Deer Lakes’ Ryan Grunden reaches 100 points for career, turns attention to playoff push

By: Ted Sarneso
Monday, February 3, 2025 | 10:19 AM

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Before his game on the evening of Jan. 13 against Sewickley Academy, Deer Lakes hockey senior forward Ryan Grunden went through his normal pregame routine.

He brought up YouTube videos of USA and college hockey players and watched how they skate, handle the puck and create shot opportunities. Then he went outside and shot about 50 pucks into a net on his back porch.

“I go out there, stick handle, shoot the puck and get my hands warmed up,” Grunden said. “I don’t like going out to a game and not having that feel of the puck prior. It just feels weird in my opinion.”

Then he headed to the rink and continued his normal routine of taping his sticks — starting with his game stick and then his backups — and warmed up with his teammates in his superstitious way.

“I have a specific order, and if I don’t do it in that order, I feel like I don’t play as good,” he said.

On the surface, Grunden kept things normal, but on the inside, he knew he was on the verge of a milestone.

Four days earlier, on Grunden scored five goals and had an assist as Deer Lakes (11-4-1) defeated Elizabeth Forward, 8-2, at Alpha Ice Complex. Grunden ran his career point total to 96 that evening.

The Lancers’ next game was senior night against a Sewickley Academy team that Grunden compiled big point totals against in their first two meetings.

To open the year, he scored six goals and had an assist in a 10-2 win, then, on Dec. 2, he scored a goal and had three assists in a 5-2 victory.

So it was a formality in the mind of Grunden that he would have a chance to reach 100 points on senior night in front of a large crowd.

“I knew that if I kept up that point production I had against Sewickley going into the third matchup, I could get it,” he said.

As had happened in the previous two matchups, Deer Lakes started slowly against, but Grunden was able to score the first goal before the first period expired.

Then, in the second period, Grunden tallied an assist on a goal by linemate Mason Cervone. That left Grunden 17 minutes to get two more points.

Three minutes into the third, Grunden scored his second goal of the game off a pass from Jacob Bradley, and, two minutes later, he would reach the 100-point plateau.

Going on the forecheck, Cervone dumped the puck into the Sewickley zone, and fellow linemate RJ Norkus gathered it in and Grunden made his way toward the net.

When he was a sophomore, Grunden played on a line with seniors AJ Schaaf and Shawn McIntyre, and knowing that Schaaf could score whenever he got the puck, Grunden would dish him the puck.

“Then I would drive the net, park myself in front and screen the goalie or get the easy rebounds,” Grunden said.

Doing what he has always done, Grunden waited at the front of the crease as Norkus shot the puck toward the goalie. Grunden gathered in the rebound and tapped it in the net for his 100th career point.

“I was so happy,” he said. “The team knew, and they were all happy for me. I was also a bit relieved because that was my goal the entire game.”

He he got his 101st career point with another goal two minutes later.

“There were signs and balloons everywhere,” Grunden recalled. “The lobby inside after the game was insane. Everyone was congratulating me. They even decorated my car after the game.”

When asked if he had set aside his game stick, a CCM Vision, for “retirement,” Grunden laughed and said: “I have to keep using that stick. I’ve scored 11 points in two games, so it’s my favorite stick right now.”

Ten days later, Grunden ran his career total to 106 points with a hat trick and two assists against Ringgold. He has 68 goals and 38 assists and is averaging 2.07 points a game for his career.

What’s staggering is it took Grunden only two-and-a-half years to accumulate those numbers. Deer Lakes did not have a varsity hockey team his freshman year.

“It’s very satisfying,” Grunden said. “It’s been my goal since I started playing varsity to reach this milestone. I’ve been playing really well this season, and I’ve already eclipsed my point total from last year with five more games left to go.”

On the season, Grunden has scored 32 goals and has 10 assists for a total of 42 points (2.80 points per game). He leads all of Varsity Division 2 in goals and is fourth in points.

He is a big reason why Deer Lakes is battling Burrell for the top spot in the Blue division. The Lancers trail the Bucs by only one point heading into the final stretch.

Grunden is glad to have the 100-point milestone but is looking for loftier goals. The past two years, the Lancers have lost in the semifinals of the Penguins Cup playoffs.

“I want to take that next step and make the finals this year,” Grunden said. “We have to play as a team, move the puck, make the simple plays and body up. If we do those things, we’re going to be successful and go far.”

Tags: Deer Lakes