SARATOGA SPRINGS — Last season’s 5-0 loss to Shenendehowa in the Section II Division I championship game was not the way the then-defending state champions expected to go out, and it was a tough pill to swallow for head coach Dave Torres and the Saratoga Springs ice hockey team.
Starting out 2-0 this season, Torres has enjoyed what he calls a “fantastic” response by his returning players, as well as the new additions, as they embark on what will be a December filled with true tests and quality hockey.
The Blue Streaks take on traditional New York State high school powerhouse St. Joe’s Collegiate Institute in the opening round of the 12th annual round robin-style Don Kauth Memorial Tournament. That game is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. at the Weibel Ave Rink.
Saratoga will pick up again the following day against Mamaroneck, a team consistently ranked amidst the top 15 in Division I every year, at 3 p.m.
“I packed our schedule with serious competition,” Torres said. “Our December, we’re playing top 15 teams in the state to get us ready for the postseason.”
Shen (1-1) will also compete in the tournament, playing Mamaroneck Friday night in Clifton Park and St. Joes at noon at Weibel.
The testing schedule will continue as the Blue Streaks host CBA (1-0) the following Friday before playing at Shen and reigning Section II Division II Player of the Year Peter Russo on Friday, Dec. 19.
“We’re excited about our start,” Torres said. “Starting out 2-0 is nice to get the confidence going into this weekend in two non-league games. We have a stretch of good hockey coming up this month, so we’re looking forward to that opportunity.”
The Streaks opened the season with a 7-3 win over Glens Falls-Hudson Falls-South Glens Falls in a game when 11 players had at least one goal or assist.
“Our scoring is very spread out,” Torres said. “We do have a first line that expects to have a good season, but when they’re down, we expect to have a lot of secondary scoring.”
Torres added that the 2014-15 team “absolutely” has a different identity.
“I don’t like to compare teams, but these guys are hungry,” Torres said. “It’s tough getting beat so bad in the sectional final last year. The kids know you have to work for what you get and we’re working real hard to get back to Union College for the sectional game.”
That identity is spearheaded by this year’s three captains—senior defenseman Ian Frey, senior forward JT Rafferty and junior forward Elliot Hungerford.
“Our three captains—they’ve been getting ready for the season and beyond,” Torres. “These guys, they’re three state champions and they’re just setting the example for the rest of the guys.”
In short, Torres has three individuals for captains who he describes as “ultimate team guys.”
Junior Danny Hobbs will start in goal tonight against St. Joes, as Hobbs and Tom Fornabia are being rotated on a game-by-game basis.
This weekend’s tournament is in memory of Don Kauth, who passed away in the World Trade Center, during 9/11. A husband of a teacher at Saratoga High School, Kauth had a son on the boys varsity team at the time and a daughter, Kathleen, who went on to represent the U.S. women’s national hockey team.
“Don Kauth is someone I knew in the hockey world, I knew all of his children, I worked with his wife for 24 years,” Torres said. “Don was a great guy who was dedicated to the community, dedicated to his family and dedicated to hockey. We continue the tournament in honor of him.”
As far as what it will take from this year’s team to get back to where the program was two years ago, Torres had one word: selflessness.
“What it takes is being selfless and putting the team first,” Torres said. “It’s something we’ll learn along the way and something the new guys might now be used to when it comes to our system and the concept that we try to teach at this level, which has been very successful in the past. They’re heard about the way we do things, but they have to actually be a part of it to learn it. It all starts with the team-first mentality, the family mentality that if we’re not in it together, we’re not going anywhere. I think they’re buying into it. It’s going to take some time, but we have a couple months to put it all together.”
