For the Northampton hockey team, it is a tale of two teams.

The Konkrete Kids have two teams entered in the Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey League (LVSHL) this winter. They began the season as the defending champions in the league.

Northampton’s Black Team, filled with 12 seniors and three underclassmen, is headed by longtime mentor Brian Ruff. They had an 8-3-1 mark to begin the week, and were tied with Nazareth for second place.

The Kids’ Orange team, composed mainly of freshmen and a few sophomores, is led by Ruff’s sons and alumni Cody and Eric. They had a 5-8-0 mark to begin the week.

“This is an arrangement for this year,” said Brian Ruff. “We had a number of young players in the program, and this gives the opportunity to get some playing time.

“Our Black team is doing better, but not as well as we expected. But our top priority is working toward the playoffs. We should be able to reach that goal.”

The Black team is led by Ryan Wruble, who has 16 goals and 13 assists for 29 points. He is fourth in the league in scoring. Gavin Mollenkof (9-15-24) is the eighth leading scorer, and Braden Pychinka (14-9-23) is on his heels.

Noah Woelfel has a 6-2-1 mark with a 2.65 goals against average in the nets.

“We only lost three seniors from last year’s team,” noted Ruff about the Black team. “They are coming along, and we expect to have a good finish.”

Noa Clesea led the Orange team in scoring with 19 goals and nine assists for 28 points, and he is the sixth in the league. Nick Kotsch (3-16-19), of Whitehall, and Hayden Lambert (5-6-11) are the other double-digit scorers.

Bailey Smargiassi had a 5-0 mark with a 4.38 GAA in the nets.

Ruff stated the Orange’s team’s record can be deceiving.

“They have eight losses, but they really haven’t been blown out,” he stressed. “We believe they have played to their potential, and they have been impressive.”

Ruff believes his veteran group can make another championship run.

“We think we’re an upper-level team,” he said. “Recently, we shot ourselves in the foot, and lost a game we shouldn’t have. If we play well, we’ll win. The only team we have to worry about is ourselves.

“If we take care of business like we should, we’ll be in good shape.”