After undefeated season, Chartiers Valley hockey still has unfinished business

By: Ted Sarneso
Sunday, October 27, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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Anyone affiliated with the Chartiers Valley hockey team will tell you they expected to improve in 2023-24 after winning only six games the prior season.

No one, however, expected the season to unfold the way it did.

“We were a lot deeper, played a lot of young guys,” said coach Paul Bonetti. “I really couldn’t have predicted how much better we wound up being. I knew we had the talent, but you have to do a lot of the right things to go undefeated.”

“We could see a change beginning after the ‘22-23 season,” said senior goaltender Matt Colberg. “The way last year unfolded, we gave it everything we had and ran with our opportunity.”

The Colts finished the regular season 20-0 in Class A and won three more games to claim a Penguins Cup before falling to Hershey 4-2 in the Pennsylvania Cup.

That one loss bothered Bonetti and the Colts all offseason and it remains the only goal left for them to achieve. It is the main focus heading into 2024.

“The only way to top what we did last year is to win that state championship,” said Bonetti. “We worked hard from July until April and to come up short in that game, it hurts.”

“We took that loss hard,” said Colberg. “We want to get back and get it done.”

The Colts were up 2-0 in the state championship game last year, only do be undone by their special teams. The power play had its chances but couldn’t capitalize, and the penalty kill gave up too many chances.

“That was our main focus in the offseason,” said senior foward Brady Nairn, team captain. “Coach Mike Kennedy runs our penalty kill and he made sure, coming into this season, that we were on point.”

Chartiers Valley has certainly been on point early on this season. The team started off 5-0, scoring 32 goals and allowing only four. While the numbers clearly show an offense taking flight, Bonetti wants everyone to know defense is his team’s strength.

“We were really good defensively last season and that’s what we pride ourselves on,” he said. “Typically, we score enough goals to where we can win enough games defensively.”

It helps that the Colts have a solid first defense pair in juniors and alternate captains Tyler Held and Dylan Shamonsky, who might be the best shutdown pair in Class A.

“Those two can take control of a game, get the puck out of the zone whenever they want,” Nairn said.

“Getting the puck out of our zone ensures we don’t spend too much time in our own end. Their play also helps out our younger players because they’ll help in the offensive zone by pinning the other team in.”

Other players on the back end include seniors Luke Mitchell, Oscar Garcia and Joseph Deangelis, who was second on the team in goals last season with 16.

The lockdown defensive corps is the first hurdle for opposing teams to clear, but should they get past those skaters, a brick wall in goal awaits.

Colberg has been playing lights out for the Colts since last year and in the early part of this season. Last season, he had a 1.00 goals-against average; .943 save percentage; and 18 wins, including six shutouts.

Through the team’s first four games this season, he had a 0.82 GAA, .939 save percentage and four wins, two of them shutouts.

“It definitely isn’t just myself,” Colberg said. “Our team plays a huge role in my numbers. The defensive group plays very well and has stopped a lot of the other team’s chances.”

“He’s very rock solid,” said Bonetti. “If we do have a defensive lapse, he can bail us out in a way that can build confidence. We don’t want to see it happen too often, but he does allow us to make an occasional mistake.”

Offensively, the Colts are led by stellar sophomore Noah Callendar, who was the leader in goals (30) and points (46) a year ago.

“He is so ridiculous,” said Nairn. “The way he can just take over a game, just take the puck in the defensive zone and skate all the way up the ice and score. It’s crazy.”

Nairn was third on the team in goals with 15 and second in points with 32 and will be the leader of an offense that has seen a youth movement the past two years.

This year’s juniors, led by Austin Tornabene and Gavin Waldron, were freshmen when the team won only six games in 2022 and have worked tirelessly to be better.

“They’ve been trending up since that time,” said Bonetti. “They came into their own last year and are maturing this season.”

Up-and-coming talented players include sophomore Richie Francis, who came on board with the Colts this season, and freshman Vinny Vennero.

“Vinny gets regular ice time, and even though he just started with us, Richie has played in all of our games so far,” said Bonetti.

Five games in, Held led the team in points (eight), while Vennero, Tornabene, and Callendar were tied for second with seven points each. Callendar led the team in goals with six.

The combination of a suffocating defense and an explosive offense have many on the team, including Colberg, believing the Colts could repeat their undefeated regular-season performance from a year ago.

“I won’t rule it out as a possibility,” Colberg said. “That’s what we’re shooting for, even though we’ll face tougher competition this year, it’s nothing we haven’t faced before.”

The Colts will face a new group of teams this season after having switched from the Blue Division last year to the Gold division this year. The PIHL enacts this rotation every two years which allows for more balance in Class A.

“I think Shaler and Quaker Valley are two very good teams,” said Bonetti. “Over in the other division, Mars is a solid team and we’ll play them at some point down the road. We’re going to potentially have more challenging games then we had last year.”

The Colts aren’t worried about who the opponent is. They’re more concerned with their play and how it will bring about the results they desire.

“It’s business as usual,” said Nairn. “We know the type of game we want to play and the type of teams we’ll face. We’re still going to play our style no matter what.”

Tags: Chartiers Valley