Spirit confident heading into upcoming season

The Springfield Spirit hockey team has its eyes on the national championship.

The team members proved their abilities last season at the Junior A level North American Hockey League playoffs against Detroit Compuware. In a best-of-three series, the Spirit lost the third game in overtime. Detroit went on to win the league and national titles.

The Spirit finished their regular season last spring with a 23-29-4 record. The Spirit moved to Springfield from St. Louis after the completion of the Jordan Valley Ice Park in 2001.

Ten new team members have joined the returning players. The new players were selected during a camp that brought 80 hockey players to Springfield in August. Those players were selected from regional camps in Detroit, St. Louis, Madison, Wis., and Vancouver, British Columbia.

Potential Spirit players will soon arrive from Finland in hopes of securing the two remaining spots on the team.

Coach Brian Hannon is confident in the ability of this year's team, which is comprised of players between the ages of 16 and 20.

"We're really going to challenge to be at the top of the league, and I expect to win," he said. "That's the way I approach life, the way I approach business. I prepare myself harder. I train harder. I do all of the stuff, so by the time my preparation takes me to a game, the game becomes easy because I'm ready for it."

It doesn't hurt that the Spirit is the only team in the NAHL to have both goalies returning. "Sean Caruso and Max Buetow are both proven veterans," Hannon said. Six out of nine defensemen are back from last year, as well.

The Spirit's 56-game regular season schedule puts them in a potentially good position as well, Hannon said. Early in the season, several games are on the road, and, with a veteran team, that's an advantage, he said. If the team is successful on the road "we can shoot right to the top of the table," Hannon said.

Jordan Valley Ice Park also is a big advantage for the Spirit.

"From the fan's point of view, it's a beautiful facility," Hannon said. "You're right on top of the action. When we look across from the bench at a full house, you can see eyeballs in the top row. That type of environment and excitement that's generated that's contagious and the team feeds on that."

The Springfield Spirit's first weekend of league play was at a North American Hockey League showcase tournament Sept. 6-8 in Lansing, Mich. That tournament and another showcase tournament Oct. 11-14 in Detroit, gives college and National Hockey League scouts an early look at recruiting players, according to Hannon.

The Spirit played its first game an exhibition match to benefit Ozarks Food Harvest Aug. 24 in front of 750 fans. More than 95 percent of last year's season ticket holders renewed their tickets. "Once they come, they're hooked," Hannon said.

Season ticket sales are already ahead of the total number of season tickets sold last year, according to Lisa Zimmerman, marketing director at Jordan Valley Ice Park. The Spirit averaged 675 fans per game last season.

The team is offering sampler packages, which include six games and the opportunity to purchase tickets for the remainder of the season once those games are over. The Spirit hopes that will generate new hockey fans in Springfield, Hannon said.

Hannon, who has coached the Springfield Spirit hockey team since last November, is pleased with the city's response to ice hockey. "The boys love playing here," he said.

"They know that it's only going to get more popular."

Some players have turned down full scholarships to come back to Springfield and develop to where they can receive a similar offer from a school of their choice, he said.

One of those players is 20-year-old Tony Zancanaro, team captain and a forward from Detroit, who has been with the Spirit for three years. A main factor in Zancanaro's decision to continue playing for the team, he said, is the coaching staff. "They really know how to develop skills on and off the ice. Everything is run professionally, and it's a good atmosphere," Zancanaro said.

According to Hannon, the program is focused on getting kids ready for college. "That's what this program should be," he said. "Moving players to the next level of education."

Zancanaro is looking forward to what he believes will be a successful season.

"Everybody is focused on the same thing," he said. "You've got to have different types of players, attitudes and character, and we've got the right mix. Everyone likes to work hard, and that's what it takes."