17 Teams in 17 Days: Battle Creek Revolution
The ‘17 in 17’ series features an in-depth look into all 17 NA3HL teams, with a new team being highlighted daily, leading all the way up until the start of the regular season on Saturday, September 8th.
‘17 in 17’ will go in-depth into each 3HL team and will include interview with all 17 3HL head coaches as they prognosticate and break down their outlook for the upcoming season.
Battle Creek Revolution
2011-12 Record: 0-48-0, 0 pts. – 4th in North Division
Playoffs: Lost in the Division Semi-Finals to Toledo, 2-0
2012-13 Division: Central (2011-12 North)
Opening Night: Saturday, September 29th vs. Quad City – 7:00 pm at The Rink B-Creek (First game - September 15th at Metro)
It was a challenging season for the Battle Creek Revolution and exceptionally tough with the passing of Assistant Coach Al Genovy on March 14th. The loss of Genovy was not only hard for the team, but for the community as well. Genovy dedicated his time to the Battle Creek team and with other hockey programs in the area to give back from what he had learned during his hockey career. The organization will hope that the legacy of Genovy lives on throughout the organization while they start up for the 2012-13 season.
Over the summer, owner Dr. Joseph Burkhardt spent his time and effort to make sure the Revolution’s facility, The Rink, was up-to-date with new lighting, paint, equipment and custom state-of-the-art locker rooms to improve the situation for players to play for the junior organization. Burkhardt expressed that he became an owner of the Revolution to keep the sport of hockey alive in the community he works in. “There is a great caliber of amateur hockey Southwest Michigan. I wanted a team like this to be in the community to provide a place for the youth to look up to and one day play for.”
With a move from the North to the Central Division this year, Battle Creek will be challenged by three new teams that were not in their Division the year previous; the Peoria Mustangs, Quad City Jr. Flames and the St. Louis Jr. Blues. In fact, they will not be playing any NA3HL clubs in the surrounding Michigan area, and their only returning divisional opponent throughout the season will be the Queen City Steam. The shift of new opponents could work in Battle Creek’s favor and break the trend of the past two seasons. Burkhardt believes the newly renovated facility and large amount of returning players will be the right combination for this year. “The team’s caliber last season was heading in the right direction. I saw a lot of improvement,” he said. Battle Creek ended the last half of the 2011-12 season with four games that resulted in one-goal losses. Praise goes out to goaltender Matthew Hughes, who made 1476 saves, the most in the entire league last season.
Battle Creek’s goals for this season are as simple as any other teams; provide players with the opportunity to continue to play hockey and develop them to move on to the next level. Ask almost any coach at the junior level and they will tell you the same thing. It’s not about getting the win at the end of the night, as it is more about where you can guide the player onto next. Revolution forward Johnathan Edwards is a player who took the opportunity of playing juniors onto the next level. Edwards committed to Aquinas College (ACHA) this past year with the goal to further his hockey career and education.
Additional players that made an impact to the Revolutions roster last year were forwards Joey Lioy, James Romberger and defenseman Steven Sadowsky. All three were a part of the NA3HL Top Prospects Tournament as well, suiting up for Team North and each claiming at least a point for their team at the annual scouting event. If this trio returns for the 2012-13 season, their young talent and veteran status will lead the team into the challenge of a new division.
