2001 Malvern’s Gehring making shots count

Jimmy Gehring was scared for one of the few times ever on the ice. The Malvern Prep junior had fired a point-blank laser that glanced off the side of Paul Botcho’s helmet, causing the Archbishop Ryan goaltender to fall to the ice as if felled by a Mike Tyson haymaker. Botcho was sprawled and stunned but eventually left the ice under his own power, to Gehring’s great relief. However, the Ryan goalie was hardly the only goaltender who had to deal with Gehring’s withering shot this season. The 5-foot-10, 175-pound Malvern forward drilled home a career-best 46 goals and added 39 assists over 34 games this season to lead the Friars in scoring for the second straight year. And for the second straight year, Gehring’s dominance makes him The Inquirer’s Chester County ice hockey player of the year. This year’s edition of the Friars was supposed to be a down team, by Malvern’s usual standards, and much of the scoring burden was likely to be on Gehring. “Our main focus was basically to work as hard as we could because we knew as a team we had to work hard to be successful,” Gehring said. “I just felt I had to work a lot harder than last year because of what I did last year. I still had to step up my game, but as I did, so did a lot of our other players, including a lot of our younger guys.” In his first two years at Malvern, Gehring had a tendency to make an extra move to get closer to the net, instead of just pulling the trigger on his big shot. He was able to get away with that approach because of the players he had around him. Not so this year. Gehring decided to let the shot go this season, no matter where he was in the offensive zone. One moment that demonstrated the strength of Gehring’s shot came in Malvern’s 8-2 Class AAA championship victory over Ryan in the Flyers Cup. With 11 minutes and 2 seconds remaining and the game’s outcome decided, Gehring came off the corner and angled his way toward the net. He fired while a few feet from Botcho, and the shot caught the goalie’s helmet. Gehring skated forward, looking back at what had happened. He saw Botcho sprawled on the ice, his eyes shut and his stick out of his hands. Fear struck Gehring first because he thought he had severely hurt Botcho. After a few minutes, Botcho started to move, causing Gehring to let out a brief sigh.

“Jimmy has the kind of shot that can stun a goalie, and I don’t know any goalie who could have reacted that quick,” said Father Ed Casey, the Friars’ assistant coach. “It just shows you how hard of a shot Jimmy has and how strong his wrists are. That was a wrist shot he took from 10 feet, and the poor goaltender never had a chance to react. “You had to be very impressed when Jimmy leads the division as a sophomore and comes back and does it again with a tougher schedule and a team that some thought was weaker. He is a very solid, strong kid. If he has the puck in one of the scoring areas, he’s shooting. He’s as complete a player as I’ve ever seen for his age.” This season tested that versatility, with Gehring playing different positions. He played most of the season at right wing. On power plays, Gehring was moved back to defense because of his big shot from the blue line. At times, he also played center. His versatility kept Gehring on the ice longer. That was a benefit. But playing defense and right wing kept Gehring restricted to certain areas of the ice, something to which he was not accustomed. “I’ve always had fun playing wherever I was put,” Gehring said. “Playing right wing was a struggle a little bit, but in some ways, it helped me because I was able to get up the ice more on breaks. Defense was important because [of the] responsibility there, and I liked having more responsibility.” Gehring played primarily defense in the Friars’ Class AAA state championship game against Bethel Park. The Friars lost, 2-1, with their lone goal coming from junior Phil McKeon. It was Gehring who set up the play, carrying the puck in the offensive zone against Bethel Park’s stingy defense. He drew two defenders to him, getting the puck to Mike McMullen, who fed McKeon in front. Gehring realizes that next year will be his last chance to win the state championship. In two of his three years at Malvern, the Friars advanced to the Flyers Cup Class AAA championship. With a strong nucleus of Gehring, McKeon, McMullen, Tim Wochok, and goaltender Max Sorenson, the Friars figure to be contenders for the state championship again next year. Next season also comes with a warning for any opposing goaltender forced to face Gehring. “I think I’ll shoot even more next year,” Gehring said. “Just no more scares, though. I just want to get the puck past them.”