RallyNorth.net

Amesbury hockey team is worthy of school's support

Thursday, January, 31 By Dan Guttenplan
Sports editor

It's been a cold winter for the Amesbury hockey team | complete with lopsided losses in relatively empty rinks. The winless Indians (0-12) have yet to record their first point this season. With only six games remaining | all against teams that have already beaten them | the writing appears to be on the wall for a winless season.

This would appear to be the low point in the history of a proud program that routinely battled for Cape Ann League titles in the 1960s, 70s, 80s and 90s | even capturing a league championship as recently as 2001.

But one look at this Amesbury team will show that a low point is a matter perspective.

Despite being outscored 82-8 on the season including last night's 8-1 loss to North Reading at Graf Rink, the Indians are showing little sign of quit. Battling for every lose puck has become an Indian staple. Tireless play is the norm regardless of the deficit.

Last evening, Amesbury junior Bill Enaire netted the lone Indian goal with his team trailing 6-0 with 8:07 remaining in the second period. Fittingly, the goal came on a hustle play most players wouldn't consider making with their team trailing by six goals.

Indian netminder Matt Irwin applauded Enaire's effort by banging his stick against the ice on the opposite end of the ice.

All of this occurred with the Indians claiming a 6-1 deficit, mind you.

That's the way the Indians must approach their remaining games. Small victories must come before the ones on the final scoreboard.

"It's hard to get them up for games when our record is 0-12," Amesbury coach Peter Cignetti said. "We've got to win the small battles. In between periods, I always say, 'Let's win this period. Win your next shift.' We start small until we learn to win."

Some days that message rings hollow.

Last night, for instance, Amesbury faced a North Reading team that posted a 10-2 victory in the first meeting between the schools on Dec. 22. Cignetti knew before the rematch he'd have a tough time selling it as a winnable game to his players.

"I thought we were a little defeated before the game started," Cignetti said. "When we actually started playing, we saw we can skate with these teams. We may not have won, but we could skate with them. All I'm interested in is the effort, and we're getting that for the most part."

Cignetti is balancing his responsibilities as chief motivator with his need to teach the fundamentals to his young team. With 10 freshmen | eight of whom get regular minutes | he is teaching hockey basics more than game strategy. A recent co-op with Whittier has only exacerbated the ratio between experienced and inexperienced players. Only Whittier freshmen were eligible to join the team this winter.

"We have 14-year-old kids skating six days a week for the first time in their lives," Cignetti said. "They're exhausted. They're tired. Their bodies are probably not ready for it. It's going to take time."

With 10 freshmen, time is a luxury Cignetti might have. Steve Pizzo is the father of one freshmen | defenseman Zachary Pizzo. He believes Cignetti has the perfect mentality to lead the rebuilding project.

"It's difficult for anybody when you're losing all the time," Steve Pizzo said. "Their coach is doing a great job. The coaches support the kids. I enjoy watching them even in the face of losing. They play hard, that's all you can ask. I'm proud of them."

So, it would appear, are several dozen Amesbury students who attended last night's game. Although the Amesbury student section dwindled down to about a dozen loyal fans at game's end, there still appeared to be a positive sentiment about the team's effort.

"They're still playing for the pride of the school," said Cody Trottier, who sat in the Amesbury student section. "In school, they're treated the same as anyone else who plays a sport. They go to school happy after games no matter what. They carry themselves like things are going well."

And maybe that's a quality they'll continue to possess long after the losses have been forgotten.