Winter Sports Q&A – Ellwood City Part 1

Winter sports have arrived in Ellwood City.

Hockey and Wrestling are among the popular sports for students at Lincoln High School. We caught up with the athletes of those teams to see what they are doing to prepare for the upcoming rivalries, to offer some perspective on the season ahead and their plans for the future.

This is part one of a four part series featuring area athletes in winter sports.

Our Ellwood City Part 2 winter sports Q&A segment is coming tomorrow.

@shotbypnash

Connor Michaels

School? Lincoln High School/ Ellwood City

Sport? Hockey

Grade? 9

How many years have you have played? 10

What are you most looking forward to in the upcoming season? My first start

How do you hope to improve this year? Playing with the older kids will improve the speed of my game

What do you feel is your biggest strength? I feel my glove side is my strongest attribute

What is your favorite part of it? My favorite part is being able to be myself with the boys and improving my play

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? Our biggest rival this season is Neshannock, and I believe we will beat them and clinch a playoff spot by the end of the season

What have you and the team been doing to prepare for the season? We’ve been practicing day in and day out to improve our game and we’ve improved tremendously

What has been your favorite memory been over the years? This is my first year, but my favorite memory so far is a car ride home I had with my goalie partner Craig Patterson it was a really fun experience, and he gave me some really great advice

What will you miss about playing your sport after graduation? I will miss the fun times in the locker rooms with the fellas after a big win or before the games when we’re warming up and having fun as a team.

What are your future plans after graduation? I will hopefully go to the University of Michigan and major in sports management and get a job working for a professional sports team or play d1 hockey at Michigan and make it to the NHL.

Do you plan to continue to play sports after high school? I do plan to continue sports after high school hopefully at a very high level either in the NHL or even overseas.

Anthony Popovich

School? Lincoln High School/ Ellwood City

Sport? Hockey

Grade? 10

How many years have you have played? About 11 years

What are you most looking forward to in the upcoming season? Hopefully having a competitive season and making new memories with the team

How do you hope to improve this year? I hope to improve my physicality on the ice

What do you feel is your biggest strength? My in-game sense and my shot

What is your favorite part of it? My favorite part of hockey is the memories you make on and off the ice with teammates

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? The biggest rivalry this season is definitely playing Neshannock

What have you and the team been doing to prepare for the season? We’ve been practicing since August to prepare for the season while working individually at home on off days

What has been your favorite memory been over the years? My favorite memory over the last few years is probably my last year in middle school leading the league in points and goals

What will you miss about playing your sport after graduation? I’m going to miss making memories with my team and miss playing the most fun years of your hockey career which is youth hockey

What are your future plans after graduation? My future plans after I graduate is to go to school for finance and become a financial advisor

Do you plan to continue to play sports after high school? I hope to get a scholarship to play hockey somewhere but if not, I’d definitely continue to play somehow or coach eventually

Craig Patterson

School? Lincoln High School/ Ellwood City

Sport? Hockey

Grade? 11th grade(junior)

How many years have you have played? 13 years total and 5 years with the Wilmington co-op program

What are you most looking forward to in the upcoming season? I’m looking forward to seeing the team come together as we are a young group to say the least.

How do you hope to improve this year? I just want to be able to play confident in the net and give the team the best possible scenarios to win games

What do you feel is your biggest strength? I feel my biggest strength is being able to take leadership of the team, as well as make big saves when it’s needed of me.

What is your favorite part of it? It has to be the family aspect of it all, just showing up to practice and games seeing all my friends/teammates knowing we all have each other’s back is huge.

Who do you feel is your biggest rivalry this upcoming season? Neshannock hands down. We share a home rink and a handful of us are friends with one another. It is very similar to the Ellwood Vs. Riverside rivalry where everyone is friends until you step on that ice.

What have you and the team been doing to prepare for the season? We are a short bench so, it’s all about playing simple hockey. Stick to our system and we will see success.

What has been your favorite memory been over the years? My favorite memory has to be beating Burrell in OT last season on their senior night. The moment was electric I will never forget it.

What will you miss about playing your sport after graduation? I will miss my teammates for sure the underclassmen especially, but all I can do is do my best to leave them knowing I’ve shaped them into better young men and hockey players.

What are your future plans after graduation? I would like to attend a 4-year university, something related to business.

Do you plan to continue to play sports after high school? If I am fortunate enough to play at the college level absolutely, if not I will probably not play organized hockey. But skating on the other hand I will skate for many years to come.