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All-Delco Hockey: Brennan keeps proving himself on the ice


CHUCK SMITH , Special to The Times 03/12/2004

Chris Brennan has achieved a lot in his time at Radnor. Sure, the talented senior has scored a ton of goals and dished out even more assists, but he has also mastered many of the intangibles that are associated with hockey.

He is a great leader, who has led his team to two Flyers Cup Class A championships and one Class A Pennsylvania crown with chances still remaining to increase those totals. Keep in mind, though, that he has done all of this while being the main target of every team that he has played against.

Never was his leadership more apparent than in a normal ICSHL crossover game against Archbishop Carroll in January. The Red Raiders lost the game, 8-7, as they played without a goalie, but every person in attendance could see the on-ice leadership Brennan exuded and just how much he meant to his team.

"It was hard," said Brennan after that contest. "I’ve never been involved in a game like that, but our team really came together and we almost pulled it out.

"I’m proud of the way we played as a team. We rallied like we never have before."

With every shift, Brennan not only looked for ways to give the Red Raiders an offensive advantage, but to help the team keep Carroll’soffense at bay. He hit anything that moved on the ice and was carefully able to pick and choose his spots to take scoring chances. He scored five goals against a very strong Patriots team in that game. Also, while his offensive ability and hitting were keys to the game, his defense and on-ice prowess were also superb.

It is efforts like that which made Brennan the Daily Times Hockey Player of the Year for the second straight season. Brennan is joined on the All-Delco team by fellow Red Raider Nick Ryder, Anthony Fitti of Haverford High (I), Mike Cauley of Cardinal O’Hara (I) at forward, Dan Corey of Cardinal O’Hara (I), Springfield’s Mike Cassidy, and Nick DeFruscio of Monsignor Bonner (I) on the blue line and Jason Mardinly, the Cardinal O’Hara (I) goaltender. All-Delco selections were made by the Daily Times after consultation with area coaches.

"I’ve never said that Chris is very vocal, but this year, especially in the second half, he’s taken it upon himself to be more vocal," said Ed Ritti III, the Radnor coach "Now when he’s says something, everyone looks to him and he backs it up with his play on the ice.

"He just leads our team. He wants to get two or three guys shadowing him every game because he knows when they do that, he can just feed his teammates all night. He’s a dangerous player to have on the ice because he recognizes situations so well and he doesn’t use his energy in spots that he doesn’t need to."

Brennan teamed with his brother John in 2001-2002 to lead the Red Raiders to the state championship game, which Radnor lost 5-4 to Serra Catholic. When John (the Daily Times Player of the Year in 2002) graduated, Chris knew his role would have to expand and he has embraced the challenge to this day.

Many doubted whether Chris could lead a team to a Central League title, let alone a state championship last season. As usual, he proved those doubters wrong. The same people have said that Radnor cannot bring home a championship two years in a row and that is one more challenge that Brennan is willing to take head-on.

"Throughout the year we’ve gotten a lot of criticism, but we’ve tried not to listen to it," said Brennan, a member of the Junior Flyers Midget 17 Club team. "If anything, we’ve used it as a motivating factor."

Part of the reason Brennan and his teammates have achieve so much is due to the fact that program is under great leadership with coaches Ed Ritti III, Ed Ritti Jr., and Dave Wood. For Brennan, Ritti III, has been a great influence.

"Coach is an unbelievable guy," said Brennan. "He puts so much energy into and does so much for our program.

"He’s got a wife and now they have a baby, and he still is at every practice trying to make us better as team. He’s helped me develop as a player and I can’t thank him enough for what he has done for the team."

A third straight ICSHL Class A Central crown already clinched and the Flyers Cup tournament still to come, the Red Raiders will have a chance to continue to prove their doubters wrong and to play for Ritti a few more times before the Brennan era officially ends at Radnor.

"A lot of people doubt us and it has fired us up all year," Brennan said. "We know that getting to the states is going to be much more difficult this year.

It will be great if we can get back there, but if we don’t, the guys that are graduating can leave knowing that we still did a lot of great things while were here."

To contact Chuck Smith, e-mail DailyTimesHockey@aol.com
©The Daily Times 2004







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