March 2, 1980
Amateur hockey is big news right now. The sensational achievement of the U.S. Olympic team has made sports fans outside Massachusetts and Minnesota realize that amateur hockey can become a growth sport. It’s not a growth sport around here, and, given the serious financial problems of several area rinks, the growth may be stemmed before it materializes. So there may never be another Scott Chamness in Southeast Pennsylvania. If Archbishop Carroll loses to Radnor tomorrow night (7:30 in the Havertown Skatium), Chamness will have completed the greatest scholastic hockey career in Pennsylvania history. He was the Wilt Chamberlain of his sport, the guy who set new standards for everyone else to try to match. Chamness, like Chamberlain, set them so high it is unlikely they’ll be beaten in a generation.
Ridiculous figures
Consider the numbers: In his four- year career, Chamness scored 271 regular-season goals in fewer than 80 games, for an average of more than three a game; he scored a staggering 89 goals in 17 games as a junior, a better than five-a-game average that probably never will be broken; the 89 is the area single season record, his 69 this year is the second-highest ever and his 66 as a sophomore in 1978 is the third-highest ever. There is no one who compares to Chamness. In hockey’s dark ages, there were some big scorers, so no one is sure whether there were previous 50 or 60-goal scorers. But nobody ever scored like Chamness. Only three other players in recent years have scored 50 goals in a season. Henry Coxe of Chestnut Hill scored 58 in 1977, Ricky Turnbull of Radnor scored 55 in 1978, and Carroll’s other sensational forward, Greg Arnold, scored 53 in 1978. Of the six 50-goal seasons in the last four years, Chamness accounted for three of them.
Slip didn’t materialize
One more comparison is of note: only three other area players managed 40 goals this season (Steve Engle of Archbishop Ryan, Scott Bradbury of Upper Dublin, and Brian Miller of Unionville). All this is remarkable because nearly everyone thought Chamness would slip somewhat when the brilliant Arnold, linemate Jim Bolger, and defenseman Kim Vasys all left Carroll after last year to go to Canterbury Prep. But Chamness has been beating that rap for years. When he was a high-scoring peewee, critics were saying he’d never do it on the next level. But he always has. “Since it was my first year playing without Greg and Jimmy and Kim (they had been together since squirts), I knew it was gonna’ be a whole new style,” Chamness said. “I had to adjust to a new system. This year, the idea was to get me the puck, whereas last year we could get it to anyone. I had a lot more responsibility.” Chamness is secure enough, now, to admit he had difficulty adjusting.
Shadows rarely worked
“In a way, it did affect me,” he said. “I had a good start, then I got frustrated. A lot of teams put their best skater on me the whole game. It was effective at times, but it didn’t work too well at other times.” Evidently not, since Chamness scored 13 goals one night and 10 another. “I was in a slump for a while,” he said. “I think I scored one point in three games.” Chamness also missed two games with a small shoulder fracture (he has fractured both shoulders twice). “This year, I played defense,” he said. “Last year, I didn’t play it at all, but I played it one or two shifts a game this year.” With all-star defenseman Carmen DiGiandomenico out sick Thursday night, Carroll used Chamness on defense the entire game. The Patriots lost, 4-2, to Radnor, setting up tomorrow’s showdown for a place in the Flyers Cup. If Carroll loses, Chamness is done. “Right now I’m waiting to hear from the two prep schools I’ve applied to,” he said. “Northwood (in Lake Placid, N. Y.) is the best hockey prep school in the nation, but I’m debating whether to go to Canterbury so I can play alongside Greg again. “I’ve got to develop my whole game. Here you can get the puck, go up and down, and don’t worry about it. Up there, it’s a whole different story. You’re playing against better competition, and you go up and down the ice as hard as anything. You have to work.”Sure, it’ll be tough. But it’ll come eventually.” Unfortunately for area hockey fans, it’s nearly over here.
