In for the long haul

JEREMIAH BARTZ/ Frontiersman sports editor

PALMER - They suffered double-digit losses in each of their first four games of the season. But the concern for the Palmer Moose is not the present, it's the future.

Despite the lopsided defeats, the young Moose hockey squad and coaching staff is dedicated to the construction of the Palmer program - despite what the scoreboard reads after 45 minutes on the ice.

&#8220They know where they stand in this league, but they're not willing to stay there,” first-year head coach Dino Pagano said of his squad.

In the last several years the Moose have brought new meaning to the term shorthanded, as Palmer has struggled to find players to fill the Moose sweaters. But it is a new age for Palmer hockey. The community has its own rink, the Palmer Ice Arena, and the Palmer Amateur Hockey Association, a youth organization for the area, is in its first season of competition. That and 29 players, many of whom are young, have the Moose pointed toward a more promising future.

&#8220It's little steps at a time,” Pagano said.

Pagano, a former collegiate hockey player at Rutgers, was hired prior to the beginning of the season to help turn around the program. His assistant Norm Rousey, a player on Palmer's 1989 state championship squad - the last Valley team to win the state title, started the re-building process last year as he served as the head man on the bench for a season.

Pagano and Rousey have stressed the importance of staying positive, and building a respectable hockey program at PHS. The attitude of the Moose players has already helped the team to improve.

&#8220Everything we've done so far has been such a benefit,” Pagano said after his team's 9-1 loss to Bartlett on Saturday - a game with a final score certainly not indicative to the effort of the Moose. &#8220The enthusiasm is unbelievable.”

The Moose have a talented corps of underclassman, led by sophomores Dylan Schindele and Jeremy Wright, and benefit from the experience of upperclassmen Hunter Richards and Tyson Alger.

&#8220We do have a couple of talented kids, but everybody's a contributor on this team,” Pagano said. &#8220Everyone has their role.”

The busiest Moose so far has been netminder Alex Koch.

The freshman has stopped nearly 150 shots in five games. He had 105 saves in the three-day Curtis C. Menard II Memorial Hockey Tournament. The extra work could be a blessing in disguise for the Moose freshman.

&#8220He feels comfortable stopping those shots. He's doing a great job,” Pagano said.

The Moose will also have the services of sophomore goaltender Jim Isaacs.

The second-year goalie saw action between the pipes for Palmer varsity squad last season.