RiverHawks want to take next step

AUGUSTA, GA – By any measurement, the Augusta RiverHawks hockey team’s inaugural season was downright amazing. League MVP going to their captain Matt Auffrey. Multiple players on the All-SPHL teams. Coach of the Year honors. A ride to the President’s Cup finals.
Rookie head coach Brad Ralph, the man who made all the right moves in guiding the RiverHawks to a second place finish in the regular season and the trip to the finals, now has the task of answering the age old question that follows an outstanding freshman campaign: How do you avoid a sophomore slump?
The answer, according to Ralph, is the same as it was last year: work, work and more work.
“My expectations, they were high last year and they’re even higher this year but it’s a completely different team. It’s something we’re going to have to work toward,” Ralph said. “I don’t expect us to be the best team in our league on October 20th. It’s something that’s going to take time. We’ll have a young team. There’s going to be a lot of coaching and practicing and working to get us to where we need to be.”
Even the highest of expectations could not have anticipated what the RiverHawks

accomplished a year ago. After a rough opening weekend, Augusta got better and better with each game. Ralph and his roster laden with rookies finished the year with a 35-21 record, barely missing out on catching the Mississippi Surge for the regular season crown.
That was just part of the story. The RiverHawks were a model of consistency, posting a 17-11 record at home and a league best 18-10 mark on the road. They went on winning streaks of eight games in late January and eleven to finish the season. The RiverHawks scored the second most goals in the regular season (203) and allowed the fourth fewest goals (177) on defense. While the power play was not top notch (16.11 percent success rate), the penalty killing was very good (83.55 percent kill rate and eleven short-handed goals).
“It was as close to a Cinderella season as I could have imagined. It was a lot of work. It wasn’t luck. We worked hard collectively here as a hockey team,” Ralph said. “No I didn’t expect that. We just had a great bunch of guys with a work ethic. It was an exciting bunch of guys. We had 13 or 14 rookies. It was arguably the most exciting hockey I’ve seen in my years of hockey.”
Cinderella’s run continued into the President’s Cup playoffs. Augusta dispatched Pensacola in three games and followed that with a hard fought victory over Columbus to earn a spot in the finals against the Surge. Scheduling and two grueling series finally caught up with the RiverHawks as Mississippi won the best-of-five series in three straight games, skating with the trophy on Augusta’s home ice.
Ralph said that even with all of the success his team had, losing in the finals was especially tough for the players to take.
“It was devastating for these guys. We all kind of came together throughout the year. We had each other’s back and we worked very hard so when we came up short in the finals, they were devastated,” he said. “We were up against an exceptional team for this level. I don’t think we were embarrassed by any means and I don’t think anyone in the league would say that. It was just disappointing because they put their heart and soul into everything last year.”
With last season now fully in the rear view mirror, Ralph is focused on the upcoming campaign. Unlike the previous off-season,Ralph has had to be more creative with his recruiting thanks to his squad’s success. Many of Ralph’s players earned invitations to either ECHL or CHL training camps based on their play a year ago.
“It’s been a frustrating summer recruiting-wise for me personally. We built this program up so much and then naturally with having such a successful team and such a young team, these players are all moving on to the next level,” he said. “It’s great for them. That’s ultimately why I feel like I’m doing what I’m doing but it still leaves you kind of starting over.”
Ralph was able to hang on to a core group of players while he waits to see if any of his guys return from the higher level camps. Arguably the most important off-season signing was Augusta’s captain and league Most Valuable player Matt Auffrey.
Auffrey played in all 56 regular season games for the RiverHawks, scoring 21 goals and adding 49 assists for 70 points, just six off the pace of SPHL scoring champ Chris Leveille of Fayetteville. He was a solid two-way player, finishing the year with a plus-21 rating. He was a leader on the ice but Ralph said that Auffrey’s leadership off the ice was even more impressive.
