Maine Hockey coach Greg Mrofcza is focused on this year’s team; however, Mrofcza also has one eye on the future of the program — and the future looks bright.
“We have seven sophomores on varsity and we have 15 freshmen in the program,” said Mrofcza, who is in his second year as head coach. “It’s huge for the future of the program to get these guys experience as sophomores.”
The top prospects from that group of sophomores are defenseman Anthony Reda (Maine South) and forward Shane Ronan (Maine West).
“They represent the cream of the sophomore class that we feel is pretty strong,” Mrofcza said. “We think this experience will show them the necessary pace. Both of them have found success and we’ll want them to step into leadership roles next year. But right now it’s just getting them comfortable with the speed of the game and how physical it is.”
Both players bring unique attributes that Mrofcza feels will help the program continue to take steps forward.
“Anthony is a defenseman but he’s offensive minded,” Mrofcza said. “He runs the second power play unit and that shows a lot of maturity. He’s also a pretty physical player and people pay a price when Anthony is on the ice. He’s absolutely fearless.
“Shane is just a complete ball of energy. He doesn’t have anything except a top gear. He’s a center on the third line and a penalty killer for us. He’s willing to give up his body to block shots or create opportunities for the offense.”
Since this was their first year in the program — and they’d be facing players who are two years older than them — neither Ronan nor Reda knew what to expect.
“I had no clue coming in,” said Ronan, who has 10 points this season “I was hoping for varsity so I came out, tried hard and was fortunate to make it. I feel like being a sophomore you just have to prove yourself from the very beginning and I think I’m playing pretty well this season.”
“It’s been different,” added Reda, who has six points this season. “The pace and physicality are something I had to get used to the first couple weeks. It’s a different style that you have to learn.”
Reda also had to adjust to a less prominent role, and that wasn’t easy at first.
“My last couple teams I’ve been captain and would be the guy who went out and did anything the coach needed,” he said. “I was used to being the top guy on the team so it was hard to handle at the beginning of the season. But I also knew it wasn’t my place to be a top guy so I accepted my role.”
Maine lost 8-5 to New Trier Blue on Sunday night. Up next for Maine (21-18-11) is a game against Carmel at Glacier Ice Arena in Vernon Hills at 7:20 p.m. Thursday.
“We’re playing alright but we play to the level of our competition,” Ronan said. “We have to get our mental preparation right. If we can keep up a higher pace every game we can be a really successful team.”