On behalf of all of us with the Exton Kings, we hope you enjoyed the holidays. Now it’s time to get back to hockey! Here’s a look back at December.

10U  A National

The Kings only had one league game in December, but they ended 2023 in style.  The Kings defeated the Quakers 7-1 giving them a record of 5-4-1 with 22 points. They are 4th in the division but can move up in the standings. The Chester County Cougars are just 2 points ahead of them, while the Hershey Jr. Bears have 32 points and Genesis has 40. In the win over the Quakers, the Kings were led by Jacob Ebright who scored a hat trick and added 2 assists on the day. Dom Valerio also had 2 goals and 2 assists and Blake Daugherty had a pair of assists. Connor Okonski had the win in net. Overall, Daugherty’s 15G 6A lead the team in scoring followed by Valerio 9G 8A, Evan Miller 10G 3A and Ebright 4G 8A.

10U B

The Kings split their two games in December. They defeated the Wilmington Nighthawks 8-1 but lost 6-3 to the Central Penn Panthers. The Kings are 2nd in the division at 10-4 with 40 points. The Panthers lead the division with 52 points and a 13-2 record. In the 8-1 win vs the Nighthawks, Wyatt Winnemore had a hat trick plus an assist, and Blaine Okeefe scored twice. Pranit Rajvanshi, Aiden Craner and Olivia Waldron also scored while Luke Hutnick picked up the win in goal. In the loss to the Panthers, Waldron notched a hat trick and Hutnick made 20 saves, but it wasn’t enough to defeat the Panthers. The Kings have lost twice to the Panthers this season but will face them one more time in February. The Kings continue to be successful with their depth in scoring. They have 11 players with 10 points or more and are led by: Winnemore 24G 6A, Waldron 19G 8A, Colton Herr 15G 8A, Declan Barker 11G 5A, Okeefe 10G 5A, Craner 11G 4A.

12U A National

The Kings lost a double header to the Wilkes Barre Jr. Penguins in December 13-5 and 11-5. They are 6th in the division with a 3-10-1 record for 14 points. The Philadelphia Little Flyers have 19 points, and Flyers Youth has 24, so the Kings do have a chance to gain some ground in January. In game 1 of the DH, Jake Tomczak had 2 goals and Tristan Malcolm, Cavan McGovern, and Andrew Parise also scored. In Game 2 Owen Randazzo led the way with a hat trick and an assist. Mason Grimm and Parker Unruh added goals for the Kings. The leading scorers for the Kings are Ethan Duffield 8G 7A, Unruh 7G 5A, Tyler Neff 5G 7A, Tomczak 5G 6A, Malcolm 5G 3A.

12U A American 

The Kings are in 6th place at 6-8 with 24 points. Snider Hockey and Genesis Hockey Club are just ahead of them with 29 points. The Kings didn't gain any ground in December after losing to the Delco Phantoms 6-5, and the Quakers 2-1. Against the Phantoms, Sean Hand scored two goals. James Wright, Porter Stoflett and Isaiah Thomas all had one. Beckett Cook scored the lone Kings goal against the Quakers and Quinten Blackman made 17 saves in the loss. Stofflet leads the scoring with 13G 10A followed by Hand 14G 5A, Thomas 13G 4A, Owen Gofus 6G 5A, Landon Weinreich 2G 7A.

12U AA

The Kings are 4-11 in 7th place in the division with 17 points. The Kings lost 2-1 to the Delco Phantoms and 5-1 to Flyers Youth in December. Ryan Menzel was the lone scorer vs the Phantoms and Landon Gentile against Flyers Youth. The Kings have a packed schedule in January as they face the Chester County Cougars, Genesis Williams and McCarty, Snider Hockey, and the Delco Phantoms.  The Leading scorers for the Kings are Menzel 7G 1A, Ryan Farrell 5G 3A, Ottaviano Ricketts 4G 3A, John Burke 2G 4A.

14U A American

The Kings are 3-10-1 with 14 points in 8th place. The Kings lost 9-4 to the Delaware Jr. Blue Hens. Keegan Vaughn scored twice, Joshua Franciscus and Evan Chase also scored. The Kings suffered a 2-0 shutout loss to Snider Hockey, but goaltender Connor Millard played well and made 27 saves. It was a close game, but the Kings were just short in a 3-2 loss to Genesis HC Kucera. Collin Hoffman, and Drew Shumaker scored, and Millard was stellar in net making 34 saves in the loss. The leading scorers for the team are Mark Mannherz 5G 7A, Vaughn 7G 4A, Charles Sposetti 6G 4A, Chris Marmaliuc 5G 4A, and Colin Hoffman 4G 4A.

