Billikens Hockey First Half Summary: Frustration

(Photo Credit: Mick Lite)

One word can sum up the St. Louis Billikens first half of the season: Frustration. The Billikens finished up their first half of the season with a record of (9-12-1). (Home:5-6-1) (Away: 3-7). Whether plagued by injuries or lack of team cohesion, it’s plain and simple. The first half simply hasn’t gone the Billikens way.

The Billikens second year Captain, Senior Grad Student, Andrew Greene had this to say, “Well, coming into the year we knew it was going to be a transition year. In the past we had enough guys to form 2 teams and this year we can barely make one it seems like. I think fatigue is definitely a factor. I think just pure frustration from a personal and a team stand point. It’s the way we’ve lost certain games. I think the Robert Morris weekend was the toughest for us. Up in the 3^rd (period) both games and we couldn’t close it out. Also, the Missouri State and Illinois St. blowouts. They’re good teams. We played them tough both weekends; it just doesn’t look that way on the score sheet. I mean Friday night in Springfield we scored two goals late in the 2^nd (Period) to be within 1 to start the 3^rd (period). We just make our own grave by dumb penalties and bad play in our own end zone. It’s just the way were losing.”

Assistant Coach Eric Mebruer said, “ We just have to get better. That’s all I got.”

The injury bug has decimated both the offense and defense. James Colestock, (Lower Body) has played in just one game all season. Adam Dettenmeier (Upper Body) was out nearly a month. Chris Pilcher (Lower Body) was also out a month. Connor Mullen (Lower Body) was out 2 weeks. Alex Smith (Upper Body) out 1 game. Charlie Garavaglia (Undisclosed) has missed 5 games. Andrew Greene, (Upper Body) has also missed some time.

I asked starting Goalie, Tyler Stewart about his thoughts on the Billikens first half performance. “It’s disappointing. I understand we aren’t the team we were last year at this point. We have a young team this year, with a lot of young guys getting playing time because we don’t have a lot of depth. The injury bug has really hurt us this year. We have guys playing through injuries that play big minutes, which ultimately hurts the team because they can’t play to the best of their abilities.”

“Too many key injuries and absences,” General Manager and Head Coach, Ed Eigelberger said. “Not having Dettenmeier, Greene, Garavaglia, and Colestock healthy and available for all of the games has really hurt the teams performance. We missed Dettenmeier for several weeks. We missed Detts and Greene for Iowa. We missed Garavaglia for Robert Morris and the 2nd Missouri State game.” Eigelberger stated. “We have missed consistent play, and it shows.”

Coach Ed Eigelberger has relied heavily on the play of the rookies, such as Alex Smith and Colton Schalk. Smith, a freshmen from Texas, has helped his team in many ways this season. He is tied for 5^th on the team in points with 22 so far. (9G, 13A) He is 4^th on the team in assists. Schalk, a freshmen from Ladue High school has yet to score, but has tallied 3 assists on the year.

Consistent play from key contributors of last season have helped the Bills stay the course. Sophomore Forward Niall Caparon has posted 25 points this year (7G, 18A), followed by Senior Forward Curran Eigelberger notching 24 points (9G, 15A). The teams oldest member, Grad Student Charlie Garavaglia, leads the team with 32 points (17G, 15A).

“The Power Play has been streaky so far. It has to be better,” Garavaglia mentioned. “It would be nice to get some consistency going there. But as far as general production on my end, honestly I want to credit my line mates. Without them I don’t get those points. Niall, Greene, and I have really good chemistry. Niall is a great playmaker,” Garavaglia said. “I love playing with Greene, he works hard, and makes u work harder with the way he plays. It rubs off.”

The Billikens open up the second half of their season at home on January 16^th against the University of Illinois (9-9) with a (new) face on the roster. Junior Forward, Matt Gavula will rejoin the team starting second semester. Gavula played on the team last year and will definitely boost the Billikens offense the second half of the season. All Home games are played at Webster Groves Ice arena off Highway 44 and Elm Ave.