William Hatczel is NWIndianaLife.com's #1StudentNWI representative at Munster High School. This month, William wrote an in-season update on the Mustangs' hockey team.
Starting off the season with a record of 2-4-2, the Munster High School hockey team looks to improve their defensive skills in order to start winning more games.
“Our team defense is my biggest concern,” Head Coach Rick Rubino said. “Nick Kotz (senior), our goalie, has been playing lights out. We need to get the puck out of our zone to give our guy a break.”
Entering the season, Rubino knew his team would have to grow throughout the season due to the fact that the team is comprised of 11 freshmen and sophomores along with only three seniors.
“We have a very young team,” Rubino said. “We need to start playing like a team and getting everyone on the same page.”
Defenseman Matt Ryan, a senior, believes the team can do a lot more to keep Kotz from having to make a lot of saves like blocking shots with their own bodies before they reach Kotz.
“We need to block more shots,” Ryan said. “We are allowing a lot on goal. We need to play more physical and set the tone early in the game.”
Ryan believes that improving the team’s physicality and sacrificing their body to block shots will eventually help the team improve their record.
“If we start playing a lot more physical and block more shots, then we will start to win more games,” Ryan said.
Ryan does credit Kotz for the success the team has had so far this season and believes the team needs to support him even more. Kotz stopped 45 shots in one game over the weekend, however, the Mustangs still lost.
“Our goalie is playing great right now,” Ryan said. “We need to get be in front of him and help him.”
Kotz believes he has played well this year, but has already improved in some areas like not letting the team score easy goals against him.
“I think it’s (his performance) has been going well so far,” Kotz said. “I was letting up soft goals at first, but I am starting to stop those."
As one of three seniors on the team this year, Kotz looks to help the other seniors lead and teach the younger players as much as he can.
“Mostly Matt and Mike Tobin (senior at Highland) guide them,” Kotz said. “I try to help as much as I can, but as the goalie, there is not much I can do.”
With losing weighing deep in their minds, Kotz believes that the team needs to move past these games and continue working hard.
“We just have to keep working hard,” Kotz said. “If you are not successful, then you are not working hard.”
Knowing the talent they have, the team stands together, motivated to start winning more games and improving their record, according to Kotz.
“Everyone is feeding off of each other’s energy,” Kotz said. “It’s (team chemistry) has been pretty good. It is only going to get better.”
A slow start to the season does not mean the season is lost due to the fact that the team can make the playoffs and win it all no matter what, according to Coach Rubino.
“All you have to do is win the last seven games,” he said. “You can lose the rest of the games and still win and be heros.”