monday morning, we welcomed a recruit and were right back at it. I was worried that his practice might lack the qualities that have made us successful but I was wrong, we practiced as we played on the weekend. Well done, boys.

This story is not unique, not at all really, as many of the Spartan players were joined by their families as well. A special shout out to the Grasby family who travel with quite the cheering section any time we are around the Greater Toronto Area. Coach Poliziani’s mom and other families also took in the action. Hockey and Stanstead hockey in particular helped many of us see family who we miss, and who we love. It was great to have a successful weekend on the ice in front of all of these people.

The Spartans schedule will slow down a little over the next two weeks. This weekend is Winter Carnival at Stanstead, and we will host Northwood School on Saturday as part of these events.