Butler Bantams rolling into NBHL playoffs
For being a newly-formed crew, made up of players from rival teams, the Butler Bantams haven’t faced many bumps in the road.
The team pinned up a 9-1 record in the regular season, finishing atop the standings of the second tier of the National Ball Hockey League’s Pittsburgh grouping. The Bantams earned a bye in the process and are waiting on their opponent for the semifinal round of the playoffs.
“When we picked the team, we wanted to pick people who knew the game,” said Jim Cendrowski, the Bantams’ general manager and goaltender. “A lot of us played together already, so there was some cohesiveness there. But, really, as we played each game, we jelled more and more.”
That familiarity has paid off, as Butler has gotten to this point largely without any practices.
“When we combined our teams, it just built chemistry,” said defenseman Ryan Rebmann, who has a goal and four assists this year. “We’re pretty familiar with each other, so playing all our games made it easier to click with each other.
“We just knew where to be. We knew each other’s tendencies and every single time we were down, we knew how to bounce back.”
Their defense propelled them to wins in close games early, as they gave up only one score in their initial two contests. The offense took off as the campaign moved along. With nine goals and four assists, alternate captain Dillon Hepler has led the charge. Bekk McClaine and Adam Holt have also posted double-digit points.
On the back end, understudy Christian Walleck is 5-0 with a 1.80 goals allowed average between the pipes. He stepped up when Cendrowski missed some time after testing positive for COVID-19.
The Bantams conceded three or fewer goals to the opposition in seven of their 10 clashes.
“Christian and Jim have been rock-solid,” Rebmann said. “We know that if we make a mistake, they’re going to slam the door for sure.”
Defenseman Ben McAlister was on the team’s roster the entire season, but missed most of it after undergoing a back surgery. With a powerful shot, he’s back in the fold and finding his rhythm at the best possible time.
“If we focus first defensively and play solid defense, it seems like everything else flows out of that,” Cendrowski said.
Having split the first two games of a three-game set, the Penn Hills Warlocks and the Steel Town River Raiders will meet once more on Thursday to decide who moves on to play Butler in the conference semis.
The first two games of that best-of-three series will be contested on Sunday in Penn Hills. If needed, a deciding third game would be played next Thursday.
The Bantams aim to reach the Mylec Cup, a bracket for the national championship that takes place in New Jersey in September. With two more wins, they’ll have a seat at that table.
“When we picked a name, I wanted to pick something that represented Butler, the city itself,” Cendrowski said. “Our logo has the Jeep on it and everything ... The way that we’ve been playing — hard-nosed, with heart — represents the city well, too.”
Butler beat both Penn Hills and Steel Town earlier this summer. Still, neither team will be overlooked.
“We’re not going to take any team for granted just because we took first place (in the regular season),” Rebmann said. “We know how competitive this league is.”
