BY RANDY SCHULTZ –
If there is one thing that head coach Bob Klimowicz and fans of the girl’s high school hockey team representing Frontier, Franklinville, Orchard Park and Lake Shore High Schools they have not been what their nickname spells out: FLOP.
Historically speaking, they have been anything but that. And this season should be no different.
“We’ve got a young squad mixed in with some veterans on the team,” said Klimowicz. “It’s going to take some time to grow together.”
As many coaches do, Klimowicz is looking to leadership on this team to come from returning players, especially the seniors.
“We’re looking at the players like Mya Dalton (Senior, Lake Shore), Emily Patton ((Senior, Frontier), Lilah Cudney (Junior, Franklinville), Maya Griffin (Junior, Orchard Park), Jocelyn Smaczniak (Sophomore, Frontier), Kerrigan McCarthy (Senior, goaltender, Orchard Park) and Lauren Draszkiewicz (Senior, Frontier) for their leadership and experience.
“But the young girls I’m excited about are the seventh graders who have made the team this year. They are going to get some good ice time this year.
“They may struggle with the physical part of the game. But they’ve got the skating part, the head part and they can shoot the puck well. It’s exciting to see these players come in.”
Those players include Brooklyn Forcucci (Orchard Park), Chloe Gearhart ((Frontier), Peyton Forcucci (Orchard Park), Campbell Rutz (Frontier) and Gabby Sojda (Orchard Park).
“I’m hoping that some of our seniors will take those seventh grade players under their wing and show them that they can be a part of this team.”
While this team may have finished last season with a 7-8-1 record, he has seen some growth in that team this year.
“I’ve seen improvement in several of the players from last year to this year,” commented Klimowicz. “It’s what you hope happens every year.”
When it came time to talk about other teams in the league who might be considered favorites to win it all this season, FLOP’s head coach had one team in mind.
“NiCo (Niagara County) I think sticks out,” said Klimowicz. “They have probably the most veteran leadership and veteran team in the league this year.
“There’s a lot of youth in the league this year. But it’s always a tight league. You can’t go by the scores at the beginning of the year.
“I think as the season goes on the league will tighten up. There will be three or four teams that will be in the mix at the end of the year.
“I hope we will be one of them.”
(Photos by Janet Schultz Photography/NY Hockey OnLine)
