In his three years as head coach at St. John Paul II, coach Chuck Jancaterino has seen his teams make some big strides each season.
The 2016 team finished with a 12-9-2 record, while last season the Lions had a 10-9-1 mark, but both times the teams exited in the first round of the playoffs.
At this present juncture, the Lions are 4-0 with their first-ever tournament championship – the JP II Hockey classic – under their belts. This weekend they will host the JP II Hockey Invitational with hopes of adding to their win total.
“The kids did a great job last weekend. They’re having some fun and they’re really skating hard,” said Jancaterino. “I think each weekend the competition keeps getting tougher for us as we go along.”
St. John Paul gained a huge measure of revenge over Cardinal Spellman – a team that bounced them from the playoffs last season in overtime – with a 7-1 victory in last weekend’s Classic. In the championship game, the Lions topped Latin Academy, 5-2.