A new coach and a bigger team for Skyline hockey
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Skyline hockey players fight to keep Viewmont from scoring late in the game Nov. 28. Viewmont closed the gap on the Eagles' long-time lead and scored with only seconds to go to end the game in a tie.
A 3-0-1 start to the season wasn’t the only pleasant surprise new Skyline hockey head coach Alan Canfield has experienced this year—it’s also the first time in five years that the team has had enough players to field both JV and varsity teams.
“With 26 kids on our roster, it took us a little while to figure out how to run effective practices,” Canfield said. “In the past, we’ve been scraping to get enough kids to come play, and often didn’t have enough.”
A former Eagle hockey player himself, Canfield was a senior captain, and upon graduation, assisted with the team. He returned as an assistant when his son Joe was goalie for the team, and has now stepped up into the head position as sophomore son Rob is filling the JV goalie spot.
“It’s been a few years since the previous coaches had any kids on the team, so they approached me about taking over,” he said. “I figured it’s my turn.”
After battling through a preseason of tough exhibition games, the Eagles opened the regular season with a 4-4 tie with Judge Oct. 24, then accumulated three straight wins over Sky View Nov. 7 (3-2), Davis Nov. 16 (5-1) and DCI Nov. 21 (5-1.)
Senior Michael McCombs leads the team in goals, racking up 13 and three assists. Junior Daniel Brickley follows with seven goals and eight assists.
“Goalie Josh Anderson and McCombs are two returning seniors who are a big factor for us this year,” Canfield said. “Then we’ve also got a big junior class with a lot of good talent that is going to help a lot this year and next. We had a lot of freshmen come in too.”
Canfield said that part of the increased interest in hockey is probably the back-to-back state championships the team has brought home the last two years.
“I also think that this freshman class just happened to have a lot of good hockey players in it, that have been playing community hockey together,” he said.
The Eagles played Viewmont Nov. 28 and Northridge Dec. 5 and will go up against NUI on the Ogden Ice Sheet, Dec. 12 and Cache Valley at the George S. Eccles Ice Center in North Logan, Dec. 19.
