Spartans Hockey Scrimmage Previews 2022-23 Season

Overcoming a two-goal deficit but still falling short 5-4 to the Easthampton Eagles, East Longmeadow’s push-back abilities are being showcased at the right time.

Unlike their 1-1-1 record obtained in the Springfield Pics Thanksgiving Tournament where they scored a total of four goals–three by senior captain Brady Dobek–there were points from six different skaters in the pre-season matchup.

Junior Aidan Fisher led the team with two goals, the other two coming from Dobek and one of his co-captains, senior Aidan Asher. Fisher’s linemate, sophomore Carson LePage, led the team in assists with two.

All three East Longmeadow goaltenders got a period of playing time during this game; senior Colin Sherwood, junior Patrick McGillicuddy, and sophomore Owen Reid.

The Eagles got out to a 3-1 lead at just the 6:05 minute mark in the first period before the Spartans made it a 1-goal game with under two minutes to go, sparking some momentum East Longmeadow’s way before the end of the period. 

With Fisher’s second goal tying the game towards the halfway mark of the second period, the game remained tied until Easthampton’s Marwitz put the Eagles ahead with his second of the game.

Asher’s goal to make the game 4-4 with 6:09 left in the third period proved not to be enough, as penalties plagued the Spartans and Sullivan gave the Eagles the 5-4 lead with under 30 seconds left. 

An unfortunate ending to the scrimmage, but, according to head coach Dan Reid, there are lots of takeaways.

“We know we’re a solid team, but we need to improve on defense and team play,” Reid said. “We’re expecting to increase those later on this season.”

One of the main pieces to East Longmeadow’s success this season will come from their seniors.

“They’re the first group to have been with me for five years,” Reid said. “I expect them to use what I’ve taught them.”

The three captains, Dobek, Asher, and senior Tedy Kuhn make up the team’s top line and, considering their numbers from last year, are projected to lead their team’s scoring this season.

Dobek and Kuhn are returning captains. They co-captained with graduated defenseman Travis Arnold. Aidan Asher led last year’s team in goals with 10, while Arnold led them in points with 16. 

Other seniors from East Longmeadow’s roster include defensemen Chad O’Brien, Jack Forsyth, and forward Chris Sherwood. 

Coach Reid has placed emphasis, not only on their statistics, but on this group of seniors’ influence.

“It all comes down to leadership,” Reid said. “Hopefully they can step up and lead us to a successful year.”

For Dobek, there are multiple factors that make up a good leader, and he believes that he is able to utilize a multitude of them.

“As a second-year captain, I’m definitely comfortable in leading the team both verbally and with effort,” Dobek said. “I think that the most important part of leadership is providing the energy for the team to feed off of. Building a family environment full of love and respect is very important to ensure that everyone has each other’s backs and plays for the person next to themselves.”

Following their less than ideal preseason results, it is important for not only their coach to identify areas for improvement, but the captains as well.

“We definitely need to work on breakouts and getting the blades pointed up quickly in order to gain speed in the neutral zone,” Dobek said. “I also think we need to work on our passing and receiving passes, which is important because it keeps the flow in the game.”

“We have to get off to a good start this year and have confidence playing,” Kuhn said. “We will push the team to beat their limits and keep up the good energy.”

However, the clear main improvement from the captains’ standpoints is communication.

“Most importantly, communication lets your teammates know where you are to make their job easier, but also to help each other get better,” Dobek said. 

“We are still working on it, but as we keep getting better it will be a key thing and will help us tremendously on and off the ice,” Asher said. 

The Spartans are also looking to capitalize on what Dobek says is a “very valuable” power play unit, which generated a lot of good opportunities in the scrimmage.

Looking to showcase their communication and team play, East Longmeadow’s regular season begins tonight against Burncoat High School.