South River Ice Hockey Action Heats Up

has an unofficial ice hockey club team.

You won’t hear about them on the morning announcements at school or find their pictures in the yearbook. The reason for that is because the team does not (yet) have a faculty sponsor to become a club team at the school.

Nineteen boys play for the South River Ice Hockey team.

“They play their hearts out each week for their school,” head coach Joe Loschiavo said. “I have no doubt when they are older they will tell their own kids, ‘I played ice hockey for South River.’”

Loschiavo said the team has been around for about 10 years and they pay all of their own expenses. They play in the Maryland Student Hockey League, which includes high school club teams from across the state. The play is full-check, with penalties for fighting and aggressive or illegal checks.

The South River team plays in the eastern division that includes Queen Anne’s County, Kent Island and Easton—plus Broadneck, Annapolis/Old Mill, Arundel and Severna Park from Anne Arundel County schools. About five years ago, the South River team won the state championship.

Loschiavo is in his first year as head coach, but he has been coaching hockey teams out the Bowie Ice Hockey Club in Prince George’s County for a few years. He has an assistant coach, Jay Fohs. Both men have sons who play on the team. Loschiavo got hooked on ice hockey about a dozen years ago, when his oldest son became involved in the sport.

“I’m a baseball guy because baseball is what I grew up with," he said. "But I have a passion for hockey because it is a truly exciting sport. It is one of those sports where everyone is involved. It is fast-moving, nonstop action.”

Fohs said he came out because he has two boys playing hockey and he wanted to be involved. He also plays in a club league and enjoys the sport, too.

The coaches said the ability level is all over the map for the 19 players on the team.

“One of our players is a junior. That is the top level for youth hockey,” Loschiavo said. “Some are completely new to the sport, we are teaching them everything.”

One of the things Loschiavo said he likes is the ability to play everyone without having benchwarmers.

“Everyone is involved," he said. "They’re out on the ice and then they may come in for five or six minutes, and then they’re out again. It is nonstop action.”

So far, the team has lost the first three games of the season. They played Severna Park and fell 6-0. Then, they had a 6-3 loss to Kent Island.

“With six minutes left, it was 3-3,” Loschiavo said of the Kent Island game.

Kent Island then scored three times in the final minutes.

Then, the team played Broadneck and lost 2-1.

“I got more than I expected out of them. Each time, each game saw improvement,” Loschiavo said, adding that the three teams they played first are probably their toughest competition in the league.

As a coach, Loschiavo said he loves helping the boys learn and seeing the older ones taking on leadership roles. Specifically, he called out seniors Kevin Sheehy and Alex Outten, both defensemen and both captains on the squad.

“They’re good about lifting the players up," Loschiavo said. "They challenge our younger players. When a guy feels like he doesn’t have it, they’re pushing—in a positive way. Also on the ice, they lead by example. When a game is done, they have nothing left."

Next up, they’ll play Easton at 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 5, 2012 at the Dr. John J. McMullen Hockey Rink at the Naval Academy in Annapolis. They continue in league play until mid-February when teams vie for playoff spots.

Check out other regular-season home games at the Naval Academy rink on Jan. 6, 2012 at 7:50 p.m., Jan 13, 2012 at 4:50 p.m., and Feb. 10, 2012 at 7:50 p.m.