Hun School Proving a Good Fit for Justin LaPlante

When Justin LaPlante first stepped on the ice for The Hun School this season he was uncertain about where and how he’d fit in.

“When the first practice (was held) I was wondering,” he said. “I was in doubt, But I figured my role would be pretty big from the start. I took that role and now I’m one of the leaders of the team. I really like that role.”

A junior at Hun School, LaPlante has played in all 20 of the Raiders’ games this season, scoring 15 goals and adding 19 assists.

His coach, Ian McNally, cites his blend of abilities.

“I think Justin is a rare combination of skill, speed and strength,” McNally said. “Whenever he takes off, someone on the bench is inevitably going to yell out “See ya” because he just flies by people, whether he has the puck on his stick already or he’s racing someone to a loose one.

“He exudes power; he can skate, he can shoot and he can hit. He made an immediate impact with us this year because he’s just a great kid. He’s mature and personable and he wants to win. We’re lucky to have him.”

Justin LaPlante (photo: Tamara Gillon Photography)

LaPlante’s arrival at Hun School this past fall was something of a matter of happenstance. A native of Quebec City, where he played football as well as hockey, LaPlante was dealing with an injury when first crossed paths with McNally.

“I had broken my wrist playing football two months prior to meeting Coach McNally,” LaPlante recalled. “I was supposed to be out for another due to my wrist. But I decided to play in a Montreal showcase. I talked to (McNally) and he watched me play and the rest is history.”

LaPlante played football for the Raiders and found himself having to adjust to U.S. rules after learning the game in Canada.

“It was a really big step,” he said. “The Hun football program is simply incredible. I had my role here and I was playing on the special units a lot. I made some big plays throughout the year and it was really fun. I really enjoyed my time playing football.”

For all the adjustments LaPlante has made on the ice and on the football field, his greatest challenges have some in the classroom.

“It’s been a challenge for sure,” he said, “because English is not my first language and English classes here are pretty hard, so I would say that’s my biggest academic challenge. But otherwise, I’ve always been really good in school and I’ve never really struggled with anything, so I’m doing all right.”

While English is not LaPlante’s first language, no one engaging in conversation with him would realize it.

“I adapted to it really well,” he said. “When I speak to my family in English, they tell me that I’ve really improved, that I’ve adapted myself really well.

“I would say the people that spoke just French in my family was the older generation because they never really got English classes, but for the new generation, we got really good English teachers and classes so it’s been easier for me to learn that way.

“Listening to hockey and football in English, and watching the TV too has been really helpful so I think I’ve adapted really well since being here.”

McNally says playing football helped ease LaPlante’s transition to a new setting.

“He fit in seamlessly,” McNally said. “I think by playing football in the fall he was able to come to pre-season before school actually started, move into the dorms early and make friends right away with teammates.

“Hockey is maybe what led him to look at boarding schools, the experience of being away is the real takeaway and I think and so he’s jumped right in. Hun has kids from all over the world, so most of them are initially adapting. It makes it easier when they are all in the same boat.”

Even with the adjustments he’s had to make, in the classroom and as an athlete, LaPlante’s time at The Hun School has been enjoyable and satisfying.

“Honestly, the first thing that comes to mind is life on the border here is pretty crazy and insane,” he said, “because on the weekends you get to do a lot of stuff that other schools can’t.

“I went to see a couple of (NCAA D-1) games, either football or basketball and I’m going to watch an NHL game in a few weeks. Those are experiences that I’ve never had in my life.

“As far as hockey goes, I would say that I’ve never been that much of an offensive guy or the star of a team so it feels good to experience that this year and being one of the best players on my team and being able to be a leader.”

Hockey-wise, it’s been an up-and-down season for the Raiders as they approach their APAC regular-season with Malvern Prep on Wednesday. They stand 8-12 overall and 2-5 in conference play as of February 7. But LaPlante says the team has played better than its record indicates.

“It has been up and down,” he said. “But I feel like we should have won five of those losses so it’s still a really good season for us.

