YORKTOWN, N.Y.—After five years coaching the Brewster/Yorktown/Somers/North Salem (BYSNS) Bisons, and 13 years total coaching ice hockey, John Veteri stepped down at the end of last season, being replaced by Ryan Langkafel, his assistant coach the last two campaigns.
“John Veteri is an amazing veteran head coach, he knows the game of hockey and knows how to be a great leader,” said Langkafel, who also coaches the Yorktown girls soccer team. “I learned so much from him, like how to build a strong spirit throughout the team, execute intense and productive practices, and how to prepare the team to win games.”
The Bisons will be led by four players, including All-League honoree from last season, junior center AJ Jones (Somers).
“AJ is a very skilled and crafty player,” Langkafel said. “He has an amazing ability to set up chances for his teammates, and he can score goals at a high level. AJ will be a threat to other teams at even strength, on the power play and on the penalty kill.”
Junior All-League winger Lucas Salvatore (North Salem) is a very versatile player who can score goals, make plays, and contribute defensively.
“He can play on all units, including power play and penalty kill, he will be a huge threat to teams as an attacking player,” Langkafel said.
All-League Honorable Mention senior defenseman Michael Bonelli (North Salem) will be a leader for the Bisons’ defensive unit.
“Michael knows how to block shots, make plays, and even contribute to scoring goals,” Langkafel said.
The Bisons will also rely on senior defenseman Danny Luis (Yorktown).
“Danny is coming off an injured season last year, but was a player we would have loved to have been available, his abilities and leadership will be a huge addition back into our lineup,” Langkafel said.
Langkafel said that the team is looking to build off last year’s success, which saw it rebound from an 0-4 start to finish 11-10-1.
“We lost a close game in the quarterfinals, and we would love to put ourselves in a position to achieve more this year by making a deep run, in the playoffs,” Langkafel said.
Last year, as the No. 4 seed, the Bisons hosted No. 5 Scarsdale, losing 5-3 in the quarterfinals of the Section 1 Division 1 Tournament.
The Bisons are scheduled to open this season at the Brewster Ice Arena at 1:15 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 1 against Pearl River.
“As a first-year coach, we are looking to build a culture in the program,” Langkafel said. “We have visited all of our participating schools and have gotten a great response in numbers for the varsity and modified teams. Our goal this year is to play with our style and find success doing this, setting ourselves up for a run in the playoffs.”
Cortlandt Rebels
Cortlandt goes into another season coached by Bart Mucci, who enters his 25th campaign coaching the Rebels. He has coached them for their entire existence.
The Rebels are made up of players from Lakeland (9 players), Putnam Valley (5), Walter Panas (4), Hendrick Hudson (4), and Haldane (3).
They will need to replace their top three scorers in All-Section Jack Jimenez, who registered 52 points and 29 goals last season before graduating from Lakeland, and Nick Curry and All-League Honorable Mention Jason Piccirillo, who both went to prep schools.
Top returnees are senior All-Section Honorable Mention Nate Garofalo (Putnam Valley), junior All-Section Honorable Mention Sean Foley (Hendrick Hudson), senior Jake DiBenedetto (Lakeland), and senior Dylan Marthalar (Lakeland), who will be tasked with providing offensive production,. Seniors John Gannon (Panas) and Ryan Rosenbaum (Panas) are both expected to provide strength on the defensive side of the ice.
“We have a large senior class that has gained a lot of experience the last couple of seasons,” Mucci said. “We have two strong goalies in senior Sean Mansfield and sophomore Brandon DiBenedetto (both Lakeland). We will need to play a defensive team game to be successful.”
The Rebels will start the season at the Guy Matthews Thanksgiving Invitational Hockey Tournament at Ebersole Ice Rink in White Plains.
Their tournament schedule is 3:30 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 27 vs. Rye Town/Harrison, 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 30 vs. Mount Pleasant, and 3:15 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 1 vs. Eastchester/Tuckahoe/Bronxville/Edgemont (ETBE).
The game against Rye Town/Harrison is a rematch of last year’s Section 1 Division 1 quarterfinal. Rye Town/Harrison, as the No. 2 seed, defeated the visiting No. 7 Rebels 3-1. Cortlandt finished the season 9-12-1.
“We are always in a tough league,” Mucci said. “Our two team goals are to win our league and make a run in the sectional tournament.”
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