Their ending was an unexpected one.

For the Northampton hockey team, the postseason wasn’t a reality. The Konkrete Kids missed the playoffs in the Lehigh Valley Scholastic Hockey League (LVSHL) for the first time in 10 years.

“We didn’t finish well,” said longtime head coach Brian Ruff. “We lost three of our last four, and we played ourselves out of the playoffs.”

The Kids had two entries in the LVSHL this past season with the Black team posting an overall 9-6-1 mark, while the Orange team finished 6-10.

Their Black team, composed of mainly upperclassmen, was led by Ryan Wruble with 17 goals and 15 assists for 32 points. He was followed by Gavin Mollenkof (10-16-26) and Braden Pychinka (16-9-25). Noah Wolfel had a 7-5-1 slate in the nets with a 2.94 goals against average (GAA).

The Orange squad was paced by Noa Clesca with 22 goals and 10 assists for 32 points. Behind him was Nick Kotsch (3-16-19) and Hayden Lambert (5-6-11) Bailen Smargiassi had a 4-7 record with a 4.55 GAA.

As far as the Black squad, Ruff cited several reasons for their late-season collapse.

“We went into the season without a natural defenseman,” he stated. “We tried to play with five forward, and it just didn’t work. We really didn’t have a choice, and we needed a defenseman. It wasn’t the kids’ fault.

“It just fell apart on us.”

Ruff noted the Black team will graduate 12 seniors, and the majority of the Orange team will make the transition.

“We did well on the JV level last year,” he said. “We decided to put together another varsity unit this year. They look good for next year as we got everyone back except for two.”

The Kids’ JV entry in the LVSHL won the league title with a 3-2 victory over Easton, while their youth team lost to Parkland in the finals, 3-1.

Their JV team had a 8-6-1 record, while the middle school Orange team was 7-4 and the middle school Black team was 1-10. The Kids’ Youth team was 5-5-2.

Ruff credited the behind-the-scenes work of his wife, Raeann, who has helped keep the Kids’ pipeline of players flowing.

“We have a good number of kids at all levels, and our interest keeps building,” he said. “It really is because of my wife. She has kept it all together. It is a full-time job without a salary. He has been a lifesaver.”

Ruff stated the program will get back into gear in late summer.

“We’ll take some time to relax, and then get back at it,” said Ruff. “We’re looking to get some more younger kids involved with the program as well as those of all ages.”

For more information on the program, email kkidscoach@rcn.com.