Orchard Park was the only Section VI school to play Williamsville North twice last season and not suffer a loss. The Quakers defeated the Spartans once and tied them once, and they were confident going into their semifinal game against Niagara Wheatfield.
But the Quakers fell short there and lost out on a chance to play the eventual Section VI champion Williamsville North again.
“I thought the playoff loss was tough for us,” said coach Josh Dannecker. “It was a close game and we had our opportunities to win that, but we’ll come back this year and do good work.”
“Just really learning and everything, it was an awesome year,” said goaltender Tom Held. “We thought going into the playoffs we could at least make it to the finals, but we were cut short. We’re gonna try to build off that for this year. It’s gonna be awesome being a senior this year.”
Orchard Park graduated 12 seniors last year, which leaves significant voids on both offense and defense. Fortunately for the Quakers, All-Fed goaltender Tom Held is back. Held posted a 1.92 goals against average in 15 league games last season, including three shutouts.
“Because we were senior heavy last year, we’ve got a ton of new guys, especially on defense,” Dannecker said. “We’ve got at least three new guys there. Forwards, we’re restocking another six guys. So we’ve got a lot of holes. The nice thing is we get Tommy back, so goaltending is consistent, the same as it was last year, so I think we’ll be solid there.”
“I was really happy with the year I had last year,” Held said. “I don’t really wanna say I was caught by surprise, but it was an awesome year. Very fun. Can’t wait for this year.”
Along with Held, the Quakers return Ryan Riter and Eric Lyon on defense, and Dannecker hopes they’ll be leaders as this year’s new faces adjust to the Fed and to each other. Chemistry, Dannecker said, is one thing Orchard Park is working hard to develop as the season approaches.
“You have guys like Ryan Riter, Eric Lyon who were there last year and they’ve been here for a while,” Dannecker said. “Mixing in some younger guys with them, we need some chemistry with them. And then trying to get physical and strong with our new kids up front — we’re trying to work on that as well.”
“I’m gonna try to lead by example,” said Riter. “We’ve got a lot of young guys on the team. We’re just gonna try to do our best and try to figure it out this year and try to get to the championship.”
Up front, seniors Tyler Bienias, Zach Biasillo, and Marshall Cappelli return this year, along with junior Ryan Niles. Biasillo had three goals and 14 assists in 16 regular season league games last season; Bienias had nine goals and four assists in 15 games. Cappelli had two goals and five assists in 16 games. Niles played in 11 regular season league games and added three goals and two assists.
“We have a couple guys who can score, put the puck in the net,” Dannecker said. “Hopefully Zach Biasillo will step up. Tyler Bienias, hopefully he’ll do well as well, so I think those two guys, mixed with our goaltending, will hopefully do okay … Ryan Niles will be a nice little addition. He played for us a little bit last year, and then this year is a main contributor, probably on the top line. I think he could make an impact. And then Marshall Cappelli as well. I think those two guys will be good.”
Luke MacLeod and Jake Santarelli are a couple new faces on offense this year, and Dannecker hopes they’ll contribute.
Held expects the Quakers’ forwards to be a strength this year, and he, Riter, and Dannecker believe that team speed will be a factor as well.
“Our forwards are flying already,” Held said. “They look good, and they’re even scoring on me. We look good.”
“We’re pretty quick this year,” Riter said. “We should be fast and get off to a good start and get that under our belt.”
“I would say we’re probably a little smaller and probably faster,” Dannecker said. “We’re gonna try to be as responsible defensively as possible, and I think that’s kinda gonna be the motto for the season. Take your chances when you can, go skate as hard as you can, but don’t forget to play defense first.”
But the majority of the time, Held will be waiting behind the defense, and it’s no surprise that Dannecker considers him to be the team’s biggest strength this season. Held is looking forward to a leadership role on the team and making the most of his senior year.
“This is my third year playing for the team and I’m a senior this year too, so a lot of guys will look up to me,” Held said. “We have a lot of younger guys on the team. I’ll definitely have a big leadership role, whether it’s in the locker room or on the ice.”
Held and Riter want to give their all every time they’re on the ice the season, and they expect the same from their teammates.
“We just gotta come to practice and games ready to go,” Riter said. “We got a young team this year, so we don’t really know what’s expected in the league. Just be ready for every game and practice.”
“We just wanna take every game seriously,” said Held. “We do not want to have a night off. Playing through Fed, I really regret a lot of games — taking nights off and stuff, just not taking every game as serious. And I don’t wanna have any of that this year, and I wanna get that out of everybody.”
Orchard Park opens its season Nov. 28 against Canisius at HarborCenter. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:30 pm.