skip navigation

Kings ‘Making Progress’ In Ever-Tougher NCDC

By Joshua Boyd, 11/13/19, 10:00AM EST

Share

The South Shore Kings have earned their share of big victories this season, including one against the National Collegiate Development Conference’s No. 3 team the Connecticut Jr. Rangers.

However, they have also had rough patches and continue to work hard every day on ironing out those patches en route to a 5-8-1-0 record as of Halloween.

“I feel right now our team is making progress, but we still have plenty of room to grow,” said first-year Head Coach Drew Omicioli. “I knew going into the season as a new coach with a new team that we would have an initial roller-coaster ride with plenty of ups and downs and we have experienced plenty.”

The team has been on the road for the majority of the early going, playing only five of its first 14 games at Foxboro Sports Center.

“I am happy with our guys’ overall effort on and off the ice, but now it’s more of fine-tuning our structure and overall execution,” added Omicioli. “I feel we are at the point now that we need to make the jump and start heading north in the standings.”

One early issue that Omicioli has seen is the team has trouble holding onto leads.

“We have had four games that we squandered with two goal-leads. That has to be an eye-opener for all of us as players and coaches,” he added. “We have to find a way to grab the third and not lose momentum. Overall, I believe we are close, but again this is now the point where we are not waiting for results, but expecting them. I feel we can move forward in the right direction.”

The team does have some offensive punch. This includes top 10 scorer Tommaso Alvera, a ‘99 from Cortina D’Ampezzo, Italy, whose eight goals and eight assists gave him 16 points through 14 games, good for eighth in the league.

Returning King Dmytro Danylenko, just outside the top 10 in a tie for 11th, has 15 points, and Michael Boutoussov, with 10 points, has also been a regular contributor.

“They are the top offensive threats. Jackson Krock [‘01] is emerging as a great young talent,” Omicioli added. Krock scored all seven of his points in his last nine games, between Sept. 29 and Oct. 27.

“On the back end, I think our biggest push has come from 200-foot player Ryan Leonard, who has been excellent and has been the foundation of our defensive game,” added Omicioli.