March 7, 1991
West Chester East’s ice hockey team finished its regular season with a 20-0 record, but Eric Turner won’t judge it a success just yet.
Turner and East cruised through last season and won the Inter-County Scholastic Hockey League playoffs. But in the Flyers Cup, the competition that pits the champions of the area’s four scholastic hockey leagues, the Vikings were humiliated by Malvern, 11-0.
“Mentally, I don’t think we went in with the right attitude last year,” the senior defenseman said. “We just never seemed ready to play, and that showed in the final score.”
This year, though, East thinks it is ready thanks in large part to the continued improvement of Turner. In East’s 20-game season (the Vikings were 15-0 in league play), Turner had 21 goals. Averaging better than a goal a game is quite an accomplishment for any player, let alone a defenseman.
“Eric is our captain, and I think he is the best defenseman in the area,” Vikings coach Nick Russo said. “He’s very mature, and he plays like a college kid out there.
“He’s very intelligent and he always seems to be a step or two ahead of everyone else out there.”
Russo said the offensive abilities of his prized defenseman reminded him of an NHL star with a similar combination of abilities.
“He’s so good with the puck, moving it up ice, that he reminds me a lot of Ray Bourque,” the all-star defenseman of the Boston Bruins, Russo said. “He can play both ends of the ice for us.”
Turner will play Division III hockey next year at Brockport State in upstate New York. But first, there are the little matters of the ICSHL play. offs and then the Flyers Cup to consider.
“We’ve got the experience of last year to help us now,” Turner said. “I don’t think there’s any reason why we shouldn’t do real well.”
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