Middletown South still winless on the ice Young team looks to get one in the win column this week BY WARREN RAPPLEYEA Staff Writer Despite struggling out of the gate and going winless in its first seven matches, the youthful Middletown High School South ice hockey teamis poised to start winning some games, coach Stan Gutt said. The Eagles regularly feature at least three sophomores and three freshmen in the lineup- and although the team has played well at times,Middletown South has not been able to pull off a victory. "We're doing a lot of things right as a team and I'm starting to see much better positional play," the fifth-year coach said. "Sometimes they try to do too much and I have to remind them this is not pond hockey, but they're coming around. I think we're going to end strong and our goal is to get five wins." This winter is a rebuilding campaign for Gutt, whose team graduated 13 seniors from the squad that posted an 8-13-4 ledger a year ago, while competing in the New Jersey Interscholastic Hockey League's Southern Red Division. This time out the Eagles are competing in the newly Shore Conference hockey league as part of the Class A North division. While the effort has been there, opponents have been able to take advantage of the Eagles' lack of experience and size, by forechecking heavily and trying to outmuscle Gutt's younger players. Gutt said his team has done a pretty solid job defensively, but the offense has registered just 11 goals. "Our freshmen and sophomores are still adjusting and they have to learn to win at this level," Gutt added. "One of our biggest issues is finishing, we get the scoring chances, but don't put the puck in the net enough. Once we start getting a few more goals and pick up some wins their confidence will grow." At the start of the season,Gutt decided to put his teamleaders on defense,where their experiencewould helpmost. Thus, senior tricaptains James Juliano,AndrewRosenblum and Brian Valan anchor the blue line corps along with junior Chris Herring. Up front, the Lions rely on junior Joe DeMaio, who has two goals and four assists, aswell as sophomores Justin Horowitz, James Kokulak and Jimmy Valan, who have scored two goals apiece.Gutt also noted that two freshman forwards, Matt Johnson and Jason Zimmel, have playedwell.Middletown South is coming off a hard-fought 3-2 loss against Rumson Fair Haven, and Gutt is hoping that gamewill help spur a turnaround. Kokulak and Johnson scored for the Eagles and Marsillo turned aside 22 shots. In goal, the Eagles are rotating senior Glenn O'Connell with a pair of promising freshmen: ChrisMarsillo and Kevin Perret. "We have a solid group of kids to build a foundation on," Gutt said. "They're learning as they go and their time will come. Our seniors have been great as well. They know we're building for the future and they've worked with the younger players and kept good attitudes. That means a lot." The Eagles were slated to meet St. John Vianney yesterday where they were hoping to avenge an earlier 3-0 loss. Tomorrow afternoon Middletown South hosts St. Rose in a 3:15 match at the Wall Sports Arena.