Freedom’s hockey team has hit all their strides this season in the Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey League (LVSHL).

The undefeated Patriots (12-0-0) have been nestled in first place all season, and they also have allowed just eight goals while they have scored 100.

In addition, Freedom has seven players in double figures in scoring.

With the postseason a few weeks away, the Patriots are confident they can take the next step toward winning a LVSHL championship.

“I’m cautiously optimistic,” said head coach Mike Kearns about his team’s chances. “We don’t have any injuries and we have four games left. We feel we can keep going as long as long as we keep playing well.

“We lost some players from last year, but we were able to fill in nicely with our JV players.”

Freedom will be looking to unseat nine-time defending champion Parkland. The Patriots ended their 115-game unbeaten streak earlier this season. Parkland beat Freedom in the LVSHL finals last season.

“They (Parkland) have been the top dog for a while,” added Kearns. “We were able to beat them and that gave our kids a big confidence boost. We played them tough, but we know they will be ready for us later in the playoffs.”

The Patriots have been led by Luke Day, who has league-high 28 goals and 21 assists for 46 points. Other Patriots with 20 or more points are Max Kontir (15-13-28), John Musella (11-10-21), Matthew Randazzo (14-6-20), and Dominic Augello (9-12-20).

Goaltender Joshua Millan has a 10-0-0 record with a minuscule 0.57 goals against average.

Kearns also has been pleased with the contributions from Steve Callaghan (3-11-14) and Matthew Fanning (7-6-13) along with brothers Jim and Michael Moniz.

“Callaghan and Fanning have added more speed to our lineup and they are doing a good job,” said Kearns. “The Moniz brother don’t play travel hockey and they really have adapted well to our lineup.”

Speed has been a huge factor for the Patriots all season, as they have worm down their opponents in games.

“They say ‘speed kills,’” said Kearns. “We have been able to bring the puck up quickly and play well in the neutral zone. We have backchecked well and that has helped our defense. It’s about our guys knowing where to be.”

The Patriots will play their first of their four remaining games, having two apiece against Phillipsburg and Southern Lehigh. Their next game is against Phillipsburg Monday.

It likely all will end in another eventual showdown with Parkland.

“We just have to continue to play well,” said Kearns. “We have been able to score and our goaltending has been phenomenal. But we just have to take one game at a time.”