Northampton hockey coach Brian Ruff believes his team is on target for the rest of the season.

In the end, though, the Konkrete Kids want to get back to a familiar setting.

One of the Kids’ main goals is to reach the postseason again in the Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey League. Last season, they missed the playoffs for the first time in 15 years. This year, the Kids have a respectable 3-3-1 mark through their first seven games.

“It has been going pretty good so far,” said Ruff. “We have been around third place most of the season. Right now, this is about where we should be. We’ll have a chance to move on, but we’ll need some things to happen to help us.

“We know we missed the playoffs last year and that’s something we want to get back to.”

Ruff sees his squad showing a strong commitment.

“This is a strange team,” he stated. “We have a few seniors, and we have a lot of underclassmen. But they have all really stepped up. Our seniors are also beginning to know that they can carry the team.

“We’ve had a total team effort from top to bottom.”

Ruff will rely on seniors Andrew Belsky and Chris Croll for their leadership. Garrett Russell has been the team’s leading scorer with nine goals and seven assists (16 points) followed by Andrew Hozza (8-6-14).

Brian Narkavich has played in the nets for five of the Kids’ seven games and has a 4.40 goals against average.

Ruff has been pleased with the program’s JV and Middle School programs, both of which continue to flourish.

“We are doing well at both of those levels,” said Ruff. “Our numbers are good at both levels and both of them have been growing. We have a solid foundation for the future.”

As for the present, Ruff is optimistic his club can climb the division ladder and return to the playoffs. They will play Phillipsburg and Parkland before the end of the year. The Kids are looking forward to a rematch with top-seeded and defending champion Parkland.

“We were tied 2-2 with Parkland at the end of the second period and we had them on the ropes,” said Ruff about their first meeting. “But we couldn’t finish (a 7-3 defeat). Since then, we really have been getting things together.

“I think we can make a run at this. Second place isn’t out of the question for us.”