April 2, 2008
ICE HOCKEY PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Nick Seravalli
While leading the Firebirds to the Commissioner’s Cup title, the senior showed he’s just as strong a leader as he is a scorer.
Since he first started playing at Holy Ghost Prep, Nick Seravalli always has been a premier goal-scorer, evidenced by his 55 goals through his junior year. In 2007-08, he finished his senior season as the top scorer in the Lower Bucks County Scholastic Hockey League. But even though he finished with 34 goals and 54 points, it wasn’t his scoring that the Firebirds needed most – it was Seravalli’s senior leadership. After winning the Flyers Cup MVP award following the 2006-07 season – during which the Firebirds won their first Class AAA Flyers Cup championship – Seravalli was chosen by coach Steve Ivcic to serve as Holy Ghost Prep’s captain this year. With key players lost to graduation, Ivcic was counting on Seravalli to steer the Firebirds’ ship. Seravalli is the 2007-08 Courier Times Ice Hockey Player of the Year for his efforts as both a league-leading scorer and a title-winning captain. “He’s the senior leader on the team,” Ivcic said. “Nick took it upon himself to lead the team and carry it. That’s part of the evolution and maturity process for captains.” Holy Ghost Prep got on a roll to end the regular season, winning 11 of 13. Then, led by Seravalli, the Firebirds blitzed through Father Judge and Roman Catholic in the LBCSHL playoffs to capture the team’s third straight Commissioner’s Cup title and the fifth in six years. It was on to the Flyers Cup after that, where the sixth-seeded Firebirds defeated Germantown Academy, then third-seed Cardinal O’Hara and second-seed Malvern Prep to again reach the final against top-seeded La Salle. However, after playing La Salle to a 1-1 tie through 21/2 periods, two late goals and an empty-netter resulted in a 4-1 HGP loss. Although Seravalli was disappointed with that defeat, he nevertheless was pleased that he captained a Commissioner’s Cup-winning squad. “I’m not going to tell you that I wasn’t disappointed,” Seravalli said. “We had [La Salle]. No matter what, we were proud of the way we played and got there. I really thought we could have won that game.”
ICE HOCKEY COACH OF THE YEAR – Steve Ivcic
Ivcic, his staff and team had yet another title-winning season in 2007-08. After struggling to a 4-5 start, the Firebirds won 17 out of 20 games to claim a third consecutive Lower Bucks County Scholastic Hockey League Commissioner’s Cup crown.
By Lee Cieniawa
The Bucks County Courier Times