14U AA

The Kings are 1-12-1 in 5th place in the division. They lost three games in December, but two of them were thrillers. The Kings were down 3-0 to Campus Wild but they fought back. Jonathan Bonshock, Nick Tode, and Braden Voight all scored but the Wild would win the game 4-3. Ethan Landis made 24 saves in the loss. The other close game was a 6-5 loss to the Delco Phantoms, but the Kings were victim to a comeback in this game. Jackson Bogus, Bonshock, Ryan Schultz, and Bryce Hoisington gave the Kings a 4-0 lead, but they couldn’t hang on. Bogus scored another goal but the Phantoms scored 3 times in the 3rd to tie the game and then went on to win in overtime 6-5. The Kings ended 2023 with a 5-0 loss to Snider Hockey. The leading scorers for the team are Leonardo Nino 3G 5A, Hoisington 1G 5A, Bogus 2G 4A, Bonshock 4G 1A, and Tode 5G.

14U B

The Kings are still putting up a fight in search of their first win this season. Last month we spoke with Coach Ed Keegan about the team developing their skills. It may not be on the scoreboard, but the team is improving, and they continue to carry good attitudes. “As we have told the team, the goal is to improve every player’s level of skill throughout the year and to become better hockey players by the end of the season, says Keegan.” “If we can put a couple wins up along the way, great, but the true measure of success will be every player becoming better at all aspects of hockey, he concluded.”

16U A American

The Kings are 3-12 with 12 points in 6th place in the division. William Fairbanks and Mike Stine scored while goaltender Owen Brady made 33 saves, but the Kings lost 9-2 to the Hershey Jr. Bears. Ciaran Sweeney netted the lone goal for the Kings in a 5-1 loss to Genesis Hockey Club. The Kings ended 2023 with a 9-3 loss to Chester County Cougars. Gavin Voight, Stine, and Sweeney scored for the Kings. The leading scorers for the team are Stine 4G 4A, Voight 4G 2A, Rock Zheng 1G 4A, Sweeney 4G, Fairbanks 3G 1A.

16U A National

The Kings are in 2nd place in the division with an 8-1-1 record with 34 points, just 6 points behind Snider Hockey. The Kings went 3-0 in December defeating Delco Phantoms Pitel 9-1, Genesis HC 4-3, and ended 2023 with a big 2-1 win over Snider Hockey. In the win over the Phantoms Jack Baran scored twice. Thatcher Respicio had 1G 1A, while Connor Bradley, Caleb Fedon, Alexander Li, Joey Reis, Pat Anderson, and Carter Lukasevics all scored. In the win against Genesis, Matt Townsley, Lukasevics, Bradly, and Anderson all scored. Bradly scored again vs Snider and Matt Marin scored the go-ahead goal shorthanded  in the 3rd period to give the Kings the win. Goaltender Lucas Fleuty took care of business in net for all 3 wins. The Kings ended 2023 on a 4-game win streak. The leading scorers are Bradly 7G 6A, Anderson 7G 2A, Baran 2G 2A, and Martin 4G 3A. Reis, Lukasevics and Jayden Goldyn all have 5 points.

Tournament Recap

14U AA travelled to Lake Placid for the America Cup. The Kings didn't pick up a win, but 3-4 games were close. Jackson Bogus scored the lone goal for the Kings against the Casco Bay Mariners in a 3-1 loss, and Ethan Landis played well in goal. The worst game of the weekend was a 7-1 loss to the Wonderland Wizards. Tode was the only scorer while Landis and Logan Fedon split the net for the game. The North Bay Trappers won the tournament, but the Kings gave them their toughest test of the tournament. Logan Kwaitkowski scored in the 3-1 loss, but it was a 2-1 game until the end. The Kings rematched with the Mariners but lost 2-1. It was another hard-fought battle and Ryan Shultz scored for the Kings. Landis and Fedon split time in net and were solid.

The 16U A National team was in Lake Placid to participate in the American Cup. It was a big test for the Kings because all the teams in the tournament were AA while the Kings are Single A. Unfortunately, the Kings came away winless but still gave it their all. “Our standout star was definitely our goalie Lucas Fleury who faced over 150 shots in the tournament,” says Head Coach Justin Smith. “We tried our best to compete but were outmatched against our opponents as we were a single A team, but the kids worked hard, and nobody quit or pointed fingers internally.” Outside the tournament the team bonded over some skiing and local attractions, and everyone had a great time.

Giving Back

To get in the holiday spirit, multiple Kings families participated in “Adopt a Family” to help a local family that was having a tough time. The Kings raised nearly $4,000 between buying presents, food, gift cards and the receiving family was extremely grateful. It was a great way to show the holiday spirit and give back to the local community.