Having successfully gotten everyone through the first week of Try Out camp then their first week of classes and practices, now comes the sorting out and ranking of our talent onto the depth charts. This exercise will bring us to the players that will be placed on the 30 Man Roster. Thus far, incoming players that have impressed the coaching staff are Aleks Perrin (Edina, MN), Justin Petruska (St. Louis, MO), Phil Lombardo (St. Louis, MO), Blake Busse (St. Louis, MO), Andrew Smith (Dallas, TX), Kyle Whitehead (St. Charles, MO) and Sean Breneman (St. Charles, MO)just to name a few. A welcome addition to our backline is senior Dave Gregory (St. Louis, MO) who appears to have not lost a beat after taking a couple of years away from the game. The last piece to the success of the "new look" Billikens will be the addition of forward Brendon Moran (St. Louis, MO) who brings experience, skill and a healthy respect for the game and those around the game. It will be a pleasure to have him back 100% in the near future and I know his team mates will appreciate his dedication. Everyone has worked hard to make this the toughest Try Out Camp in the last four years. All returning players have come into camp ready to impress. Forwards, Will Hux (Indianapolis, IN), Jim Matela (Hickory Hills, IL), Zach Han (Libety Township, OH), Josh Daugherty (Chatham, IL) and Ryan Wood (Liberyville, IL) will play key roles in the early success of this team. While defenseman, senior Rex Szyper (Grafton, WI), Ted Parran (Shaker Heights, OH), Worth Holt (Fishers, IN), Joe Schaber (Peoria, IL) and Geoff Kienzle (St. Louis, MO) provide a stable environment to build on. The two goalies that back this team will be Joe Siepka (Tinley Park, IL) and Trey Spiller (St. Louis, MO). These two players split the Most Valuable Player award last season based on their dedication to the team and performances under tough circumstances. With the improvements made in front of them their talent will be displayed properly and they can support each other as we work our way through this season. The overall dedication and the "want to succeed" of this group of hockey players is evident and will be their driving force. I compliment the work of the upperclassmen who have provided the initial backbone for this team chemistry. We did have the opportunity to play in the 2nd Annual Hockey for Hope charity game on Sat. Aug. 26th against the St. Louis Blues Alumni and this season over 900 fans enjoyed seeing our team compete against former and current NHL stars. It's great being able to face off against such accelerated competition for such a good cause. We look forward to many seasons of this game that allows hockey players to help other hockey players in time of need. And now, onto the month of September where the coaches and players will cement their partnership and move toward the final roster that will compete the first night of our regular season against the always tough CSCHL rival, Ohio University on Friday Sept. 29th in Athens, OH. |
