Schlapak giving Dover boys hockey offense from the blue line

When the Dover High School boys hockey team started preseason practices, junior Alex Schlapak thought he knew what his role would be.

A defenseman all the way up until freshman year, Schlapak played mostly as a forward during his sophomore season, filling in a need for the Green Wave. Coming into this year, he figured it would more of the same, but it didn't take long before he realized that wouldn't be the case.

Schlapak has played back on the blue line again this season, but his ability to contribute offensively doesn't appear to have been affected at all. Through 12 games this season, Schlapak has 12 goals, including three in last Saturday's 6-1 win over Merrimack.

"He played forward for us last year, and we're a little light on defense, so he's playing defense for us this year," Dover coach Mike Young said. "But he's still producing offense, which is huge for us."

It hasn't just been that Schlapak is scoring goals, but when he's scoring them.

"The thing about him, too, is that he scores a lot of timely goals for us, when we really need them," Young said. "We lean on him and he wants to be out there every shift. He's a great kid, he's a competitor, he's got a great shot."

That shot has been a big reason for Schlapak's success, as most of his scoring has been done away from the net.

"Shoot with authority, that's what I know," he said. "It makes those goals happen. I don't go bear down, I don't pick them, I just shoot hard, and it ends up in the net.

"As long as I'm out there (it doesn't matter). Defense, I get more ice time, so I don't mind it. It doesn't change the fact that we need to win. I'm just trying help out."

Dover (8-4) has been doing a lot of winning of late, as the Green Wave have rattled of six straight wins after losing four of six to start the season. During the streak, Dover has outscored its opponents 32-9.

"We had been playing well, even in a few losses, we were happy with how we were improving," Young said. "As every game goes on, we felt like we've been improving. We've got a close team, we've got great chemistry. They want to come to the rink every day, and they want to compete, and they want to play well, and they want to learn. It's been great."

The Green Wave return to the ice on Saturday when they host Spaulding (5-4) at 6 p.m. in a rematch of the season opener. The Red Raiders won that game 4-1.