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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nApril 5, 2016<\/p>\n\n\n\n
ICE HOCKEY PLAYER OF THE YEAR – Tyler Riddle<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n SPRINGFIELD\u2019S RIDDLE READY TO HIT THE ROAD AFTER A STANDOUT SEASON<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n SPRINGFIELD>> Tyler Riddle<\/a> hates flying. He admits this as he recalls an especially grueling stretch of a hockey season where he would play 87 games, the same as his sweater number, across high school and club commitments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was Feb. 3 and his Springfield Cougars battled Garnet Valley at Ice Works. The Jaguars led the game 3-1 and 4-3 before Riddle took over. The reigning Daily Times Player of the Year scored four times in the game, twice in the third period. The hat-trick goal showcased Riddle\u2019s next level ability. He collected a pass at the Garnet blue line, fought off two defensemen then buried a shot blocker side as he fell to the ice. The Cougars eventually skated away with a 7-4 victory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The next morning Riddle was on a plane to Minnesota, a long layover in Chicago the source of his frustration. Riddle\u2019s 18U Jr. Flyers team played Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Schwan Super Rink in Blaine, the largest skating complex in the world with eight sheets of ice. Sunday night, there was another flight, another layover and finally, Riddle was back in Springfield in time for class Monday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLong, tiring,\u201d he remembers. \u201cLong, tiring.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Riddle hoped to avoid such weeks when he informed head coach Phil Eastman<\/a> in the late summer that he wouldn\u2019t be playing high school hockey this season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201c(The Jr. Flyers) were either on a bus, a plane or driving five, six hours to Boston,\u201d Riddle explains of his initial decision. \u201cIn my junior year, missing practices and coming late to Sunday practices from road trips and stuff. And then the beating I took last year, being hurt all the time. (My teammates and coaches) got it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n His retirement from Cougars hockey lasted one game. Riddle returned for the final 24 contests and put on a show no one will soon forget. He scored 64 goals and added 38 assists for 102 points. Springfield, thought to be rebuilding, finished second in both the Central League and the A Flyers Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For his individual efforts and contributions to a team that greatly exceeded expectations, Tyler Riddle<\/a> is once again the Daily Times Player of the Year. Riddle, the only returner, is joined on the All-Delco Team by six newcomers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n His Cougars teammate Jimmy Schickling nabbed one of the two defensemen spots along with Ridley captain Nate Dunning. The Green Raiders, after a 19-2-1 campaign, placed four players on the First Team. Joining Dunning are goaltender Brendahn Brawley and forwards Michael Giampapa and Nick Catona. Haverford High\u2019s Shane Moran<\/a> completes the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The All-Delco Team and Player of the Year are selected by the Daily Times staff with consultation from area coaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Following the conclusion of both his hockey seasons, Riddle tendered with the Surrey Eagles of the British Columbia Hockey League. He\u2019ll play in the Eagles prospect tournament in May before heading to the Pacific Northwest for the main camp at the end of the summer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf I go away six hours, I might as well go 42 hours,\u201d Riddle said of his autumn destination. As one might expect, he measures distances by car ride rather than in frequent flier miles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But with the Eagles, Riddle has a chance to impress college coaches as he competes in Canada\u2019s top Junior A league.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cPeople ask me about schools and everything. I just want to play D-I hockey and it doesn\u2019t matter where,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom looking at what I talked about with my family and what I talked about with the Jr. Flyers, that\u2019s the route. That\u2019s my ultimate goal, to play Division I hockey.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s no denying Riddle\u2019s work with the Jr. Flyers, and before them the Valley Forge Minutemen, provided him the chance to continue his career on the other side of the continent. He didn\u2019t need to play high school hockey, he wanted to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Riddle started to second guess the end of his Springfield career as his former teammates prepared for their season. He missed the annual Penn State trip and the unique camaraderie. When the Cougars opened the campaign by beating Penncrest 9-0, Riddle was a spectator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMe and my dad went and watched it,\u201d he recalls. \u201cIt was kind of a feeling inside me that I need to be out there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A few days went by before Riddle texted his father, Tom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAm I making the right decision?