After six years as the boss at Northfield Mount Hermon, Kevin Czepiel took on a new challenge in the same job at Berkshire last season.
The returns were immediate. Berkshire went 20-12-0, earning the No. 8 seed in the Large School Tournament. The Bears upset No. 1 Nobles in the first round, 8-5, before falling to eventual Large School champion Kent in Round 2.
"It was kind of unexpected," Czepiel said of last season's result. "The previous year, [Berkshire] graduated 14 kids so for us, it was not knowing what to expect, especially in my first year. Now, it's just trying to build off that culture that we were able to establish in the first year. Flipping the page, it's not getting too far ahead of ourselves. Last year is done and it's a whole new team and a whole new journey."
While the play on the ice was a bit of a surprise, the importance of hockey at Berkshire was also eye-opening to Czepiel. The team being talked about and hyped up on the day of games, as well as the students showing up for the games created a different level of importance for the job.
