Freeport hockey looking to turn season around in 2nd half

By: Ted Sarneso
Monday, December 2, 2024 | 2:04 PM

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Expectations within the Freeport hockey program were high entering this season.

Last year’s team went 5-10-3-2 and graduated just one senior, which meant bringing back an experienced team looking to make some noise in Class A.

But sometimes the hockey gods just aren’t in your corner.

This year’s Yellowjackets have an identical record (1-8) through their first nine games as last year’s team.

The hope among the coaching staff was the addition of four talented freshman from the middle school program to a veteran roster would have produced more wins at this point in the young season.

“It’s been a rough start,” coach Derik Gaworski said. “We still have over half our games left in the season, so we’ve just been trying to take it game by game, trying to build confidence and find the positives.”

The positives have been hard to come by early, as the team has dealt with a lot over the first two months of the season.

First, illness swept through the locker room and caused many of the players to miss at least two games at some point.

“It really has been a perfect storm,” Gaworski said. “It hasn’t been easy.”

Second, the Yellowjackets’ only graduating senior last year was their goaltender, Tyler Lang.

On the ice, his numbers were solid as he had a 4.24 goals-against average and a .881 save percentage.

Off the ice is where his loss has been felt the most.

“He was our leader in a myriad of different ways,” Gaworski said. “Going through a rough stretch like this, his leadership would have been key and losing him in that capacity hurts.”

Offensively, Freeport’s top producers from last season haven’t been able to find the scoring touch they had last year.

Junior Aiden Bauman has just six points so far this season after leading the team in points (24) and goals (14) last season.

“Aiden’s points are not where he, or anyone on the staff, thought they’d be at this point after his performance last year,” Gaworski said. “He’s a quiet kid and displays his skill and effort every night he’s out there, despite of what his numbers are.”

Other points leaders last year included senior Zach Bowser, who led the team in assists last season with 12 but so far has only three points, all of them goals.

Seniors Landen Kozma and Jacob Miller had 16 and 15 points last season. Through nine games, Kozma has five points (three goals, two assists) and Miller has scored once.

Juniors Alex Kobelenske and Bantam Semanko combined for 16 points last season and have only one point this campaign, a goal belonging to Semanko.

The Yellowjackets have mustered only 16 goals through their first nine games.

On the defensive side, the Yellowjackets are having trouble keeping the puck out of their own end and have yielded 62 goals.

Junior goaltender Luke Laboda played in 19 games last season, splitting time with Lang, and put up some decent numbers with a 3.78 GAA and a .870 save percentage.

Through the first two months, Laboda has seen his GAA rise to 6.52 and his save percentage dip to .828.

“The kids are not comfortable or happy about losing, and that’s a huge positive,” Gaworski said. “We’re still going out there, competing and being a tough team to go against each night we take the ice.”

Hope has not died within the Freeport locker room. The players proved last year they have the talent to compete with the best, and all that’s needed is a little righting of the ship and maybe catching some breaks the rest of season.

“I’ve reiterated to the kids to continue to take it shift by shift, period by period and game by game,” Gaworski said. “We’re just looking at what’s immediately in front of us, which is winning that shift, which in turn will lead to winning a period and finally winning some games.”

It won’t be easy, as Freeport faces some of the toughest competition in Class A within its division.

The Yellowjackets will go up against tough teams like Mars, Moon, North Catholic and Avonworth, all playoff teams from a year ago.

“A lot of those teams have quality triple-A players, and it is a tough schedule,” Gaworski said. “We’ve played some of the best teams in single-A, and our record reflects that.”

There’s still a chance for the Yellowjackets to put forth a strong effort and finish the season strong.

“I always tell them that if they respect the game, it’s going to reward them. If they play the game the right way, good things will happen,” Gaworski said. “Wins, losses, they’ll be what they are, but as long as we compete, we’ll give ourselves the best chance to win.”

Tags: Freeport