Royal Oak

Hanging in there

By Mike Moore
C & G Sports Writer

Shrine hockey stays near .500 in second year as varsity team, despite low numbers

ROYAL OAK — He’s not entirely surprised at how things have gone thus far, but in all reality, he couldn’t be more proud.

Proud of the way his guys have worked, and proud of the way his guys have played.

And even with a record two games under .500 at press time, proud of the current state of the Royal Oak Shrine hockey program.

“We’ve got a roster of just 13 guys, including a goalie, but they are out there every day working to get better and working to improve,” coach Gerald Piku said last week of his squad, which is in just its second year as a varsity sport. “They’ve done a great job learning the system we’ve taught, and they continue to play strong. If we had another line of skaters and another pair of defensemen, there’s no question our record would be better. But I can’t complain at all.”

The Knights were 7-9 at press time, hardly anything to scoff at for a team with just three lines.

As for not being surprised at this season, Piku more or less saw things unveiling the way they have.

“We had 17 guys a year ago, but with the anticipated graduation and a couple others we knew wouldn’t return to the team, I expected numbers to be a little down,” he explained. “We expect things to come back up next year. We know of some younger guys who are going to play, and the guys on the team need to do a good job of recruiting hockey players in the school.”

Even with low numbers this season, Piku is confident about the health of the overall program.

“This is a program that we expect to prevail and do well in the future,” he said. “As long as we have the type of kids on this team like we do now, that are hard working, dedicated and have a passion for this game, we’re going to be all right.”

You can reach C & G Sports Writer Mike Moore at mmoore@candgnews.com or at (586)498-1038.