Northampton’s hockey entry in the Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey League (LVSHL) recently reached a major goal, and it was well worth it.

The Konkrete Kids will enter the upcoming LVSHL playoffs after they missed last year’s round for the first time in 15 seasons. They are currently in a three-way, tie for second place with Central/Beca and Southern Lehigh with 17 points.

Regardless of where they finish – they have one game left against Central/Beca on Feb. 22, the Kids will be one of four teams in the mix.

“We know we missed the playoffs last season and this is something we really wanted this year,” said longtime head coach Brian Ruff. “We have been playing well and it is great for our players to achieve this mark.

“This was our number one goal for the season.”

Ruff noted how there is plenty of positive praise to go around.

“Everybody is playing well,” he stressed. “Nobody is playing poorly. Everyone has really put forth their best effort. That’s been the big difference for us this year.

“It is a very interesting situation for us right now. We have everything clicking and this club has the potential to do some damage.”

Ruff cited the play of the play of the seniors as being an igniter for his team. Chris Croll, Garett Russell, and Kyle Collina have been instrumental as well as being among the leading scorers, and also Luke Brunst has been an offensive force.

“Those guys have done a nice job up front for us,” said Ruff. “They have really picked up their game.”

Patrick Bodnar has been a constant stalwart on defense for the Kids.

“Patrick has made a huge impact on the club and has provided a great sense of leadership,” added Ruff. “He doesn’t score a lot of goals, but he plays such a big role on the ice. That’s hard to match.”

The Kids will be looking to claim their first LVSHL crown since 2013. It also was the last time they were in the championship round. The first round of the playoffs will be a single-game elimination ebfore the best-of-three finals.

Ruff likes the way his team is headed.

“We got a good chemistry here,” he said. “We really didn’t know what to expect before the season began. In the past few weeks, everything has come together for us. We’re in a good spot right now.”