Rice hockey hopes for better days ahead

Updated: March 23, 2011 9:54AM

Ten years ago, they were on their way to winning the Kennedy Cup, still the Holy Grail of high school hockey, and a fourth-place finish in state.

Those accomplishments should have assured Brother Rice future success.

Granted, the Crusaders were competitive for a few years afterward. The recent past, however, has not been kind to Rice, which finds itself in the hockey abyss. The Crusaders are 0-12 in the Catholic League. Worse yet, they've been outscored - sit down, folks - 129 to 6.

The final outcome of many games resemble football scores - 14-0, 10-0. How did this tailspin happen to a program that produced former Blackhawk Eddie Olczyk?

Blame it on a combination of a revolving door of head coaches, overzealous parents and a lack of attention by the Brother Rice administration.

There even have been whispers Rice is considering mothballing the program. School president Dr. Kevin Burns emphatically kick-saved that question to the corner.

"We're not going to give hockey up," said Burns, who's in his first year as president at 99th and Pulaski. "There's no chance of that happening. We're going to build the program back up."

The win-loss record may not indicate it, but Rice hockey, like other athletic programs at the school, is in position for a rebirth.

"All the good hockey programs have stability," said Jamie Pembroke, the first-year president and director of Rice's hockey club. "When you don't, this is what happens. We're coming around and we're a better team now than we were two months ago. To these players' credit, they continue to work hard and come to practice every day. Generally, we're competitive for the first period. But in the middle of the second period, things don't bode well for us right now."

A lack of depth and yes, overall talent, are why the Crusaders are the doormat of the Catholic League.

A program that once boasted 35 players and fielded varsity and junior varsity squads now has just 18 members.

That includes 10 sophomores and freshmen, who arguably would be better served developing on the JV but are forced to compete against players two and three years older.

At the same time, the experience should expedite their development and hasten Rice's return to prominence.

All signs point to it.

Pembroke was behind the bench when the Crusaders won the Cup in 2001 and was a success story during prior coaching stops at De La Salle and St. Laurence. I know this much: The man knows what it takes to produce a winner.

At 55, he admits he no longer can perform the daily duties required of a head coach.

Those responsibilities are better served by a younger man - in this case, Pembroke's son, Jamie Jr., a key player on the Crusaders' 2001 Kennedy Cup team.

While Pembroke Jr. was filling the net during that marvelous run, goalie Joe Dovalina was preventing pucks - often in spectacular fashion - from entering Rice's net.

Dovalina is Pembroke Jr.'s assistant.

The 1-2 alumni punch behind Rice's bench is the award-winning recipe for a turnaround.

"We're in this for the long haul," Pembroke Jr. said. "I have no better memories than when I played hockey at Rice. My freshman year, we were 1-18. My senior year, we were a top 10 team in the state and won the Cup. We're working hard on getting kids here. I know we can get it done."

Allow me to remind you how St. Rita and Fenwick struggled for stretches in the 1980s and 1990s. It wasn't until the schools made hockey a priority again, with St. Rita hiring Craig Ferguson, that their fortunes changed.

Rice's transformation will require patience. Freshmen Ryan Boyle, Kevin Hartwig and Jim Brosnahan, along with sophomore Ryan West and juniors Zack Salgado and Charlie Metzler, are skilled.

The Pembrokes are hoping an infusion of eighth-grade talent will provide additional skill and depth next fall.

I'll tell you what, if an eighth grader is looking to see an abundance of ice time as a freshman and be a part of a resurgence, Rice is a good option.

"We're (Catholic League programs) all going after the same South Side hockey players," said Pembroke Sr., who praised seniors Mike Lynch, Mike Spingola, Barry Gray and Robby Bessett for their loyalty and work ethic. "If they come to Rice, they'll be able to work on their skills and excel and get a great education. They'll get an opportunity to play a lot. If there are any eighth-grade players who want an opportunity to play and restore pride at Rice, we'll take them."

With open arms.

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