Rams Ice Hockey Gets Noticed

Perhaps the most obvious sign of the Spring-Ford Ice Hockey Club's development into a mature program took place after the team's season-ending loss to Central Bucks East in the Flyers Cup semifinal on Thursday night.

Three Rams players, including captain Sean McCabe, were approached by scouts for the Philadelphia Jackals junior team, which plays in Elkins Park and has player development agreements with a number of professional ice hockey teams.  The players were invited to tryouts to be held in Warminster next month.

“This has been a crazy year.” Said McCabe. “Who would have thought we would ever be here or talking to scouts after any of our games a couple of years ago. I hope the young guys remember this next season when they take the ice in Ches-Mont games and do all they can to get back here.”

“We have come a long way in a short time,” said head coach Bill Booth. “This was the last game for our seniors that were here when we got here. I hope this sticks in the memories and they leave here with a great sense of accomplishment and good thoughts of Spring Ford Hockey.”

“I am excited already for next year,” added Taylor Cutting. “I want to be right back here next year and with the guys we have there is no reason we can’t be.”

"Next year will be the first year with kids that have been in our program the entire time,” added Booth.

“We are going to expect a lot from them next season because we know what they are capable of. If they do the work in the off-season and come in with the right attitude next year, I fully expect us to get an invitation for the Flyers Cup again next year. This has been such a big step for our program overall. I couldn’t be prouder of the way we have played in the last two weeks and pretty much all season,” said Booth.

Booth: "We were every bit as good" as CB East

A casual observer might interpret the 6-0 score of the Rams' season-ending loss in the Flyers Cup semifinal as a sign of a significant talent disparity between Spring-Ford, the 11th seed, and Central Bucks East, the 2nd seed.  Rams coach Bill Booth disagrees.  In his opinion, the outcome was largely a matter of a crucial, early shift in momentum.

It looked as though the Rams had struck first just four minutes into the game, when Tyler Hoffman’s wrist shot from just inside the faceoff circle got past CB East goaltender Justin Golia.  Referee Bill Mauer then waved off the goal, stating that net had become dislodged from it’s moorings.

“That was brutal,” said Booth. “The puck was in the net before the net came off, if it ever did. We have traffic in front there, and one of their players bumped into the post. We really lost our momentum after that. I believe we were every bit as good as that team on the ice with us except we made a couple of mistakes and they didn’t.”

The Rams' intensity was fantastic from the opening drop of the puck as Spring-Ford executed Booth’s plan for his squad to physically set the tone.  The Rams made some huge hits on the Patriots' forwards, allowing Spring-Ford to control play for much of the first period.

Spring- Ford only made one mistake in the period, and it cost them on the scoreboard. Austin Carrig, who was solid throughout the post season, lost control of the puck about eight feet from the net.

Patriots' winger and 40-point scorer Austin Cinalli wasted no time shifting the puck to John Esposito, who was able to beat Rams goalie Pete Esslinger top shelf to break the scoreless tie.

The Rams, who were out shot 43-20 overall, maintained pressure for the rest of the first period. They had their best scoring chance when Ryan Booth, who was exiting the penalty box after serving two minutes for an interference call, had a one on one break away following an outlet pass from Tyler Murphy.

Booth pulled Golia out of position in his net but his shot trickled just wide past the left post.

“We had chances early,” said captain Sean McCabe. “We had that first goal taken back and that breakaway. It could have been 2-0 us after one [period], easily. This has been an incredible season and we didn’t want to leave the ice tonight. It’s hard when your season ends.”

After enduring the Rams' surge in the first period, East adjusted defensively into a 2-1-2 trap style which snagged the Spring-Ford attackers at the blue line and allowed the Patriots to hold Spring-Ford without a shot for 12 minutes of playing time and one for the entire second period.

Pete Esslinger, who must have felt like a target in a shooting gallery for most of the game, was sensational in goal as he used his glove hand on three occasions in the first period to snare Patriots winger shots that were headed for the net.

“Peter played great again tonight like he had all year,” said sophomore Taylor Cutting, who saw some valuable ice time in the third period.

“This is where we want to be again next season. I would have dreamed of playing in a tournament of this skill level up in New York. I am so glad to be a part of the team. When I first got here I didn’t even know we had a team, but now kids are talking about us in school, it’s pretty cool,” Cutting said.

After enduring a barrage of rubber being hurled his way, Esslinger finally gave way, allowing back to back goals two minutes apart to East’s leading scorers Tom Schloendorn and Ryan Joyce.  The tallies staked the Patriots to a 3-0 lead.

After allowing East to snag a 16-1 edge in shots on net, the Rams' hopes of appearing in a Flyers Cup Championship game started to fade.

“It sucks because we really played hard to start tonight,” added McCabe. “When we start well, we usually win. Don’t get me wrong, they are a good team, but if we had that first goal back, it would have been a completely different game. We are a tough team to play when we have the lead.”

One the biggest game changers on Thursday night was East’s ability to cycle the puck and create multiple scoring opportunities on a single trip down the ice.

Despite the final score, the Rams defense played well all game, including yeoman work by Mike Giovinco and Cam Narrigan who sacrificed their bodies to block shots from the point by the Patriots snipers.

“They worked the puck in the zone very well,” added Booth. “We had some trouble keeping or getting it deep tonight. I am very proud of our guys, though. To play in this kind of pressure situation will help in the long run.”