“His on-ice ability was about what we expected last year. What I was impressed with and what I thought kind of really jelled this team last year was his leadership off the ice. I didn’t expect that and it was a welcome surprise,” Ralph said. “He was helping us move furniture, move players in. Just a willingness to help out at any time. I thought the younger players really kind of took to that leadership and rallied behind him. He created a great atmosphere within the room. That’s not to say he was the only one but he certainly was one of the main leaders on this team.”
Another of the returning players, Jim Gehring, will be looking to build on his performance. After coming from the Federal Hockey League part way through the year, Gehring made his presence felt with 17 points in 31 games played.
“He’s a natural skater. It’s nice to watch and a little frustrating to watch at the same time. It’s so easy for him to skate up and down the ice. He can fly,” Ralph said. “If he dedicates himself this year like he did last year, he’s going to have a great year. He’s got an unbelievable shot and we’re working on some things with him. I told Jim that I expect him to have a breakout year so we’ll see how he does.
Tough guys Aaron McGill and Lucas LaBelle are also back up front. LaBelle (14-15-29, plus-10 rating) proved to be a find, combining scoring and physical play. McGill was the team’s enforcer, pounding opponents and becoming a lightning rod for the other teams to focus on.
One new face that Ralph is excited to see is forward Jesse Eckternach. Eckternach was nearly a point-per-game producer for the Fargo-Moorhead Jets of the NAHL (junior level league) before playing for four year at Div. 1 Mercyhurst College. Another is center Kyle Watson who at 6-2 and 210 pounds, who played collegiate at Div. 3 Adrian College who sports a reputation as a solid two-way player with a great work ethic.
On defense, Ralph has a number of players back. Jason Price was rock solid on theblue line, contributing 11 goals and 24 assists while posting a plus-21 rating. Price, who will be Ralph’s player/assistant coach, will be expected to take on more of a leadership role. Drew Baker (4-7-11, plus-17), who also came from the FHL, went from being a replacement player to one of the RiverHawks top two defensemen in the playoffs. Also back for another season is Ed Snetsinger (5-10-15, plus-11) who split his time between Augusta and higher league a year ago.
Then there is Curtis Megginson. Megginson was the feel good story of the year in Augusta, making the team out of its free agent camp and impressing people with his steady play. He had 19 points and a plus-5 in 51 games but his worth couldn’t be measured in numbers.
“Curtis was voted our unsung hero. He’s a very pleasant, nice young man who goes about his business. He really does wear his heart on his sleeve on the ice,” Ralph said. “Hopefully he can step up and take more of a significant role for us on the back end and build off what he did last year. He’s got the tools. It’s just a matter of dedicating himself and wanting to get better and I know he has those characteristics.”
Between the pipes, Jon Olthuis who was last year’s number one net minder for the RiverHawks, is getting a shot at a higher level, leaving the starting spot open. Peter Skoggard, another pickup from the FHL, is back looking to improve on his performance from last season. Down the stretch, Skoggard spelled Olthuis when needed and posted a perfect 6-0 record with a 2.54 goals against average and a .924 save percentage.
“Peter is a very calming personality in the net. I think that really puts the players at ease to know that you’ve got someone back therethat’s confident in what they do and he’s going to stop the puck,” Ralph said. “We’re looking for Peter to really build off of last season as well.”
With Skoggard almost a lock to make the roster, Ralph is searching for a second goalie. He said that a prime candidate for the job is Caledon East, Ontario native David Wilson. Wilson, who played college hockey for the University of Maine Black Bears, played 14 games in the CHL last year between Laredo and Evansville. Ralph said that Wilson is a positionally sound net minder with a great attitude who should fit well into the RiverHawks plans.
Ralph admits that his team may not be at its best come opening night Thursday against the defending champion Surge but given time he believes they could do something special again this year.
“It’s something we’ll work towards. We’ll get better as the year goes on,” he said. “Hopefully we’ll make the right decisions along the way and it’ll reward us like it did last year.”
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com