“We haven’t played really bad, it’s just that we can’t close out games. But we’ve been holding up against really good teams, so that’s hopeful for us.

APAC Sets Playoff Dates

The Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference has set dates for the Founders Cup playoffs.

The postseason will commence the week of February 13 with a play-in game between fourth seed Hun School and fifth seed Malvern Prep on Tuesday, February 14 at 4:00. Hun School will ahve home-ice advantage. The winner swill advance to the semifinals and face the top seed, the winner of Monday’s game between Holy Ghost Prep and La Salle.

The semifinals will be played as a doubleheader on Wednesday, February 22 at Hatfield Ice, with game times set for 4:00 and 6:00. The Holy Ghost Prep-La Salle loser will be seeded second and face St. Joseph’s Prep, which will be seeded third

The Founders Cup championship game will be played Wednesday, March 1 and hosted by the highest seeded finalist.

That means the APAC champion will be determined after the Flyers Cup seedings are unveiled on February 26.

St. Joseph’s Prep 7 The Hun School 1

HAVERFORD TOWNSHIP —All the pieces fit together for St. Joseph’s Prep Friday night.

Joe Samango scored three goals and assisted on three others and Jeffrey Hammond added two goals and two assists as the Hawks, with the heart of their roster on hand, celebrated Senior Night with a 7-1 win over The Hun School 7-1 in an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game at the Skatium.

The win assured St. Joseph’s Prep (14-4-2 overall, 3-3-1-0 in the APAC) of a third-place finish in the conference regular-season standings; the Hawks will conclude conference play against Malvern Prep on Thursday.

The Raiders to 8-12 overall and 2-5 in the APAC.

It was a night when the Hawks had their big guns on hand. That hasn’t always happened this season; there have been multiple occasions on which they were shorthanded because of key players being away on club duty.

After witnessing his team’s effort Friday night, it was impossible for Coach David Giacomin not to speculate on what they might have achieved, and might accomplish going forward.

“I know we’re a really good team when we have everybody here and healthy,” he said.

The Hawks were shorthanded when they absorbed a 7-0 loss to the Raiders on December 7 and Giacomin said that result motivated his team Friday night.

“This was basically all the seniors having that will and desire,” he said. “They didn’t want to lose on Senior Night. That’s what it came down to.

Goals from Samango and Shane O’Neill, sandwiched around a goal from Hun School’s Brendan Marino, gave the hosts a 2-1 lead after one period before they broke the game open with four goals in the second frame, two from Hammond and one each from Samango and Tristan Winata, the Hawks’ number-one line.

Samango completed his hat trick in the third period. The trio accounted for 14 points.

“When we play together as one unit, we score a lot of goals,” Hammond said. “But when we don’t, we break apart.

“Games where we find each other and play s one unit we (do well).

The Raiders outshot the Hawks 31-29 but only Marino could solve Rocco Bruno in the Hawk net. The visitors’ frustrations boiled over on occasion; they were whistled for nine of the game’s 14 penalties.

“Obviously (St. Joseph’s Prep) they flipped the script here today,” said Hun School coach Ian McNally. “That’s kind of been the storyline for two weeks now. “It’s like, we’re trying really hard, we outshoot them, but we basically have very few actual scoring chances. And, every five minutes we let a team rush to the other end and score.”

Hun School 1 0 0—1

St. Joseph’s Prep 2 4 1—7

First-period goals: Joe Samango (SJP) from Patrick Sweeney and Shane O’Neill, 1;53; Brendan Marino (HS) from Justin LaPlante, 11:24; O’Neill (SJP) from Jeffrey Hammond and Samango, 14:04 (pp)

Second-period goals: Hammond (SJP) from Tristan Winata and Samango: 23; Samango (SJP) 5:33 (pp) Winata (SJP) from Hammond, 7:46; Hammond (SJP) from Samango, 14:21;

Third-period goal: Samango (SJP) from Winata and Hammond, 14:33

Shots: Hun School 31, St. Joseph’s Prep 29; Saves: Julian Arsenault (HS) 22; Rocco Bruno (SJP) 30

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Holy Ghost Prep 7 Haverford School 0

Kieran Mulholland scored twice and five other players scored one goal each as Holy Ghost Prep scored a 7-0 shutout over Haverford School Friday night on Senior Night at Grundy Arena.

