The Avon Eagles hockey team is coached by Kyle Botos who is entering his fourth season behind the bench. Last season, Avon finished with a record of 5-20-3 (2-11-0 in the White South Division). They move on to the White North this season and are looking forward to the challenge.

Botos said his team learned a lot from last season as they were involved in five overtime games and eight other games decided by 1-2 goals. “Although we were a younger team then most in our division,” Botos said. “We learned that if we eliminate mistakes, we have the talent to compete against anybody.”

Avon has a solid core of returning players such as sophomore Michael Perusek who brings his 21 points and senior Ian Dargai who brings his 17 points to this year’s squad. The captains of the team are Chris Reitmann who has strong leadership qualities. The goaltending unit will be shared by junior Kyli Warnkin and sophomore Ben Boka. This duo shared duties last season and had about equal save percentages. 

Botos is excited about the freshmen class, six in total, who he will be counting on early and consistently. There are some additions to the roster to keep an eye on: Max Summers, Alex Tompkins, and Tommy Hagan.

“It will be exciting to see how they adjust to the high school level and bring the energy/skill to the team this year,” said Botos.

Despite their previous record and how young the Eagles are, Botos had no fear in scheduling local Toledo powerhouse Toledo St. John’s for their first road game of the year.  Avon has since competed in the also will compete this year in the Tim Alexander and Adam Hamilton memorial tournaments.  They will also compete in the Avon Lake Christmas Tournament, and the Southwest Conference Tournament, which they hope to win for the first time in school history.

In addition to their White North league schedule, Botos also added some local JV powerhouses to play such as Holy Name, Gilmour Academy and Rocky River.

Asked about the schedule, Botos replied “We look forward to the challenge and opportunity. I want to thank St. Johns for giving our small school an opportunity to compete against one of the best teams in the state.”

The Eagles struggled to score goals last year and that will be key topic for the upcoming season.  Botos says his senior core – Chris Reitmann, Connor Wing, Jack Goetz, and Ian Dargai will be counted on to lead this team.

“Chris will be workhorse on the defensive side and other three will be counted to score goals and play in critical situations,” he said.  “The young forward line entering the second year, I would like to see them take the next steps. They should be able to control the game and counted to help with the scoring production.”

Avon is 3-7-0 through its first 10 games and will return to league play this weekend when they face off with Kent Roosevelt in North Olmsted on Saturday.  Ironically, the Eagles and Rough Riders faced each other Sunday on the last day of the Hamilton Tournament.

“We should be able to push the pace little more this year against opponents,” said Botos.  “We have strong leadership on the defensive side which will be crucial for us to win games. Our forwards will be led by the senior of the group and followed by young core this upcoming season.”

--- Thomas Liegl for Ohio Hockey Digest