Quick start lifts spirits for Hampton hockey

By: John Grupp
Saturday, October 26, 2024 | 11:01 AM

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The Hampton hockey team wasted no time showing how a little belief can go a long way.

Hampton, coming off a 5-15 season that included a 0-5 start and a midseason coaching change, opened its 2024-25 campaign with a 5-4 overtime victory against Butler and a 12-0 rout over Richland.

“Everyone is very confident as a team and everyone believes in each other,” PIHL Class A all-star junior defender Daniel Leyes said. “We are still united and ready to move forward this season. We want to keep working as a team and see how it goes.”

Leyes and sophomore forward Dillon Fogle combined for seven goals against Richland, as Hampton posted its highest-scoring game in at least four years and avenged a pair of disheartening losses from last season.

In the Sept. 30 opener against Butler, junior forward Preston Cochran’s goal with under three minutes to play forced overtime, and PIHL all-star junior defender Eli Schwarzbach netted the game-winner.

“I think we’re in a good spot,” said Ian Cummings, promoted to head coach in January. “(The Butler win) was tremendous. Seeing them battle through and come together and take a victory like that was huge. It’s certainly a building block for the rest of the year.”

Said Leyes, “It was huge, especially coming off last year, to win a big, close game. One of our biggest struggles last year was finishing games late. It was huge for all of us to have that kind of a win to start the season.”

A 7-0 loss at Moon on Oct. 14 — the Talbots were shorthanded with injuries and illnesses and trailed only 1-0 after the first period — did nothing to blemish the quick start for a program that hasn’t enjoyed a winning season since 2018-19.

“I think what we’ve seen from our first three games is that when we are healthy and when we are playing as a team, we can play with any team,” Leyes said.

Hampton, which competes in the 12-team PIHL Class A Blue Division, returned four of its top five scorers from last season, including Leyes, Schwarzbach and sophomore forward Joey Stephenson. There is only one senior on the roster, forward Sam Modlin, but 12 players gained significant varsity experience on last season’s youthful team.

Other top returnees include junior defender and team captain Eli Bukovac, sophomore forwards Scott Cameron and Keegan Millea and sophomore defenders Eli Gynn and Ethan Hughes.

Sophomore forward Michael Cummings, the coach’s son, has three goals and three assists through three games to lead a talented group of newcomers, which includes junior defender Marli Dankmeyer and freshman defender Xander Tolley.

Sophomore goalie Kosta Sarris returns after taking some lumps as a ninth-grader. He had a strong offseason playing travel hockey and made 14 saves against Richland to post the first shutout of his young career.

“He’s been great,” Cummings said. “He has the physical abilities of a very athletic goaltender, and he’s growing into the position. He has all of the skill sets you want in terms of quickness and movement. His confidence is building, and I’m really looking forward to the next few years he has on the team.”

The players look out for each other, that’s for sure. The official PIHL scoresheet from the 12-0 victory over Richland showed Leyes scoring five goals. But when asked about the performance, Leyes pointed out he actually scored four goals, and his teammate Fogle should have been credited with an extra one.

“I had four (goals),” Leyes said. “They messed up the scoresheet. Fogle had a hat trick, and I think they accidentally gave me one of his. They only gave him two.”

That example of selflessness encourages Cummings for the 2024-25 season.

“They are definitely playing for each other, and I think as a coach that’s all you can ask for,” he said. “We want to play as a team and have a togetherness. That’s our goal. If we can do that every game, I think the record will speak for itself.”

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