Jack Gavaghan, Patrick Slook, John Seravalli and Ciaran Chambers all scored goals for the Firebirds, who improved to 14-5 on the season.

Haverford School 0 0 0—0

Holy Ghost Prep 2 2 3—7

La Salle 5 Hun School 2

HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, N.J.—Evan Golato scored two goals and three other players scored one goal each as La Salle bested Hun School 5-2 Wednesday afternoon in an APAC game at Ice Land.

The win moved La Salle (9-8-2, 5-2 in conference) into a tie for first place with Holy Ghost Prep in the conference standings.

The Explorers broke the game open with four unanswered goals in the second period. Ryan Desmond, Golato, Ryan Wiley, and Golato again scored goals in a span of 8 minutes, 57 seconds to give La Salle a commanding lead.

Scott Richmond scored for the Raiders (8-11, 2-4 in conference 54 seconds into the third period.

La Salle’s Grant LaGreca and Hun School’s Elian Estulin traded goals to complete the scoring.

Jake Rossi got the win in goal, stopping 40 shots. Stephen Chen made 54 saves for the Raiders in the loss.

La Salle 0 4 1—5

Hun School 0 0 2—2

Second-period goals: Ryan Desmond (L) from Evan Golato and Cam Ross, 3:11; Golato (L) from Will Gregorio and Desmond, 8:00; Ryan Wiley (L) from Tim Whittock and Julian Tarsi, 10:01; Golato (L) from Desmond and Ross, 12:08

Third-period goals: Scott Richmond (HS) from Elian Estulin, :54; Grant LeGreca from Whittock and James Carpenter, 9:33; Estulin (HS) from Justin LaPlante, 11:29

Shots: La Salle 59, Hun School 42; Saves: Jake Rossi (L) 40, Stephen Chen (HS) 54

Gloucester Catholic 7 St. Joseph’s Prep 1

Billy Sheridan delivered three goals to lead Gloucester Catholic to a 7-1 non-league win over St. Joseph’s Prep Wednesday afternoon at the Class of 1923 Rink at the University of Pennsylvania.
Jeffrey Hammond scored the Hawks’ only goal in the closing seconds of the third period.

The Hawks now stand at 13-4-2 on the season.

Gloucester Catholic 2 1 4—7

St. Joseph’s Prep 0 0 1—1

Malvern Prep-St. Joseph’s Prep Matchup to Aid the Fight Against RTS

When Malvern Prep hosts St. Joseph’s Prep in an APAC game on Thursday, February 9 at Ice Line, the evening will be about more than just hockey.

The game itself will be the centerpiece of a dine-and-donate event to raise funds for the effort to find a cure for Rubinstein-Taybi Syndrome, or RTS, a rare genetic syndrome.

RTS is a genetic syndrome which is typically a mutation of the CREBBP or EP300 gene. Those with RTS have an intellectual disability along with both developmental and growth delays. Some have other medical issues as well.

Malvern Prep coach Bill Keenan’s 3-year old son Connor is afflicted with RTS, which occurs in one of every 125,000 children.
“It’s a spectrum,” Kenan said, “so some kids have more impediments than others.

“My son was diagnosed last year, so, we’re trying to bring awareness to it for a good cause. We’ve met some other families with the syndrome and we want to do our part in raising awareness and giving back.”

The dine-and-donate event will begin at 7 p.m. and continue until 10:30. The game between the Friars and the Hawks will begin at 8:30.

Keenan’s entire family will join him in a ceremonial pick drop including his wife Sarah, Connor, and Connor’s siblings. 8-year old J.J. and 6-year old Olivia.

Keenan is grateful for the support he and his family have received from the Malvern Prep community and the area hockey community.

