After a one-year hiccup in 2014–15, Cherokee ice hockey got back to its winning ways this season.
The Chiefs completed the 2016 season with a lot of hardware. Cherokee won its fifth South Jersey High School Hockey League championship in six years on Feb. 26 with a dramatic 5–4 overtime win over Washington Township to win the Tier 1-A title. Cherokee then participated in the New Jersey and Delaware bracket of the Flyers Cup tournament and came out victorious, defeating Salesianum, 5–3, in the finals on March 18. It is the second time in four years Cherokee has won both the SJHSHL championship and Flyers Cup in the same season.
The 2015–16 season was satisfying for Cherokee after the team had an uncharacteristically disappointing year in 2014–15. That season, the Chiefs had its run of four straight SJHSHL championships snapped and failed to even advance to the finals.
“The previous year was a letdown,” head coach Scott McKay said. “It was tough, because we had been so successful.”
“We knew we could have won,” senior Kyle Horner said about the 2014–15 season. “We were overconfident. We walked into every game thinking, ‘We’re Cherokee.’”
This season had a different feel for the Chiefs. Gone was the overconfidence of the past season. Instead, the team was focused on bringing a championship back to Cherokee.
“The seniors knew this was their last year,” senior Boomer Miller said. “We wanted to win another championship before we leave.”
The Chiefs were helped with an influx of young players. Cherokee had four freshmen and four sophomores joining the upperclassmen on the varsity team.
“The seniors last year didn’t have as much motivation as we had,” Horner said. “What really motivated us more was the incoming freshmen. They gave us new life.”
After an up-and-down first half of the season, Cherokee caught fire late, winning 14 of its last 15 games. The late surge helped the Chiefs edge Moorestown and Washington Township for the №1 seed in the Tier 1-A playoffs.
Cherokee faced a difficult challenge in the double elimination playoffs, however, when it lost an overtime game against Clearview in its first playoff game. Despite having their backs against the wall, the Chiefs rallied in the losers’ bracket, defeating Black Horse, 5–3, and blowing out Clearview in a rematch, 7–2, to advance to the finals against defending champion Washington Township.
“I was extremely nervous for both of those games,” admitted senior Anthony Salvatore.
Cherokee needed to beat the Minutemen twice to win the championship. It was up to the task in the first game, winning easily, 6–2, to set up a winner-take-all game for the championship.
“After you get that first win, you get all the momentum,” Miller said.
Still, the Chiefs faced adversity in the final game against the Minutemen. Washington Township jumped out to a two-goal lead and held the lead through the first half of the game. Despite being down, McKay was confident his team would come from behind.
“When we’re down a couple goals, I feel so confident our kids will come back and win this game. I never doubt them.”
Salvatore scored a power play goal late in the second period for Cherokee and then scored again early in the third period to tie the game at 4. It was late in the game when Cherokee’s depth proved to be huge.
“We knew if it was a 3–3 game in the third period, they’re playing two lines and we’re playing four, these guys are going to have that energy left,” McKay said. “It took us all the way to overtime in that last game.”
In sudden death overtime, Miller scored on a shot in front to bring the Tier 1-A championship back to Cherokee.
Salvatore said this year’s team was able to win the championship because of how much depth there was and how close everyone was.
“The other times we won, we relied solely on fewer guys,” he said. “This year, it was more like a team effort and a family effort.”
“We were a pretty solid team whether we won the championship,” he added. “But it definitely gave us motivation to do better (in the Flyers Cup).”
The Flyers Cup would present Cherokee with a new challenge. The Chiefs ended up playing three Delaware teams in the tournament, including a game against Delaware Military Academy in the semifinals — a team many of the players felt was Cherokee’s toughest opponent all season.
“Delaware Military Academy was the best team we played all year,” Horner said. “They play La Salle, they play all these great prep schools in Pennsylvania. They’re better than the teams we’re playing.”
“The Delaware teams are definitely different than the teams here we play,” Miller said. “Everyone is getting a feel for each other at the beginning of the games.”
Still, Cherokee was up to the challenge. After blowing out St. Mark’s High School in the quarterfinals, 8–1, the Chiefs grinded out a 7–4 win over Delaware Military Academy thanks to a three-goal third period. In the finals, Cherokee jumped in front of Salesianum early and held on for a 5–3 win.
The Flyers Cup title was the first for Cherokee since the creation of a separate New Jersey and Delaware bracket in 2014. The Chiefs previously won the Flyers Cup in 2013 competing against Pennsylvania schools in the AA division. Miller and some of the other seniors were on that team and noticed a lot of similarities with this year’s club.
“As a freshman, we had a lot of great seniors,” Miller said. “It was the same thing as this year.”
McKay admitted losing players such as Miller, Horner and Salvatore will be tough next season, but having a strong young core will help Cherokee in its title defense next season.
“The future looks bright,” he said.
