The Bishop O'Connell hockey team is having somewhat of an up and down season. The Knights are coached/assisted by Chris Snear, Rick Hildreth, Scott Bean and Steve West (the latter is doing a brilliant job as the parent "manager"). Snear, Hildreth and Bean have been involved in the program for two seasons. West has been involved in the program for three seasons.

The Knights play in the competitive Maryland Scholastic Hockey League, which is divided into four separate divisions in the "tier one" (most competitive) level of scholastic hockey.

O'Connell plays in the "WCAC division" along with rivals DeMatha, Gonzaga, Good Counsel and St. John’s. Paul VI and Ireton play in the Virginia Scholastic Hockey League.

The other three "divisions" include the "I.A.C." — featuring such teams as Georgetown Prep and Landon, the "M.I.A.A." - featuring such teams as Calvert Hall and Mt. St. Joseph’s and the "Montgomery AAA" – featuring such teams as Sherwood and Churchill.

The Knights weigh-in with an overall record of 3-4. O'Connell has defeated St. John’s (10-0), Sherwood (6-4) and Good Counsel (6-2) and have dropped two games to Gonzaga and one apiece to DeMatha and Churchill.

The "Royal Blue and Silver" are led by standout junior goaltender Jon West.

"Jon is very calm and he sees the puck well. He has good technique, he reacts well and he cuts the angles down very well," said Snear.

In addition, senior Liam O'Connell has also played well in goal when West takes the game off or takes the half off.

On defense, junior Brandon Fay draws rave reviews from the coaching staff.

"Brandon is probably our best all-around player. He's a good two-way player. He anticipates the play and he carries the puck real well," said Snear.

The other defenseman position is manned by either: senior Andrew Healy, senior Jason Tully, junior Dan McGuire, sophomore Eric Bean or freshman Nick Raines.

Three players play offense in addition to two defenders and one goaltender for a total of six players on the ice at one time.

The "first line" primarily consists of junior Matt Willis, junior Dan Kim and sophomore Jeff Donovan.

The "second line" primarily consists of senior captain Mike O'Brien, junior Griffin Grasso and sophomore Mike Willis (Matt's brother).

"Mike (O'Brien) has only been about 90 percent due to a previous injury. He's a very physical and skilled player," said Snear.

The "third line" basically consists of a combination of junior Sean Coit, junior Rick Rudolph, sophomore John Bostwick and sophomore Dan Connell.

"We can go three lines deep and not have a drop-off in productivity. Our first line has some speed. Our second line has some muscle and our third line is pretty much a combination," said Snear.

Matt Willis, Jeff Donovan and John Bostwick have combined to score nearly half of O'Connell's 28 total goals.

"We have some very balanced scoring this season," said Snear.

All but two of the Knights play some form of club hockey when they don't suit up for O'Connell.

"We've been pretty fortunate with the injury situation, but I'm a little disappointed in the overall record. We have some good solid players with a lot of talent, but we haven't quite gelled as I would have liked. We need someone to really step up. On the bright side, we've got a large number of players returning next season. We should be very good in '04/'05," said Snear.

The Knights face-off vs. St. John’s on Jan. 30 at Fort DuPont, Good Counsel Feb. 9 at Wheaton and Calvert Hall Feb. 13 at Fort DuPont. The Maryland Scholastic Hockey League Playoffs will take place Feb. 16-20.