Quaker Valley hockey team battered by injuries

By: HSSN Staff
Monday, January 22, 2018 | 11:00 PM

Quaker Valley's hockey team is just hanging on right now.

Injuries have decimated the Quakers.

They head into the final month of the PIHL regular season hoping to get healthy and generate some momentum for the Penguins Cup Class 2A playoffs.

Top forwards Beau Tomczak (broken clavicle) and Ryan Quinn (concussion) have been sidelined since before the holiday break.

So has forward Cole Musser (shoulder injury).

Tomczak led the team with 27 points, Quinn had 13 and Musser six.

“We have a lot of guys out of the lineup now. We've had some eligibility issues, too,” Quaker Valley coach Kevin Quinn said. “All three of those could be season-ending injuries. We just don't know. It puts even more stress on our guys. We're doing what we can. We're competing in the games we're losing. The goal is to get healthy and be as competitive as we can come playoff time. It's been a real tough stretch for QV hockey.”

Said senior captain Jake Giotto: “It's definitely been a weird little stretch here. It kind of started with me and Ryan Quinn. We both had head injuries. I was out for one game, just a week or two, but Ryan is still out. It's been tough. Some of the younger guys and some of the older guys who don't play a lot of minutes have had to step up.”

The Quakers (8-6-1) dropped their first two games of 2018 — a 5-3 setback to Pine-Richland a 4-3 overtime defeat to Mars.

“We're just trying to get healthy right now, hopefully in time for the playoffs. For the players who are there, the goal is to not be looking over your shoulder waiting for people to come back, but to do your job and help your team win,” Kevin Quinn said. “We've lost seven games and, in five of them, we had the lead in the third period or lost in overtime. We're running out of gas. The last three years in Class 2A are wearing on our depth and the safety of our team. We're just trying to fight through.

“There's been some improvement. The reality is, we're having trouble most nights getting a full roster. We're just dealing with a lot of adversity and trying to fight through it the best we can.”

The personnel losses have affected the team's offense.

“With Beau and R.Q. out, that's a lot of our offense there,” Giotto said. “It's definitely been tough for some of the guys to get a hang of that. We're still trying to get some production from some of the younger guys in the back end of the season. I think our senior leadership is holding us together. Some of our senior leaders are stepping up.”

The defense has tried to elevate its play with the loss of some firepower.

“Austin Gatesman and Kevin Guerrieri are playing lots of minutes for us. It's tough to put that extra pressure on them, but they have really handled it well,” Giotto said. “Phil Gagne has stepped it up these last six or seven games. I think he's been playing so much better in net.”

Quaker Valley hopes it can get something going in its final four regular-season games.

After the Mars loss, the Quakers were third in their division with 17 points.

“We want to put ourselves in a good position and try to get as high a playoff seed as we can. We want to try to avoid that play-in game to start the playoffs,” Giotto said.

“We're trying to build a little bit of momentum.”

Joe Sager is a freelance writer.

Tags: Quaker Valley