November 2007

 

The Junior Titans sit atop the Jim Dowd Division heading into November, holding a six-point lead on the rival New Jersey Rockets. But, while that comfortable early-season lead is nice, it is obvious that the Titans are looking toward success a little further down the road.

The club has qualified for the Met League playoffs in each of coach Dustin DePalma's first two seasons behind the helm, so they know what winning in the regular season is all about.

That regular-season success, however, has not transferred into the postseason. Two years ago, the Titans dropped a playoff series to the Connecticut Wolves and then watched helplessly as the Wolves went on to take the playoff title. Last year, it was a similar situation as the Titans faced Valley Forge in the postseason. Another series loss was followed by the pain of watching the victors advance to claim the postseason crown.

This year, the Titans plan to write a different ending.

"When you get that close, especially last year against Valley Forge – a one-goal game with two minutes remaining – and you bring back 15 kids for the next season, expectations are high," DePalma said.

And, rightly so.

The club has a veteran core that has learned the painful lessons necessary to become a champion in a competitive league like the MJHL. Like DePalma pointed out, there are More than a dozen players back from the team that went 30-12-2 last season and reached the Keegan Cup semifinals.  

Defenseman Peter Zarella and forward Chris Wollerman have been part of all the disappointments in the past two years. Other players, like defensemen M.J. Lotito, Mike Welsh and forwards Donny Kane, Louie Balzano, George Lotito, Mike Kolbasowski and Brian Murray played huge parts in last year's run.

The result is that the Titans are a veteran-laden team that won't be intimidated by anyone in the Met League. Therefore the 9-2-1 mark the club has reeled off to start the season should be no surprise. Neither should the two wins – one by a convincing 7-1 score – the Titans have already reeled off against the rival Rockets, which is likely to be their primary competition in the Dowd Division.

"We're a deep team and, so far, we have had guys that step up one night and other guys that step u on another night," DePalma said. "If we can ever get everybody to step on the same night on a consistent basis, we will be a pretty good team.

Through their first dozen games, the Titans are averaging 4.5 goals per game, so it is obvious that they are already a good offensive team.

And, it is the veterans that are carrying the load. Louie Balzano, a '90, leads the team with 16 points, including a team-high eight goals. George Lotito, also a '90, has a team-best 11 assists. Murray and M.J. Lotito each have seven goals already this season and are among the six players that have already surpassed double-digits in points through the first 12 games.

On defense, Donny Kane holds the ship together as the captain and most reliable defenseman. The '89 has seen it all in his time with the Titans and nothing rattles him.

"He's been solid all year," DePalma said. "He's just very poised and confident. You just trust him out there. There's no better way to describe it."

DePalma and the Titans have also learned to trust new goalie Patrick Murray, a '90 from Cranford, N.J. With no goalies returning from last year – all three moved onto college -- the Titans needed a new No. 1.

The New Jersey Ice Hoppers of the America East Hockey League provided salvation in the form of Murray, who has started every game this season for New Jersey.

"The Ice Hoppers goalie coach contacted me over the summer and we tried him out and we liked him," DePalma said. "He's been really outstanding for us and he's kept us in some games when we haven't been as good as we wanted to be."

The optimism has been percolating since the start of the season when the Titans tackled a difficult out-of-league schedule and did more than just survive. In eight days, the Titans played the New Jersey Hitmen from the EJHL in an exhibition and then entered the prestigious Boston Junior Bruins Shootout.

In the game against the Hitmen, the Titans forged a 2-2 tie in the third period before losing, 4-2. In the opener of the Shootout, the Titans held national powerhouse, the Phoenix Polar bears, to a shocking 1-1 tie. In the final two games, the Titans lost, by respectable scores, to the Little Bruins and the Eastern Mass Senators – a piar of elite New England Midget teams.

"Those experiences definitely helped get the building process started this season," said DePalma.

It's a building process that DePalma and the Titans hope culminate with the Keegan Cup in their possession.