A fast start lifts spirits for Hampton Hockey

From: John Grupp


Saturday, October 26, 2024 | 11:01 a.m

The Hampton hockey team wasted no time in showing how a little faith can go a long way.

Hampton, coming off a 5-15 season that included an 0-5 start and a midseason coaching change, opened its 2024-25 season with a 5-4 overtime win over Butler and a 12-12 mark. 0 win over Richland.

“Everyone is very confident as a team and everyone believes in each other,” said PIHL Class A All-Star Junior Defenseman Daniel Leyes. “We are still united and ready to move forward this season. We want to continue working as a team and see how it goes.”

Leyes and sophomore forward Dillon Fogle combined for seven goals against Richland, giving Hampton its highest-scoring game in at least four years and avenging two disheartening losses from last season.

In the opening game on September 30 against Butler, junior forward Preston Cochran forced overtime with less than three minutes to play and PIHL all-star junior defenseman Eli Schwarzbach scored the game-winning goal.

“I think we’re in a good position,” said Ian Cummings, who was promoted to head coach in January. “(The Butler win) was great. To see them fight through it, come together and achieve such a victory was huge. It’s certainly a building block for the rest of the year.”

Leyes said: “It was huge, especially last year, to win a big, close game. One of our biggest problems last year was ending games late. It was huge for all of us to celebrate a win like that at the start of the season.”

A 7-0 loss at Moon on Oct. 14 — the Talbots were short-handed due to injuries and illness and trailed 1-0 after the first half — did nothing to dent the fast start of a program that hasn’t had a winning season since 2018-19.

“I think what we’ve seen in our first three games is that we can play with any team when we’re healthy and play as a team,” Leyes said.

Hampton, which competes in the 12-team PIHL Class A Blue Division, returned four of its top five scorers from last season, including Leyes, Schwarzbach and second-year forward Joey Stephenson. There is only one senior on the roster, forward Sam Modlin, but 12 players gained significant varsity experience on last season’s youth team.

Other top returners include junior defenseman and team captain Eli Bukovac, sophomore forwards Scott Cameron and Keegan Millea, and sophomore defensemen Eli Gynn and Ethan Hughes.

Sophomore forward Michael Cummings, the coach’s son, has scored three goals and added three assists in three games, leading a talented group of freshmen that also includes junior defenseman Marli Dankmeyer and freshman defenseman Xander Tolley belong.

Sophomore goalkeeper Kosta Sarris returns after suffering some injuries as a ninth-grader. He played strong travel hockey in the offseason and made 14 saves against Richland, giving him the first shutout of his young career.

“He was great,” Cummings said. “He has the physical abilities of a very athletic goalkeeper and is growing into this position. He has all the skills you need in terms of speed and movement. His confidence is growing and I’m really looking forward to the next few years he’ll have with the team.”

The players look out for each other, that’s for sure. The official PIHL scorecard from the 12-0 win over Richland showed Leyes scoring five goals. But when asked about the performance, Leyes pointed out that he actually scored four goals and his teammate Fogle should have been credited with an additional goal.

“I had four (goals),” Leyes said. “You messed up the results list. Fogle had a hat trick and I think they accidentally gave me one of them. They only gave him two.”

This example of selflessness is encouraging for Cummings for the 2024-25 season.

“They definitely play for each other and I think as a coach that’s all you can ask for,” he said. “We want to play as a team and have cohesion. That is our goal. If we can do that in every game, I think the record will speak for itself.”

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