High-Scoring Pattonville Hockey Club Hits Halfway Mark With Near-Perfect Record

The Ice Hockey Club is has been on some kind of roll through the first half of the 2011-2012 season.

The Pirates just passed the midway point of the season (with a win and a tie over Wentzville Holt and Duchesne High Schools this week), and are now eyeing the home stretch of the season with winning the Mid-States Suburban North Conference title in sight. Making some noise when the state tournament rolls around in February is also on the agenda.

“We kind of knew this was coming a couple of years ago,” Pattonville hockey coach Randy Guenther said. “Our kids are all juniors and seniors, and we only have one sophomore.

“Last year, we did pretty well with a pretty young group. And we only lost three players from last year. So we knew with what was coming this year, we were counting on guys to play better, play stronger, and play smarter. And a lot of guys have picked it up. So we knew this would be a pretty good year for us.”

This season in fact, is on pace to be a record-breaking season for Pattonville, which could see its winningest season ever if things continue to progress the way they have through the first half of the season.

Currently, the Pirates have one of the best records in the area at 13-1-1, and have a chance to cinch their best first half start ever, if they can get a win in Friday night’s huge showdown against , at the Rec-Plex South facility in St. Peters.  

“Well, if you look at our record, our division is a very weak division,” Guenther said. “And we’ve kind of beat up on the teams that are below us. And we haven’t beat a lot of 500 clubs yet.

“Now what I’m trying to prepare our team for, is when we play the tough teams, that we’ll be good enough to match up with them, and play defense, along with the great offense we have out there.”

That offense boasts four of the top six scorers in the entire area wearing the green, black, and white every night.

The leader this season, has been senior centermen Joseph Kavanaugh, with 28 goals and 17 assists. Those stats also include four game-winning goals and six hat tricks this year.

“He’s a strong player, and a really good stick-handler,” Guenther said. “He’s really good at getting the puck in the defensive zone and pushing it up into the offensive zone. I’ve working with him on making better passes to his wingers, because he really anchors one of our lines. That gives us depth, because we’ve got three lines that can really score.”

Teammate Logan Harnetz, the second-leading scorer in the area with 19 goals and 15 assists this year, is also a top player for the Pirates, along with 5’6 mighty-mite winger Andrew Potter-Gray (15 goals, nine assists) and bulldozing scoring winger Tyler Kuhn (11 goals, 12 assists).

In goal, Pattonville employs two talented players that both rank among the best goalkeepers in the area.

Senior Zachary Everson is 7-0 for the Pirates, with a 2.079 goals against average and a .914 save percentage, while fellow senior Paul Bruggemann has allowed just 2.609 goals a game and has a .877 save average.

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