Boys Hockey Falcons Focused on the Task at Hand

When the Danvers High hockey team hits the ice tonight against Peabody at Salem State's Rockett Arena (7:30 p.m.), the Falcons' mantra will be “one shift at a time.” The hope is that approach produces the single point needed for Danvers to qualify for the Division Two North Sectional Tournament.

“That's the way you have to break it down at this point in the season because every shift is that important right now,” said Coach Kevin Brown “You have to win shifts to win periods and hopefully that carries through to winning games. Our goal every game is simply to be better than we were the game before.”

A tournament berth – which once seemed a given after Danvers strung together six straight mid-season wins – has been jeopardized by an 0-3-1 February slide. Danvers (8-5-3; 6-5-2 NEC North) is seeking to extend its string of post-season appearances to 22 of the past 23 seasons.

Starting tonight, the next 10 days will certainly test the Falcons' resolve. Danvers concludes its NEC schedule Saturday against rival Gloucester (SSU, 6:30 p.m.). Next week, the Falcons skate in the Newburyport Bank Classic, facing two-time defending Division Two North Sectional Champion and 2009 Division Two State Champion Newburyport on Feb. 22 (7 p.m.).

Danvers will then meet either Division One power and newly-crowned Catholic Central Large champion St. Mary's of Lynn or Lincoln-Sudbury on Feb. 25.

“The key is to compete, night in and night out. We've been down a bit at times during the season but we've battled back. The kids have shown great resiliency,” said Brown, noting the team's state of mind remains positive. “You show up at the rink and, as a coach, you wonder how they're dealing with things. This is a great group of kids and there is no question about their character. We had a 5:30 a.m. practice today (Tuesday) and they were all there with a smile, ready to go.”

The first line of senior co-captain Brian O'Keefe (9-13-22), senior Jack McCarthy (10-12-22) and sophomore Joe Strangie (13-7-20) has driven the Falcons' attack all season, accounting for 64 percent (32) of the team's 50 goals.

Ideally, Brown is looking for more supplemental scoring as the regular season draws to a close, especially from the second unit of sophomore Rob Buchanan (6-3-9), sophomore JD Hodgkins (4-5-9) and junior Jack Doyle. Buchanan scored the last-minute tying goal in last week's 2-2 deadlock with Saugus.

Junior goalie Seth Kamens (2 shutouts) and senior co-captain and defenseman Chris Milne anchor the stout Danvers defense that has yielded a shade over two goals per game all season.

“Our success defensively starts with Chris. He's one of the better defensemen in the league. He shuts down opposing forwards and he's fearless back there,” said Brown. Milne is paired with solid junior Peter Marshall, another player Brown cites for having a strong campaign. Consistent junior Nick Strangie, senior Mike Trocchi and sophomore Scott Hovey round out the back line.

Danvers topped Peabody, 2-1, in the teams' first meeting on Jan. 28. The Tanners (9-4-3; 8-3-3 NEC North) have already punched their post-season ticket, but need a win against Danvers and help from elsewhere in order to retain at least a share of their league title thanks to a recent 0-2-1 skid.

“Looking at past games with them, they're always competitive and they're always close. I expect the same thing tonight – they're well-coached and they know how to win,” said Brown. “As far as we're concerned, we're playing our system OK, but we've been taking awhile to get started. We need to get back to playing a consistent 45 minutes.”