1998 A banner year for LaSalle coach

Three area teams – La Salle, Germantown Academy, and Conwell-Egan dominated their respective leagues this hockey season. Pennsbury came within a victory of playing for the Class A state championship. Here is a review of the 1997-98 ice hockey campaign, which had its share of surprises and memorable moments.

Coach of the year. Although La Salle first-year coach Wally Muehlbronner deserves kudos for guiding the Explorers to their second Class AAA Flyers Cup championship in three seasons, the nod here goes to North Penn’s Tony Mauriello. The Knights placed first in the Suburban High School Hockey League (SHSHL) National Division in 1996- 97 but weren’t expected to fare too well in the stronger American Division this year. Mauriello coached the squad to a 13-8-1 mark during the regular season and an upset of second place Council Rock in a semifinal playoff series. By beating Rock, the Knights earned their first berth in the Class AAA Flyers Cup.

Team of the year. As evidenced by Sunday’s Flyers Cup championship game, not much separated La Salle and Germantown Academy this season. Conwell-Egan was another power. Each team was overpowering during the regular season, winning most games in ho-hum fashion. C-E abruptly dropped out of the running when it bowed to Washington Township (N.J.), 4-3, in the opening round of the Class AAA Flyers Cup. La Salle takes the award for the way it jumped out to a 3-0 lead in Sunday’s final and withstood a late comeback to beat GA, 4-3. The Explorers will face Pittsburgh Central Catholic on Sunday at 3 p.m. at the Ice Garden Rink, southeast of Pittsburgh, for the state title.

Upset of the year. Few, if any, expected a one-and-done outing from Conwell-Egan in this season’s Flyers Cup. Especially not against a Washington Township team that had bruising forward Gray Shaneberger but not much else. C-E coach Rich Slack will spend most of the off-season second-guessing himself and wondering how the Minutemen put a quick end to an otherwise successful season.

Turnaround of the year. Council Rock, which lost its top four scorers to graduation, opened the 1997-98 campaign by winning only three of its first nine SHSHL games and easily could have tanked the rest of the season. But, led by junior defenseman Frank Junotta and a crop of young forwards (sophomores Chris Heverly and Woody Martin, and freshman Ean Seller), Rock rebounded. Paul Gilligan’s squad entered the holiday break with a 7-6 record and was in fourth place in the American Division. After a 7-3 loss to GA on Jan. 8, the Indians won. seven of their last eight games (losing only to GA, 2-0, on Feb. 26), ended the regular season with a 14-8 mark, and finished runners-up to the Patriots. They were nipped by North Penn in the playoff semifinals.

Newcomers of the year. Mike Loftus, a sophomore right winger for La Salle, set up a lot of scoring opportunities for the Flyers Cup champions. The 5 foot-5, 140-pounder wasn’t afraid to bang up against bigger players or dig the puck out of the corners. Another player who came out of nowhere was Conwell-Egan’s Ralph Lalli. The senior winger produced 21 goals and 13 assists for the Eagles.

Best move. Pennsbury coach John Bria decided to give freshman John Zdunkiewicz, who started the season as a defenseman, a shot at being the team’s starting goalie. Zdunkiewicz played well between the pipes and recorded two shutouts in the Class A Flyers Cup.

Best female. Norristown’s Tori Gallagher was used sparingly this season but showed she could skate and deliver the occasional goal. The sophomore winger will see more ice time next year as Norristown, a first-year team, tries to work its way up the SHSHL National Division ladder.