“We’re lucky to have such a great community from Malvern Prep and the hockey community that wants to help us raise awareness,” he said, “and we’re looking forward to a good night. This is our first year obviously having something like this and we’ll build onto it. Maybe have some other families come out in the future, and overall we’re just looking for it to be a fun night where everybody can learn and bring awareness.”

Keenan feels an obligation to be a voice for families dealing with RTS.

“As most people know, I don’t like to be in the spotlight,” he said, “and my family does not like to be in the spotlight. At the end of the day this event isn’t just about Connor. It is for all those with RTS and being able to educate others is a big part of what me and my family are trying to do.”

Council Rock South 5 Holy Ghost Prep 4

WARWICK TOWNSHIP—There was an air of anticipation in the building when Holy Ghost Prep and Council Rock South took the ice at Revolution Ice Gardens Monday night.

The matchup brought together two teams who are legitimate Flyers Cup contenders in their respective classes; the Firebirds in Class AAA and the Golden Hawks in Class AA.

It was the Golden Hawks who prevailed on this occasion overcoming am early 2-0 deficit to post a 5-4 win.

Monday’s game was also a meeting of two of the area’s most respected coaches. Joe Houk has been at Council Rock South for 17 seasons. Gump Whiteside has been at Holy Ghost Prep for 15 seasons and spent eight years at Germantown Academy before that.

Both Houk and Whiteside have won scores of games and have Flyers Cup and state titles on their resumes. They share a passion for the game of hockey—and a mutual respect that goes back to when they played against each other in their high-school days.

“Joe’s a pro,” Whiteside. “Quite honestly, he’s been a mentor to me. I’ve coached Joe for many, many, many, many years and he’s always been a pro,

“He always approaches it the right way. He doesn’t have an ego it’s not about him. It’s about his players.

“And you could see it tonight. He had his team prepared. Joe is the ultimate pro, the ultimate mentor, and quite honestly a great guy.”

Whiteside noted the tenaciousness Houk’s teams regularly bring to the rink.

“They play with grit,” he said.”

Houk similar sentiments.

“Gump is a good guy, a good human being,” he said. “He brings such a good quality of the sport to the game.

“He’s a man of character. And he cares about the kids. It’s not ‘Win at all costs’ with him. It’s more about development and hopefully, you move some of those kids on.

“He’s just a good guy. He’s a good guy for the sport.”

• Jake Weiner scored a pair of goals 45 seconds apart that turned a 2-2 standoff into a 4-2 South lead and the Golden Hawks never trailed again.

The win was South’s 11^th of the season against two defeats with one of the losses coming in overtime.

Houk said going against a team the Firebirds said a lot about his own team’s potential for success.

“If we can at that sustained level we played at tonight,” he said. “The physical part of it, keeping things simple, keeping things to the outside, getting the opportunities on transition. I thought we controlled the whole game (but) they’re good. They’ve got some really, really good skill players. They move the puck well. They’re a good team. They’re going to go far too.”

Brady Baehser scored three goals for the Firebirds, who saw their record drop to 13-6.

“We got up 2-0 and that’s when we started to take them lightly,” he said. “And we just fell apart.”
Baehser said the defeat highlighted the importance delivering a solid effort from the start to finish of each game.”

“We’re a very talented team and we think we can win games based off that. But that outworked us all night, all three periods and it showed on the scoreboard.”

Holy Ghost Prep 2 2 0—4

Council Rock South 2 3 0—5

First-period goals: Landon Stout (HGP) from Patrick Slook and John Seravalli, 1:03; Brady Baehser (HGP) from Seravalli, 5:18; Blaize Peppe (CRS) unassisted, 8:39; Kevin Koles (CRS) from Gavin Nisenson, :41

Second-period goals: Jake Weiner (CRS) from Illia Muckhin, 3:19; Weiner (CRS) from Jeremy Rayher, 4:04; Baehser (HGP) from Seravalli, 8:26 (pp); Joseph Diiulio (CRS) from Weiner and Pepe, 12:04; Baehser (HGP) from Stout, 12:35 (pp)

Shots: Holy Ghost Prep 27, Council Rock South 41; Saves: Jack Unger (HGP) 36 Carson Lopez (CRS) 23

Malvern Prep 3 St. Augustine Prep 2 OT

Jimmy Jacobs scored a goal 46 seconds into overtime to give the host Friars a 3-2 over St. Augustine Prep Monday afternoon at Ice Line in a non-league encounter.

