No. 11 Ranked West Islip Lions Team Preview

The West Islip Lions enter at number 11 in the LILJ top 25 preseason rankings. In Suffolk Class B they went 10-8 last season with an appearance in the semifinals in which they were defeated by rival East Islip. Head Coach Tom Corcoran is in his seventh season with the team and shared what excites him heading into the season. “Experience & Health. We return a lot of starters from last year’s team. We also return a few players that had missed all or part of last year. We also have some nice youth coming off the jv team which should give us some nice depth.”

West Islip’s offense which averaged just under 10 goals per game last year, returns key players at attack including seniors Derek Busking (Siena) and Jaden Langhorn, junior Chase Busking (Siena), and sophomore Will Schwarz. The Busking brothers are coming off of massive 2024 seasons with Derek accumulating 78 points with 36 goals and 36 assists, and Chase tallying 58 points, scoring 42 goals with 16 assists. Langhorn scored 10 goals with 4 assists and as a freshman Schwarz added 6 goals and 12 assists. The Lions midfield features seniors Quinn Reilly (Bucknell), Nick Henry (Manhattan), Nick Klimatas (Manhattan) and Michael Hazelton (Siena). Henry returns as their leader in points from the midfield with 50, scoring 23 goals with 27 assists. Reilly comes off of a 41 point season scoring 28 goals with 13 assists, and Klimatas added 17 goals and 11 assists. At the face-off X looking to get the ball to their offense will be senior Joe Delgado.

Defensively they also have a number of returning poles which include seniors Kevin Cinotti (St. Johns), Mickey Faulkner (Fairfield), Tyler Varrichio (West Conn), and junior Max Tate. In goal the team returns senior Travis Vine and sophomore Brendan McMahon. As the starter in 2024 Vine stopped 101 shots while McMahon made 24 saves in a small sample size.

Coach Corcoran shared what the key to this season will be especially with trying to find a way to stay healthy.

“We must find a way to stay healthy. We’ve made some adjustments to our off-season program. The face-off game will once again be priority #1. The addition of the shot clock should help in that regard. Our 2 goalies that were thrown into starting roles last year will benefit immensely with a full off-season under their belts. We have a lot of experience at both ends of the field with great senior leadership. We are looking forward to getting the season underway.”

The opening game of the season is a non-league matchup against Bay Shore on March 28th, followed by their first league game on April 1st against the reigning state champion Bayport Blue Point Phantoms.