St. Thomas sits at 11-11-1-2 at the mid point of the GOJHL season
Friday, December 21, 2018
By Rob J. Ross
ST. THOMAS - When old St. Nick arrives in St. Thomas on Christmas Eve, the St. Thomas Stars hope in his red sack is something high on their wish list.
That would be a healthy roster for the remainder of the season.
Heading into the final weekend of the GOJHL season before the holiday break, the Stars are playing with three-quarters of a line-up. Eight of 22 players will be absent.
Currently winless in their most recent five games (0-4-0-1) and only two wins in the past 10 games, the Stars are trying to hang on in sixth position in the Western Conference.
At the mid point of their schedule the Stars were a .500 team, with an 11-11-1-2 record.
"The first two months we were actually ok. I thought we were playing well," Stars' head coach Darren Kelly said. "The last month we've been struggling. We've been fighting injuries and shortages of bodies. We have three lines and four D. A lot of our vets are out. Four 20-year olds (2 D) are out of the line-up. It's tough."
Most of the injuries are short term, but Carson Moniz and Niko Potestato could be out to at least the playoffs.
St. Thomas kicked off the season playing .500 hockey, before winning six of 10 games in October had the club competing for second and third place.
"We were playing well and getting timely saves. Our defence was a work in progress but we were winning hockey games and playing well. We were going in the right direction," Kelly said. "We made a couple changes that I thought were in the positive, but then injuries happened. We haven't had a full roster in over a month and half. For us, that may be the real answer, we haven't had a full roster. Other teams may be in same boat, but for us we're not as deep as other teams."
The wheels came off during a game at Strathroy on December 1.
"Three weeks ago we were in a good position a few points out of third place. We were up 3-1 in Strathroy. Then we allowed three goals in the third period and lost 4-3. From that point on we've gone in downwards spiral. Now we're fighting to stay in sixth spot."
Injuries have forced Kelly to use younger players in roles usually filled by veterans. In recent games the goaltending has been sub par.
"With a shortened bench there'll be some 17 year olds getting a lot of ice they never had, but that's the situation we're in right now," Kelly said. "Our goalies need to step up and win us some hockey games. We can't allow four or five goals in a game. We out shot Strathroy the other night (December 15) and lost 7-3. That's unacceptable."
Stopping pucks falls on Anthony Hurtubise and Jess Hodgson, who both would surely love to improve their save percentages, that combined sit at .890. The Stars' goals-against average is 3.83, over a goal more per game higher than first place London's goaltending at 2.48.
Better numbers are expected from the power play as well.
"Our power play has to be more effective," said Kelly. "We have to get to 25 percent, scoring one out of every four power plays."
If the Stars can ice a full line-up, stop more rubber and light a fire under the power play, competing for a top four position again is not out of the question.
Despite plagued with injuries, a number of players are continuing to have solid seasons for the Stars.
Jake Robinson and Matthew Shuckett lead the Stars in scoring with 24 points each. Robinson was the Western Conference co-offensive player of the month for November. Russell Oldham has a team leading 10 goals.
Lucas Mastroianni has impressed with his two way play and sits fourth in team scoring contributing five goals and 15 assists.
"He's playing big minutes and stepping up," said Kelly on Mastroianni. "Cal Horvat, Jake Robinson, have played well."
Sixteen year old rookie forward Sean McGurn, a 2018 OHL draft pick of the London Knights, is making strides in his first year of junior hockey.
"He's been our best player the past six or seven games. His confidence has grown," said Kelly. "We've given him more opportunity to handle the puck."
McGurn and defenceman Darren Beattie have been selected for the GOJHL Futures game, while forward Liam Fedak and defenceman Jake Rendall will skate in the Prospects game.
Adam Keyes, the Stars leading scorer last season and goalie Jesse Hodgson both returned to the galaxy in late November, after starting the season in the Ontario Junior A Hockey League (OJHL).