REVERE — Each season, coaches face the challenge of replacing a senior class and filling in those vacant roles on their rosters. Revere boys hockey coach Joe Ciccarello knows how difficult it can be to face that challenge.
Ciccarello’s Patriots qualified for the Division 3 North state tournament last winter as the No. 9 seed in the bracket, but stumbled in their first-round clash with eventual section champion Swampscott and ended the season at 9-8-4.
Now comes the challenging part. The Patriots graduated a handful of talented seniors from last season’s team, including some of their top scorers.
“There’s a lot to fill,” Ciccarello, entering his seventh season as head coach at Revere, said. “We lost a couple seniors who both had about 25 points each. We lost our highest point scorer to an ACL. We’ll have a brand new goalie. We’re really new and young up front. The bright side is we have four returners coming back on defense. We lost a lot of goals but it’s about buying in and playing together. If we can buy in and play a team game we can make up for a lot of the points we lost.”
Returning to the mix this year are senior forwards Wayne Cintolo and Zach Rufo, and senior defensemen Cam Mazza and Matt Cravotta.
From there on out, “it’s a matter of filling in with some young guys,” Ciccarello said. “Hopefully they grow up quick.”
There’s an ongoing battle for the starting goalie job. Sophomores Tristan Goroschko and JT Bowridge are competing for the role and Ciccarello said both have looked solid in the preseason.
“It’s going well,” Ciccarello said. “I haven’t really picked a starter yet. It’s going to be a good battle. They’re both young, they’re both sophomores. There’s going to be some question marks there. A total buy-in and work ethic will be the keys for how much we make up for the inexperience.”
Knowing the Patriots lack experience, and perhaps skill in certain areas, Ciccarello pointed to team camaraderie and overall work ethic as Revere’s strength. His belief is the Patriots can compete with their opponents if they outhustle them.
“I’m hoping (our strengths are) our work ethic and our conditioning,” Ciccarello said. “Wherever we lack in overall pure skill, we’re hoping to make up for in work ethic. We’re hoping the work will beat the skill.
“I felt like many times last year, we had some really skilled players, but I felt we had players going in different directions,” Ciccarello continued. “We were listening to too many voices and we weren’t moving in one direction. The only way we’re going to be successful is if I line everybody up and we work directly in one straight line.”
Ciccarello anticipates another competitive year out of the Northeastern Conference. Talented opponents like Gloucester, Lynn and Swampscott will have the Patriots battle-tested by the time March rolls around.
“The league’s very tough,” Ciccarello said. “Gloucester’s a very good Division 2 team. They’re going to be the team to beat. Lynn’s right behind them. They have a lot of good players coming back. I don’t count out Somerville. I think they’re going to be much-improved. You can’t forget about the Division 3 North champion Swampscott. They lost some players but they’ll be good. It’s going to be a tough league. There aren’t gimme’s.”
Revere opens the new season Friday night (6) against Dartmouth in the Bourne Tournament at Gallo Ice Arena. The Patriots start conference play next Wednesday (6:30) when they host Swampscott at Paul Cronin Rink.
“I think they’re very optimistic and excited,” Ciccarello said. “I think the senior class knows our key. They’re working on sticking together. If it’s going to happen we have to work together and make sure we’re all on the same page.”