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhatever decision you make is the right one,\u201d Tom responded. \u201cYou make your own decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n It was all Tyler Riddle<\/a> needed to hear. He suited up for Springfield\u2019s next game against West Chester East and just 6:38 into the first period announced his return in a big way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI came off the bench, and one of the defensemen was behind the net on the goal line, and he tried to make a cross-ice pass to the winger,\u201d recounts Riddle. \u201cI stopped it on my backhand, pulled it back and shot it top right.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He added a second goal against the Vikings before lighting up the rest of his opponents for 62 more. Riddle had four eight-point games and three seven-point efforts on his way to 102 for the season. In one eight-game stretch from late November to Christmas, he scored 34 goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But it wasn\u2019t just his contributions on the scoreboard that set him apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhen I stepped in that first game against East, I didn\u2019t want (teammates) thinking I was just the new guy on the team. I earned my three or four years here. I earned that,\u201d Riddle said. \u201cI felt like I had to lead and our coaches said the same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n That leadership was never more evident than during the Cougars\u2019 surprise postseason run. Riddle almost single-handedly defeated Ridley in the Central League Championship with two goals and an assist. His second goal, a laser from the top of the faceoff circle, beat Brendahn Brawley like a breeze through a cracked window. Although Springfield fell 4-3 in overtime, the attitude was established for the Flyers Cup.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Riddle had six points against Kennett, then an overtime winner to eliminate West Chester Henderson. In the semifinals, Riddle buried West Chester East with two goals, including one that he called the best of his career; a sublime pull-and-drag move that left everyone in attendance at Ice Line stunned. The Cougars won 3-2 to head to the championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI mean, there was talk in the school about how good it was,\u201d Riddle said. \u201cIt was one of those times where you can\u2019t really remember it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The admission is one of the few times Riddle allows for praise. For as many accolades as he\u2019s accrued over his career, he\u2019s much more interested in talking about those around him. Riddle makes sure to name the three doctors who helped him battle through a deep back bruise during the postseason, Anthony Gagliardi of ATI, Dr. James Schickling (Jimmy\u2019s dad), and Jim Gallo, Springfield\u2019s trainer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Riddle also lauds the efforts of his teammates, and lists a full family tree of supporters from his parents Tom and Denise to siblings Kyle and Allison to grandparents, aunts and uncles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Then there\u2019s Denise Mroz, a teacher who Riddle counts as a fan and mentor. All of them will be tough to leave behind as he heads out West.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Appropriately, Riddle\u2019s last point of the season came on an assist to freshman Aiden Smith in the Flyers Cup final against West Chester Rustin. The former skated away with his arms raised as the latter chased him down. It was the lone goal in the Cougars\u2019 4-1 defeat. But to see Riddle celebrate, to later hear Spence call him the heart and soul of the team, was to understand Riddle\u2019s love of Springfield hockey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cJust thinking about (that loss) was upsetting. I\u2019ll never put that sweater on again or play in front of all those people,\u201d Riddle said. \u201cAfter that game, sitting in the locker room, that\u2019s when I knew I made the right decision to come back and play.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n All-Delco Team<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n FIRST TEAM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Forward: <\/strong>Tyler Riddle<\/a>, Springfield, Senior SECOND TEAM<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Forward:<\/strong> Gannon Stuart, Garnet Valley, Junior HONORABLE MENTION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Archbishop Carroll: <\/strong>Matthew Strofe<\/a>, Jacob George By Dillon Friday
Forward:<\/strong> Nick Catona, Ridley, Senior
Forward:<\/strong> Michael Giampapa, Ridley, Sophomore
Defense:<\/strong> Shane Moran<\/a>, Haverford, Senior
Defense: <\/strong>Nate Dunning, Ridley, Junior
Defense:<\/strong> Jimmy Schickling, Springfield, Senior
Goaltender:<\/strong> Brendahn Brawley, Ridley, Senior<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Forward: <\/strong>Anthony Starzi, Garnet Valley, Senior
Forward: <\/strong>Brendan George<\/a>, Arch. Carroll, Senior
Forward: <\/strong>Andrew Astrino, Springfield, Senior
Defense:<\/strong> Kenny Kissinger, Haverford, Senior
Defense:<\/strong> Steve Rubillo, Ridley, Junior
Goaltender:<\/strong> Calin Losacco, Springfield, Junior<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Cardinal O\u2019Hara:<\/strong> Liam McCanney<\/a>, Corey Boornazian, Nick Donato
Episcopal Academy:<\/strong> Brandon Kopen, Bobby Gibson, Brendon Huf
Garnet Valley:<\/strong> Dominic Starzi, Matthew Wood
Haverford:<\/strong> Dante Gattone, Frankie McVeigh, Mitchell Estes
Inteboro:<\/strong> Stephen Schwartz<\/a>, Kenny Keene
Marple Newtown:<\/strong> Ian Malarick
Penncrest:<\/strong> Matt Dougherty, Austin Mazzulo
Radnor:<\/strong> Chris Winnick, Brandon Curtis
Ridley:<\/strong> Jake Cross, Colin McCann, Michael Desio
Springfield:<\/strong> Kevin Brown, James Spence, Joseph Cavaliere
Strath Haven:<\/strong> Ryan Lowe<\/a>
Sun Valley:<\/strong> Eric DeLellis, Nick Malorgio<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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