The house of hockey
Troy Eagles have close bond in house, on ice, with coach running both shows

By Joshua Boyd

Now that's what you call "living the game."

In Troy, N.Y., home of the Metropolitan Junior Hockey League's Troy Eagles, the entire team lives together during the season. And who's there to watch over them? The same guy calling the shots from the bench, head coach and director of hockey operations Al Rooney.

Rooney, and his wife Mackenzie, take up residence in the same type of twobedroom, two-bathroom apartment as the Jr. B Eagles players live, all in the same building.

The players also get a newly upgraded basement lounge in the building, laundry facilities and a weight room and an aerobics room. Additionally, Mackenzie Rooney is a teacher, and is thus available to the Eagles student-athletes as a tutor when needed. When the Eagles players are not at the rink together, they're typically at the apartment building - together.

"I'm fortunate to be a full-time employee of the team, so I'm not rushing from a job just to get to the rink and practice," said Rooney. "I am allowed to focus all my energies on coaching and all the daily hockey operations duties."

Len Rockenstyre, one of the coowners of the team (with Scott Penk), said he had a friend who built the house and lets the team treat it like its own, while paying rent.

"A friend of mine put the building up on a handshake agreement, for the hockey team," said Rockenstyre, the father of Matt Rockenstyre. Matt was a 2007-08 Eagle, but has since moved on to the Tier-3 Jr. A Hartford Jr. Wolfpack, of the Atlantic Junior League. The Eagles are affiliated with both the Jr. Wolfpack and the Tier-3 Jr. A Toledo Cherokee, of the Central States Hockey League.

"All the money we take in [for the team], we spend on the guys who play junior hockey," Rockenstyre added.

The Eagles are entering their second year, but 2008-09 will be their first full season, in a sense.

Rockenstyre and Penk rescued the team after the ownership of the defunct Hudson Valley Eagles was left up to question. They took that franchise over late in the year, and had to scramble to get players for the 2007-08 season, which ended at 1-41 in the "Met" League.

"We have a solid core of returning players from last season to help this season, a luxury we didn't have last year as most of the team's [2006-07] roster scattered after the previous owners folded the franchise," Rooney said. "So now, we won't have such a feeling-out process early this year with returning players able to help the coaching staff set the bar for incoming players."

The Eagles of tomorrow, today

With the determination to put their discouraging 2007-08 record behind them, the Eagles see a lineup of experienced Met League players who have come back to help the team succeed, but who still have that desire to move on to the Jr. A ranks.

Continue...

Subscribe Now!

New sensation in Jersey

Renegades look to make noisy debut in Metropolitan Junior League

By Joshua Boyd

Are you a hockey player in New Jersey, playing on a junior hockey team that may or may not be good, but one that is nevertheless drawing flies to your games?

Well, New Jersey Renegades head coach, hockey director and vice president of operations Cliff Graziano, Jr. has the solution to these no-fan blues. The Renegades will make their junior hockey debut in the Metropolitan Junior B Hockey League later this summer.

"We have a family-orientated youth organization that will be very involved with our junior team," said Graziano Jr.

"If we send out an e-mail to 150 youth players about our next junior game at Aspen Ice [in Flemington, N.J.], we may get anywhere from 100 to 150 of those families attending the game, as well as their extended families and friends from school."

"So that's a huge fan base for us to build upon," said Cliff Jr. "The youth players all wear their Renegades jerseys which make it special for them too."

"We'll strive to make each game an event that is based on youth and community."

The Renegades, who also play in the New Jersey Youth Hockey League, began their existence in 1999 as a spring tournament team. It was started by Graziano Sr. along with Joe and Barbara Aihini, parents of Renegades junior player Aaron Aihini. Then, that one team decided, after two spring seasons, to play year-round for the next two years.

"After that, we began full expansion, from Mite through Midget, in the 2003- 04 season," said Cliff Jr. The club was started to prepare the original Renegades players for high school hockey.

"My father felt there was a need for more instruction that focused on individual skill development for players at all levels, but especially at the lower levels (A and B). We offered an alternative for travel players who were looking to focus on their skills vs. ‘win at all costs.'"

"Cliff Graziano is one of the best coaches, if not the best, I have ever been taught by," said former Renegades youth player Jack Callahan, a United States Hockey League draft pick by the Lincoln Stars. "Fundamentally, I was almost perfect from all the skating, or going to every one of his Turcotte Stickhandling camps in the summer and mastering every move until my hands had calluses on them."

"Having the junior team gives the youth players something to strive for in the final stages of youth development," Cliff, Jr. added.

Cliff Jr. once played in the Metropolitan League with the Junior Devils from 1989-91, before embarking on a college hockey career at Penn State and then entering the coaching ranks. Seeing his son return to the Met League was a great delight to Cliff Sr., who is president and general manager of the youth club.

"The Renegades organization has now come full circle," said Cliff Sr. "We are delighted to be part of a wonderful tradition."

