HARMAR TWP., Pa. — There were signs from the very beginning that the 2016-17 Shaler hockey team could be a talented squad. But it’s taken until near the midway point of the season for the Titans to reach that full potential, which they showed off with a 7-4 victory over 2016 champs Bishop Canevin at Alpha Ice Complex on Tuesday.
The Titans began the season with an offensive explosion, jumping out to a 4-1 lead over Hampton in the first 30 minutes of their opening contest. Fortunes would not be on their side that night, as they would lose 5-4 in overtime.
That was the beginning of a series of unfortunate events for head coach Matthew Ranallo’s squad and they would go 1-4 in their first five games. Lopsided losses to Moon, Penn-Trafford and Plum and would derail those expectations.
But only temporarily.
Things started to turn around for the Titans starting with a 6-5 win over Greater Latrobe on Nov. 14, the team defeated five of their next seven opponents by a combined score of 31-8. Forward Zach Sarnowski had two goals in that game and linemate Mitchel Fuchs would get hot in the next game, scoring twice in an 11-2 rout of Fox Chapel and kickstarting an active six game scoring streak.
The only blemishes on the Titans’ 5-1-1 streak are a 5-3 road loss to Hempfield, and a 3-3 tie with Mars.
Tuesday’s, win over Bishop Canevin brought them to within four points of conference-leading Hampton. Leading the charge was Fuchs, who netted a hat trick and added an assist early in the game. In his current six game scoring streak, he has 15 points and three three-goal games.
“It’s always good when you see a player get on a hot streak and throw the team on his back,” Ranallo said after Tuesday’s game. “People see the production there, and everyone wants to jump in and help out. I think everybody is happy to rely on a bit of consistency there, and it has brought everyone’s ambition and creativity up another level.”
Sarnowski was one of those players that reaped the benefit of Fuchs’ hot hand in the game against the Crusaders, registering his first four-assist game of the season.
“[Sarnowski] was a little bit snake bit earlier through the season,” added Ranallo. “It’s no surprise what he put up there. He and Mitch have good chemistry.”
If the first half of the Titans’ season has shown anything, it’s that things like momentum and chemistry can be hard to find. Now they’ll have to find a way to continue the current hot streak when play resumes on the other side of the holiday break.
“I think the key is to build off what is working,” Ranallo said. “We’ve got some speed, some creativity. Our defense is moving the puck well. Our goaltender is playing real well. We have to identify our opportunities, and chip away at those opportunities every night to make them as strong as they could be.”
The road won’t be easier when Shaler returns to the ice Jan. 10. Not only will the team have road games against the two teams atop their own conference in Hampton and Plum, they will have to face off with two of the top teams from the West, Mount Lebanon and Quaker Valley, as well as a rematch with Greater Latrobe.
