Salem boys hockey progressing quickly through season

When he first saw the schedule, Mark McGinn knew that the middle of January was going to be an important time for the Salem High School boys hockey team.

Coming off a bit of a rebuilding year a season ago, and a disappointing early playoff exit the year before, McGinn and his coaching staff decided to take a different approach to the season with a younger team.

"We haven't done well in the playoffs, so we've kind of changed it a little bit," he said. "We really hadn't even hammered our coverages yet. I pushed it off so the focus wasn't so hard in the beginning."

The result was a team that felt a little looser going into games, something that would be key while the Blue Devils (4-1-1) were in that mid-January stretch.

So far, Salem has held it's own, going 1-1-1 in games against Bedford, Bishop Guertin and Bishop Brady. The Blue Devils take on Londonderry (5-2) on Wednesday, and after a game against Trinity (1-5), end the stretch with Pinkerton (4-1).

"For me, that's what I wanted to see, as a coach, how are we going to compete against these teams," McGinn said. "The small things, I can fix during practice. I wanted to see what our effort came up to, and it did."

"I think, again, minus some tweaking, and with (goalie) Paddy (Capsalis) playing well, we proved we can be on the ice with these teams, which is what we wanted. We didn't want lopsided (games)."

Capsalis has been a big reason for the Blue Devils success, especially in the last two games. In the 1-1 tie against Bishop Guertin last Wednesday, the Salem goalie stopped 49 shots, and followed it up with 21 saves in a 4-0 win over Bishop Brady.

"We're a system-type team and we put a system in," McGinn said. "A lot of it was designed for outside shots and let Paddy see them. We looked good at times and a little sloppy at times.

"We try to take the middle away on any rushes, keep it outside and put your stick on stick. It all starts from there, not letting them cut back and get to that open area. When it's in the corners, our system is set up to keep it outside. It doesn't always work that way, but that's what we practice."

Salem has also gotten a scoring lift from some of its younger players, with sophomore Mitchell McGinn and freshman Kevin McGuire stepping up to handle some of the load on offense.

But leading the way for the Blue Devils has been junior Matty Pappaldaro, who had a hat trick in the win over Bishop Brady.

"Matty is a great leader," McGinn said. "He's a physical presence. He hits hard. He brings something with him, that will to compete.

"With him it starts with physical. If he's banging and he's moving his feet, he's really effective. He might not wear a 'C,' but he’s a big leader for us. He is going in a positive direction."

And so are the Blue Devils, who take on Londonderry at 5:40 p.m. on Wednesday at the Salem Icenter.