"Met" League President Glenn Hefferan added, "It is exciting for me to see former players of the league giving back to the league. They know the history, so they bring a new respect and reverence for the league."

Constructing a team

Of course, when you're the new kid on the block in junior terms, that means you've got to start from scratch. No returning veterans who know how the team works here. Everyone is starting from home plate. The newness of a team also affects its ability to lure players from other squads.

"Attracting quality players to a first-year program is tough, because they always want to go to the big-name clubs. Having a big, supportive crowd is an added attraction to get players here," said Cliff Jr. "We do have some of our Bantam and Midget players who have graduated into our junior program."

He figures maybe six players, or roughly a third of the 2008-09 team, are coming from the Renegades' youth ranks. Eddie Conrads, Chris Tommins, Matt Eitzen and Aaron Aihini are all former Midgets expected to skate heavily with the Renegades.

Players can take solace that the coaches, including coach Chris Ceransky (a former Division 3 player at Castleton State), know their stuff.

He hopes the players named above, as well as other Renegades like Dave McAndrew, Nick Ferris and Jared Abbott, get the same opportunities with the junior team that Callahan received going through the Renegades youth organization.

"I believe that players will want to play here in the future. We are going to have some sponsorship and a fan base that players will want to play in front of," said Cliff Jr.

"The Renegades squad that takes the ice this season has the amazing opportunity to write its own rich history from the beginning," Ceransky added.

The Renegades training camp and final tryout evaluations will be held during the weeks of Aug. 4 and Aug. 11 at their home rink of Aspen Ice in Flemington, N.J. The Renegades are still searching for a few quality, dedicated players. For more information, contact Cliff Graziano Jr. at cliff.jr@njrenegades.net or call 973-479- 2403 or go online at www.njrenegades.net.

Pushing forward back
Apple Core reach out to former player for new direction

By Mike Klein

If one were to observe the New York Apple Core bench this season, the phrase "back to the future" would immediately come to mind.

While general manager Henry Lazar has stepped off the bench, his new successor is more than familiar with the former coach’s methods. The new coach is Chris Cosentino, a member of the team that took the 2003 EJHL Triple Crown by winning the Southern Division, Regular Season, and Playoff championships.

As one of the organization’s many proud alumni, Cosentino formulated his plan to push his team back to the top of the EJHL.

Cosentino’s approach to rebuilding the team is much like the strategy Herb Brooks used in piecing together the 1980 USA Olympic Team: equal parts skill and character. Leading the way is captain Anthony Bitetto, a hard-nosed defenseman.

"[Bitetto] exemplifies everything that Apple Core stands for - he is fearless and leads by example," Cosentino said. "There is no question that he has the ability to carry the team on his shoulders and get the job done."

After playing much of last season with the Apple Core Jr. B team, Bitetto became a regular on the blue line and showcased his defensive ability while contributing two goals and six assists.

Aside from the captain, Rui Encarnacao, Frank Posillico, Mike Bochichio, John Kelly, Bryan Gill, and William Brown all return from last year’s squad and will be counted on to step up and show the rookies the ropes.

David Spadacene also joins the team after stints with the Green Mountain Glades and Jersey Hitmen last season.

Goaltender Andrew Margolin headlines the newcomers after spending a season as Boston College’s backup. His experience at the NCAA Division 1 level simply cannot be replicated and Cosentino is looking at him to be a leader both on and off the ice. Also competing for time between the pipes is Shane Robichaud, a talented 1992-born goalie.

To complement the veterans, Apple Core has gone to great lengths to build a foundation for the future. Mark Grinhaus (Northwood) and Oliver Koo (Westminster) are two former prep stars who are expected to contribute immediately, and Canadian import Mark DiFruscio should be one of the EJHL’s most exciting players to watch.

Newcomers Greg Jensen, Remy Cholhan, Greg Strootman, Kellan Lessard, Kevin Gaughran, and Scotty Witmyer will all be key players up front, and Blake Kerling, Danny Honovic, Andrew Balzafiore and C.J. Stellabotte will contribute on the blue line.

Cosentino assembled his team with one goal in mind: to make Apple Core the team that everyone loves to watch, but hates to play against.

"It’s been too long since the team has had the target on our backs," the coach lamented. "I am confident that our alumni are going to be pleased with what assistant coach Vin Hellemeyer and I have brought in this year."

Cosentino added that his motivation for taking the reins and steering the program back to the top comes from his experience as a player in the organization.

"I feel that if I didn’t bring the right players back into this organization then I’d feel like I would be letting down everyone who has ever sweated and bled for this team," Cosentino said. "I have high expectations for this team because the players we brought in are well aware of who they signed with and they are all proud to be here."

The coach’s expectations are hardly unfounded, as Cosentino’s troops showed their potential by winning the annual New England College Development League tournament. According to Cosentino, the win proved that "we have something special here, but we all know that we still have a lot of work to do."

As far as what the future holds, Cosentino promises that his team will be "vintage Apple Core. This team is prepared to leave their mark in the great Apple Core tradition."