Young, small Freeport hockey team enjoying winning streak

By: William Whalen
Tuesday, February 8, 2022 | 11:18 AM

This season seems to be more about the journey than the destination for the Freeport hockey team. Featuring a roster loaded with underclassmen, the Yellowjackets seem to peaking at just the right moment heading into the final month of the regular season.

“It’s been a transition this year,” said coach Kelly Mason, who is in his fourth season at the helm. “We graduated seven seniors last year. We got a small roster with 11 skaters, and a lot of them are freshmen.

“Its been transition getting those freshman players acclimated to varsity hockey. I’ve seen it over the years, and you get to the halfway point and you see some improvement and that’s where we are at.”

Freeport (7-7) is arguably the hottest team in PIHL Class A. The Yellowjackets are riding a four-game winning streak and have outscored opponents 16-5 during the run. The acclimation process is taking place.

“It was a gradual process,” Mason said. “From the very beginning, we knew that we had something to work with.”

Not only is talent there, but so is the Yellowjackets’ toughness. In its 3-0 win over Beaver, Freeport dressed just seven skaters and had its third-string goalie between the pipes but still turned in a shutout win.

“I feel like we’re picking up the heat with the way we’ve been playing the last games,” senior defenseman Sebastian Cordier said. “I feel like we’re very dangerous, especially with us beating Beaver, 3-0, with seven guys.”

Cordier, a four-year starter, didn’t know what to expect going into the season. With a huge overhaul of the roster, he knew any bit of success this year’s team was going to have was going to come down to the underclassmen.

“We’ve gone way past what we honestly thought we were gonna do,” Cordier said. “I thought we were going struggle during the season. Marcus (Trask) has been blowing it out of the water with stats, leadership and everything. I’ve been impressed and very happy with our performance.”

Trask, a senior center, leads the Yellowjackets in goals (10), assists (13) and points (23). Trask has notched three goals and four assists during the Yellowjackets’ four-game run. Freeport needed Trask’s three-goal performance in the 3-2 win over Westmont Hilltop in December.

Freeport sits in second place of the PIHL Class A Northeast Division behind Fox Chapel (15-0). Mason and his Yellowjackets want another crack at the Foxes following their 1-0 loss to start the regular season schedule in November. Freeport also holds a two-game lead over third-place Hampton (5-10).

“We played Fox Chapel at the beginning of the year, and we hit some posts that day, and we feel like that game could have went either way,” Mason said.

Freeport will face off against the Foxes at 8:20 p.m. Thursday on its home ice at the Belmont Complex.

In addition to Trask, Mason sang the praises of senior Paul Zecca. Zecca is in the middle of a four-game scoring streak in which he has netted five goals, including a two-goal performance in Freeport’s 5-3 win over Wheeling Park. Zecca is second on the team in goals (7) and points (10).

Junior Jake Suwan is in the middle of a breakout season, as well. The defenseman has found the scoring touch from the back line with three goals to go with five assists.

Some might think having a such a small team could be a liability. Not in Freeport’s case. Cordier likes that fact that he’s able to connect with his teammates on a much deeper level.

“I think it’s really cool playing with 11-12 people that I can call buddies,” Cordier said. “Everyone is just so chill and so nice. Everyone is a good teammate, a good player and a good person.”

William Whalen is a freelance writer.

Tags: Freeport