At 3-5-3, the varsity men’s hockey team is looking for growth in the new “Original Nine” conference.

South has faced some early struggles out of the gate—including a shutout loss to Rockford in its first league game—but Greg Abbott, senior captain and defenseman, feels that the struggles are typical at this point in the season.

“We definitely have had our ups and downs in the games,” Abbott said. “We’ve been fairly inconsistent, but those are just the things that come with [where we are] early [in the] season.”

This is the first year of the “Original Nine” conference, adding new teams to South’s schedule. According to head coach Jimmy Philbin, teams were chosen from the Metro North League as well as other top leagues, and include Loyola and New Trier.

“We created this league to be an extremely competitive league for this year and years to come, and for developmental purposes, it’s only going to make players get better,” Philbin said.

Finding its place in a new league also provides an excellent chance for South to test themselves, according to Abbott.

“Playing in this new conference is a great opportunity,” Abbott said. “We’re going to be playing against the top competition across the state of Illinois, and I think we can hang around with a lot of these teams.”

As for South, with eight sophomores on varsity, youth and inexperience define this year’s team.

“We are a very young team,” Abbott said. “[However,] I think a lot of the [young] players have the potential and have the skill to play well at [the high school] level.”

Philbin says that the amount of youth on this year’s squad translates into less physical play. However, he feels they can utilize their speed and athleticism well.

“We don’t have a lot of size and we’re not a physical team right now,” Philbin said. “[But] you don’t have to kill someone when they have the puck. It goes back to having a quick hockey team.”

Jack Washburn, senior captain and forward, also notes there are advantages with this year’s youngsters.

“They’re young and inexperienced,” Washburn said. “The one upside is [that] we got rid of a lot of slower guys from last year that couldn’t move, so we can play better defense than last year.”

However, Washburn acknowledges that this team needs to make strides in a couple key areas to be able to compete. For Washburn, this starts with the basics.

“We need to hit more,” Washburn said. “And, obviously we need to put the puck in the net more.”

As for the seasoned vets, key defenders, according to Philbin, will include Abbott, senior captain Kevin Morrison and junior captain Connor Dunham. Senior captain Eric Davis, Washburn, junior Trey Buckingham and junior Mike Dillon headline the team’s group of forwards.

With fewer returning players, Abbott feels the onus to perform falls on those more experienced players.

“I definitely think that our top line is going to have to play very well in order for us to do well,” Abbott said. “I expect [Davis and Morrison] to be some of the top scorers on the team. And Reid [McMahon, senior goalie], is primed for a big year.”

Overall, Philbin feels that the numbers will not tell the full story this season, as it will be one full of hard work in a difficult conference.

“I don’t know if the numbers really matter that much right now,” Philbin said. “I think the development of our team [does]. A .500 record in this league would be outstanding for our team this year, though.”