Vikings hockey team continues march to states

Central Catholic hockey has set a high standard for its players under the highly successful, four-year helm of coach Kevin Zielmanski.

The Vikings were the state Class AAA runner-up in the 1997-98 season, losing to Seton-La Salle in the final. And they reached the final four of the state playoffs in 1999, losing to Meadville in the Penguins Cup.

Central Catholic posted a respectable 11-7-5 record last season. However, by falling short of the previous accomplishments, the Vikings were left with an empty feeling over the record.

'The kids are aware of the winning tradition. They want to continue the success,' Zielmanski said. 'I think it (the pressure to win) affected us a little last year. We were a young team, and it may have caused some problems.'

This season, the Vikings seem to be enjoying the role of a powerhouse. Central Catholic leads the North Division with a 12-4 record going into Thursday night's game against Baldwin.

'I think our team has learned to play with the high expectations. They seem to embrace it,' said Zielmanski, who believes his players regained their confidence with a come-from-behind win over Fox Chapel early this season.

'After we lost to Shaler, we came back on Fox Chapel to win,' Zielmanski said. 'We got behind 2-0 in that game and won, 5-2. I think we started to realize we could win after we beat Fox Chapel.'

And the Vikings fit into the mold of the school's championship teams. They are a physical team that relies heavily on a strong defense.

'Defense has always been one of our strengths, and we seem to be playing our best when we're playing physical hockey,' Ziemanski said.

The Vikings defense has allowed only an average of 16 shots on goal in 16 games, and they have surrendered only 34 goals.

Central Catholic has plenty of depth on the defensive unit with six quality players rotating at the position. There is so much talent on defense that Zielmanski even moved defensemen Jeff Race and Tim Schuster to forward.

The leaders of the defensive unit are Bach Roberts and Jeff Reich. They are two of three Vikings named to the PIHL Class AAA Northeast All-Star team.

'Those two have been logging a lot of minutes,' Zielmanski said.

And Central Catholic has been strong in net with two first-year goaltenders in senior Dan Stuckeman and freshman Russ Hefner. Stuckeman has emerged as the No. 1 goaltender with a 9-3 record and 2.06 goals-against average. Hefner is 3-1 with a 2.29 average.

But the Vikings aren't all defense.

'Our success this season has been generated by more offense by our team,' said Zielmanski, whose team has scored 63 goals.

The Vikings' scoring leader is senior forward Mike Zajko with eight goals, 15 assists and 23 points. The third Vikings' all-star selection, Zajko reached the 100-point milestone for his career earlier this month.

'Zajko is a terrific player for us the last four years,' Zielmanski said. 'He is a good skater. He'll finish the play when he gets the chance.'

As reflected by the team statistics, the Vikings rely on scoring balance and a strong defense. Zajko is followed closely by John Chimel and Roberts with 18 points apiece.

'We don't have one star, but we have a lot of very good players,' Zielmanski said.

And his players are beginning to play with confidence.

'The key for every team is to peak for the playoffs in late February and March,' Zielmanski said. 'If we're playing well then, we have a good chance to go far.'