The South Shore Kings won the Founders Cup, indicative of the NCDC regular season championship, by finishing this past weekend with a 44-7-3-0 record. The Kings just barely edged past the 2023-24 Founders Cup Champion P.A.L. Jr. Islanders by three points. The Kings will be the No. 1 seed in the New England Division playoffs. They await the winner of the play-in series between the No. 4 Islanders Hockey Club and No. 5 Worcester Railers JHC.
From Head Coach and General Manager Tyler Holske’s point of view, it all starts with the commitment to excellence from across the organization.
“We have great people here in Foxboro. It starts at the top. Our President Dave Franzosa is great. He gives us everything we need in order to be successful. Sheri Cohen, our housing coordinator, also puts a lot of hard work into making all of this work. Drew Omicioli (President of Hockey Operations and NCDC Co-Coach) returned to the organization last summer. Having him back has been great. He has a great hockey mind and has helped the players grow throughout the season,” said Holske. “We also have a great support staff here in Clay Adams (Goaltending Coach), Owen Campbell (Edge Performance Systems dry-land training), Dane Holske (Game Day Ops/Social Media), Colin Faherty (Social Media), Jefferson Mills (Play by Play), Tom Smith (Scoring), Alex Rabb (Athletic Trainer) and Linc Holske (EMT). They all put so much time and effort into our organization.”
Every one of these individuals is dedicated to providing a positive and productive experience for the Kings, who have seen 14 players commit to NCAA colleges this year, including six to NESCAC schools.
“The players put in a lot of work. We have been going since Aug. 26. They have all been bought in since Day 1,” said Holske. “Our daily schedule is demanding. The guys come in every day at 9:30 a.m. We start each day with team video around 9:45 a.m. and then hit the ice around 10:15 a.m. for individual skill development. We then get into team practice around 10:45 a.m. Owen Campbell is waiting for the players upstairs for a workout at 12:30 p.m.”
The Kings built a solid foundation for this year’s team when they returned eight players from their 2023-24 Dineen Cup Championship team.
“Both teams are different in their own way. We had an elite leadership group last season, which was a big reason for our success,” said Holske. “The group we brought back for this season was able to watch how those guys did things last year and I think they have all brought a similar leadership style.”
Whether they face the Islanders or Railers to start their 2025 Dineen Cup Playoffs, the Kings will be ready with of course the main goal being to defend their Dineen Cup title.
“It’s a new season. What happened in the regular season doesn’t matter,” said Holske. “Playoff hockey is a different level. Being able to play meaningful games this time of year is an unbelievable experience and I think our group is looking forward to the challenge.”
