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St. Luke's Varsity Hockey: Season Preview
There is a new look to the St. Luke’s Varsity Hockey team this year and it’s a very youthful one.
The Storm graduated several starting players over the last two seasons, but the puck squad welcomes a number of new players as well as some familiar faces back into the fold after some time away.
Head Coach Zach Brusko returns for his third year in charge and has been pleasantly surprised at the talent of his young guns. “Preseason has been excellent. We lost our leading scorer from the past three years in Will Frossell ‘18 and another four-year starter in Ryan Neafsey ‘18, but we have looked really good. We have a lot of young kids with a lot of talent and our older guys have really stepped it up too,” he said.
St. Luke’s finished last year with an overall record of 7-5-1 with four of the losses coming against Rye Country Day School and The Harvey School. Brusko believes it will be the Wildcats and Cavaliers who will provide the greatest challenge again this term. “You never know what each team will be like as kids come and go but I’d expect the rivalry between us, Rye and Harvey to continue. Our goal is always to win the FAA and this year is no different.”
The Storm is captained by CJ Woodberry ‘19 and Jack Neafsey ‘19 with Junior alternate captains Sam Boston and Lars Ernberg. Brusko has been extremely impressed with the quartet and is hopeful their leadership will help push the team throughout the season. “We couldn't ask for a better group of young men to lead this team," he said. "We have a great combination of leadership on the ice and in the locker room. They are respectful of the other players but they also have the respect of their peers. I think they are one of our biggest strengths right now and will help guide some of the younger members of the team.”
Grafton Ely ‘23 and George Foster ‘23 (who has a family history with the team as his dad, Graham, coaches and his brother, Will, played for a number of years) are two of the young players Brusko is expecting a lot from as the number two and three defensemen. “We lost a number of defensemen so Grafton and George are going to play a lot of hockey. We have full confidence in them and expect some big performances from them.”
The Storm welcomes back Andres Falcon Giminez ‘19 in goal as well as Goose Ansaldi ‘20 and Matt Crispi ‘19, who took some time away from hockey last year. Brusko believes all three will be key players this campaign. “Andres is in his fourth year with us as a goalie and just gets better and better. He seems very focused and I expect him to have a great season. Goose looks strong. He was carrying injuries the whole of last season so I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do now that he is healthy. Matt coming back is huge too. He has a wealth of experience which will be great for our younger players.”
Woodberry will lead the offensive line with Ernberg and his younger brother Anders ‘21 and Dominic Powilatis ‘22. “Anders is back for his second year with us and we need him to have some top-level performances as we know he is very capable. Dominic is also a very talented player and could be challenging some of our older kids for playing time in our top lines.”
St. Luke’s Varsity Hockey has scrimmages against The Canterbury School and Darien High School before it opens up the season on the road against Morristown Beard School in New Jersey on Friday, December 7. Brusko is excited to get going. “We have the same coaching staff returning so we are able to pick up where we left off and really show what St. Luke’s Hockey is," he said. "We are starting to build something and to keep that going is a major goal for us. The future looks bright and we are looking forward to seeing what this group can achieve.”
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The Storm graduated several starting players over the last two seasons, but the puck squad welcomes a number of new players as well as some familiar faces back into the fold after some time away.
Head Coach Zach Brusko returns for his third year in charge and has been pleasantly surprised at the talent of his young guns. “Preseason has been excellent. We lost our leading scorer from the past three years in Will Frossell ‘18 and another four-year starter in Ryan Neafsey ‘18, but we have looked really good. We have a lot of young kids with a lot of talent and our older guys have really stepped it up too,” he said.
St. Luke’s finished last year with an overall record of 7-5-1 with four of the losses coming against Rye Country Day School and The Harvey School. Brusko believes it will be the Wildcats and Cavaliers who will provide the greatest challenge again this term. “You never know what each team will be like as kids come and go but I’d expect the rivalry between us, Rye and Harvey to continue. Our goal is always to win the FAA and this year is no different.”
The Storm is captained by CJ Woodberry ‘19 and Jack Neafsey ‘19 with Junior alternate captains Sam Boston and Lars Ernberg. Brusko has been extremely impressed with the quartet and is hopeful their leadership will help push the team throughout the season. “We couldn't ask for a better group of young men to lead this team," he said. "We have a great combination of leadership on the ice and in the locker room. They are respectful of the other players but they also have the respect of their peers. I think they are one of our biggest strengths right now and will help guide some of the younger members of the team.”
Grafton Ely ‘23 and George Foster ‘23 (who has a family history with the team as his dad, Graham, coaches and his brother, Will, played for a number of years) are two of the young players Brusko is expecting a lot from as the number two and three defensemen. “We lost a number of defensemen so Grafton and George are going to play a lot of hockey. We have full confidence in them and expect some big performances from them.”
The Storm welcomes back Andres Falcon Giminez ‘19 in goal as well as Goose Ansaldi ‘20 and Matt Crispi ‘19, who took some time away from hockey last year. Brusko believes all three will be key players this campaign. “Andres is in his fourth year with us as a goalie and just gets better and better. He seems very focused and I expect him to have a great season. Goose looks strong. He was carrying injuries the whole of last season so I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do now that he is healthy. Matt coming back is huge too. He has a wealth of experience which will be great for our younger players.”
Woodberry will lead the offensive line with Ernberg and his younger brother Anders ‘21 and Dominic Powilatis ‘22. “Anders is back for his second year with us and we need him to have some top-level performances as we know he is very capable. Dominic is also a very talented player and could be challenging some of our older kids for playing time in our top lines.”
St. Luke’s Varsity Hockey has scrimmages against The Canterbury School and Darien High School before it opens up the season on the road against Morristown Beard School in New Jersey on Friday, December 7. Brusko is excited to get going. “We have the same coaching staff returning so we are able to pick up where we left off and really show what St. Luke’s Hockey is," he said. "We are starting to build something and to keep that going is a major goal for us. The future looks bright and we are looking forward to seeing what this group can achieve.”
St. Luke’s School is a secular (non-religious), private school in New Canaan, CT for grades 5 through 12 serving over 35 towns in Connecticut and New York. Our exceptional academics and diverse co-educational community foster students’ intellectual and ethical development and prepare them for top colleges. St. Luke’s Center for Leadership builds the commitment to serve and the confidence to lead.
