Thursday, December 20, 2012

Luca finds immediate role with Hounds

When Hartland Hounds’ defenseman Bobby Schumacher went out with a concussion a few weeks back, Hounds’ coach Randy Montrose knew he needed a player to come in and play a solid, steady game a la Schumacher.

Montrose found his man in 18-year-old Kalkaska native Scott Luca, who was signed last weekend and played in both of Hartland’s wins at home over the Soo Firehawks.

Coming right in and playing in the top two defensive pairings against the then-second place Firehawks was no easy task, but Luca made his presence known.

“To be honest, I have been thinking about playing for Hartland for a while,” said Luca, who played last season and the start of this year with the Lansing Capitals U18 AAA team and the 2010-11 year for the Capitals’ U16 AAA squad. “Last weekend, the speed was good and the physical play was also good. I think playing for the Capitals really helped with the speed that comes along with juniors and the skill that comes with it as well.”

Luca is good friends with now-Hartland teammates Tyler Thirlby and Alex Grizzel and said they each helped his quick transition going from Midget Major hockey to the Midwest Junior Hockey League.

Having a coach like Montrose and joining an undefeated team is also a situation Luca is embracing.

 “Randy is definitely a very outgoing coach and he knows what he's talking about with any situation,” Luca said. “Hopefully we keep the streak going and just keep playing the way we have been.”

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