Gabe Bedwell and Jonathan Holt also scored for Malvern Prep, which improved to 7-5 on the season.

St. Augustine Prep 1 1 0 0—2

Malvern Prep 0 2 0 1—3

First-period goal: Caleb Capecci (SA) from Ty Simonet, 10:16 (pp)

Second-period goals: Gabe Bedwell (MP) from Aidan Kelly and Jonathan Holt, 6:25; Grayson Esposito (SA) from Dom Riccardi, 6:59; Holt (MP) from Bedwell and Kelly, 10:29

Overtime goal: Jimmy Jacobs (MP) from Jeremy Jacobs, :46

Trainer Sal Raffa Doing His Part to Make Hockey a Safer Game

By Rick Woelfel

He is one of hockey’s unsung heroes. Whether he is working for the Philadelphia Flyers or covering an Atlantic Prep Athletic Conference game for La Salle, Sal Raffa is always on alert when he’s at an ice rink.

After more than two decades as an athletic trainer, Raffa is well aware of the risks that accompany the game of hockey, and cognizant of his responsibility to minimize those risks. When he’s on duty, very little happens on or around the ice that escapes his detection.

“You look for body language for one,” he said. “Whether it be a puck to the foot or hand, or writs, or elbow.

“You’re looking for body language. Typically, it’s body reaction. If you get hit in the throat, your hands automatically go to your throat.

“A lot of times, you look for the environmental stuff, meaning external, like the boards and things like that. A lot of times, if you’re not paying attention and I’ve seen it in my career, athletes will leave a door open for instance to the bench; you can impale a vital organ.”

Just as athletes must (or should) understand basic fundamentals of their sport, so it is for trainers. Raffa never takes that fundamental knowledge for granted.

“Every night, before I cover an event, I go through a process in my head even on the bench I remember the ABCs, (airways, breathing, circulation)” he said. “On the bench I’m looking and watching everything. You don’t know really what’s going to happen but the ABCs, just know that, and kind of practice that when you’re out of this environment, when you’re at home, and just practice, practice, practice.”

Raffa’s vigilance, and that of his colleagues, is particularly important at the high-school level.

“Myself and the other trainers, we’re the only medical professionals here,” Raffa points out. “Typically for a professional hockey game, you have physicians, you have an emergency room physician, you have paramedics, you have surgeons, you have everybody. “For (a high-school game) you’re going on your instincts, you’re looking for something that’s going on. The best thing you can do is rely on what you learn and what you know.”

‘What you know’ in Raffa’s case encompasses a broad knowledge base acquired through his years in the profession. When he staffs an event, his medical kit will contain everything from an AED to tourniquets to QuikClot^®so he’s prepared in the event of an emergency.

“I have a whole bunch of stuff like that,” Raffa said. “You’re relying on your instincts, you’re holding pressure, calling 9-11.”

One of trainer’s most important attributes is the ability to control his or her emotions in an emergency.

“You gave to remain calm if a kid is choking,” Raffa says. “The worst thing you want to do is freak out. Calm cool collected.

“Same thing on the ice. You see blood, Okay. It’s blood. Control the situation as best as you can. The environment is not a controlled situation because you’re (in a rink) but you can control it as best as you can.”

Raffa stresses the importance of knowing the emergency action plan of each rink he works in, whether be Hatfield Ice Arena, the Wells Fargo Center, or elsewhere. something he says all trainers should do.

“Before you work any events know what you’re dealing with,” he said. “Know where you’re going, and know the surroundings. Know 911, the paramedic’s number, know the closest hospital know all that stuff. You should know that before you cover any event.”