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 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption:
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Undermanned PDS Boys' Hockey Relying on Denise for Leadership
By Bill Alden
Will Denise invited all of his teammates on the Princeton Day School boys' hockey team to hang out at his home before last Friday's clash with the Hun School.
Denise didn't need much more than a couple of couches and a few chairs to accommodate his guests as the Panthers only dressed 13 players for the game with visiting Hun.
The Panthers' shortage in numbers, however, didn't add up to a deficit on the scoreboard as the Panthers applied their annual beating to their crosstown rivals with a 5-0 win.
In Denise's view, being undermanned has helped PDS develop a special unity that has fuelled its 3-0 start.
"We were all hanging out at my house and just getting together," said the senior forward, who had a goal and an assist in the win over Hun. "There are only 13 of us; we're having a good time. When you're having fun, it's a lot easier to play together."
The Panthers certainly had fun in extending their winning streak against Hun to 12. "Hun is our crosstown rival so it's a real fun game," added Denise, the Panthers leading returning scorer who has three goals and two assists so far in his final PDS campaign. "Their fans are great but ours held their own. It gets your blood going and your adrenaline up because both teams are cheering."
PDS gave their fans something to cheer about early as freshman star Eric Czapka scored in the first period on a feed from Denise.
In the second period, Denise found the back of the net along with David Brownschidle and Javiv Mallipudi. Brownschildle added the final tally in the last period while starting goalie Jared Tepper had 15 saves before Oliver Burton replaced him and made two stops.
While PDS didn't beat Hun by as wide a margin as in some of its recent wins in the series, that didn't bother Denise.
"We didn't blow them out like we had in the past but we did what we needed to do," asserted Denise. "We have so few guys. We're trying to do the little things and do the best we can."
As the only returning senior star on PDS, Denise recognizes that he must play a major role in helping PDS get the most out of what it has.
"From my freshman year through my junior year, I have been trying to be a leader like the guys before me were," said Denise.
"It's hard because I'm pretty much the only one left unlike in past years when there have been a couple of players who have been here all four years. I guess being the one they rely on is empowering. You know it's your fault if something goes wrong. A lot of times it's what you do that helps move the team forward."
PDS head coach Chris Barcless thought his club showed some forward progress in the win over Hun. "Our skills guys played pretty well," said Barcless, whose club hosts LaSalle on December 15 before heading to New England to play in the Barber Tournament on December 17-18. "Will Denise had a great game. Eric Czapka had a great game. Our power play looked good."
Barcless likes the way Denise and Czapka are meshing on his first line. "They play well together, they are both similar players," said Barcless, referring to Denise and Czapka. "They connected twice in our win over Downingtown East. Eric had two goals in that game and Will had an empty netter."
While PDS hardly came up empty against Hun, Barcless acknowledged that his team had to battle to subdue its local rival.
"We play hard in these games but it wasn't like in the past where we dominate and control," asserted Barcless, whose program has won seven straight state Prep B titles. "They are two miles up the road. It's a pretty big rival for us, the players know each other, We don't want to lose to anyone regardless of who it is."
Although encouraged by his team's 3-0 start, Barcless knows his squad is far from the finished product. "We're getting there, we're still not where we need to be," said Barcless. "We're getting better each day. We're practicing hard everyday, we're watching films. The guys are working hard."
Ironically, PDS' lack of manpower may help get the team in sync a little quicker. "Our guys are getting individual attention," said Barcless with a chuckle. "It's not like we're looking after 20 guys. We've got to teach 10 guys the system and they have to do it well. We're not teaching 20 guys so hopefully that will speed up the process of learning it."
Denise, for his part, is determined to use his experience to help his teammates grasp Barcless' system.
"I've been here for all four years so I know how Chris plays and what he wants," explained Denise. "He needs someone telling the younger guys what to do. When I talk, that's great but there are other guys in the locker room who do that too. We're 3-0 right now and we can't ask for anything more than that." And if the Panthers can keep up their winning ways, Denise could host quite a party at season's end.
