‘Season of the Underdog’
Brother Rice’s Winter sports teams go into battle mode
By Jake Riem
are in the process of getting
Chieftain Staff
our numbers up. We are also
Call the 2017-18 winter
a young team. We have three
sports season at Brother Rice
upperclassmen and the rest
the Season of the Underdog.
underclassmen. Some new,
First off, the Wrestling
some experienced, but having
team is on the rise. After
new kids come out is a good
having little to no competi-
thing.”
tors last year, we have seen
Expect good things this year
a surge in participants, and
for wrestling.
equally in spirit, for the up-
Basketball is also another
coming season. They may be
rising force that could make
young, but they are willing
a run in the Catholic League.
to put in the work with their
With veteran leaders with
blue-collar attitude and take
years of experience who
Swimming will have a different look after last year’s State title
on any team that dares to chal-
understand the long season and
lenge them. All the returning wrestlers,
playoffs, the team plans on making the
example for the young Warriors.
including Junior Max Ratton, have
season a fruitful one. These guys
“I think we have a better shot than
experience and can teach and lead by
previous years,” said Ratton. “We still
See UNDERDOG, Page 6
New-Look League Off to Good Start
Look for Red Wings to fi gure in playoff race
By Bobby Kunz
Chieftain Staff
Headlined by young stars and the
newly found Las Vegas Knights, the
National Hockey League season is off
to an interesting start.
Stars are getting younger, smaller
and faster. For example, look at the top
rookies so far this season. Nico Hischer
(Devils) and Clayton Keller (Coyotes)
are headlining the league, despite both
weighing under 173 pounds.
Offseason moves also are impacting
the season. Some of the most notable
were Kevin Shattenkirk, who moved
from the Capitals to the Rangers; the
Stars picking up Ben Bishop from the
Lightning; and the Predators signing
Nick Bonino from the Penguins.
B ROTHE R R IC E H I G H S C H O O L C H I E F TA I N
But the biggest head-
line remains the Las
Vegas Golden Knights.
The NHL awarded Las
Vegas an expansion
team in 2016, the fi rst
PREVIEW NHL expansion team
since 2000, and the Knights are at the
top of the Pacifi c Division and don’t
look like they will be declining anytime
soon.
The Tampa Bay Lightning and St.
Louis Blues look to be the favorites
to win the Stanley Cup this year, but
don’t be surprised to see both Toronto
and Pittsburgh make some strong
pushes.
As the individuals go, Steven Stam-
kos (Lightning) is back to his old ways
P AGE 8
after rebounding from an injury last
season and teammate Nikita Kucherov
is tearing up the league with his goal-
scoring ability. Corey Crawford (Black-
hawks) and Martin Jones (Sharks)
are two of the best goaltenders in the
league so far.
Our hometown favorite, the Red
Wings, are on the edge of the playoff
race, led by encouraging performances
from young forwards Dylan Larkin,
Anthony Mantha and Gustav Nyquist.
Another thing going for Detroit is the
signing of Andreas Athanasiou. Goal-
ies Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek
are playing steady, but the team
continues to be plagued by the defense
and powerplay. Figure the Wings to
snag a 7 or 8 seed this year.
N O V E M B E R 2017