Robbinsville/Allentown knows precision needed to advance in state playoffs

It has been an amazingly successful year for the Robbinsville/Allentown ice hockey Co-op, and now its wants to make sure the season doesn’t end too soon.

R/A (13-7-2) meet Brick Township (17-3-1) in a Public C first round game on Wednesday at 5:45 p.m. in the Ocean Ice Palace.

Robbinsville/Allentown, the No. 11 seed, advanced with a win over Clifton and No. 6 Brick Township defeated Old Tappan in the preliminary round.

“I think we have a real shot here,” said R/A coach Dan Bergan. “I like the comparisons I see in mutual opponents like Princeton, HV, St. John Vianney and Manalapan. The key will be to handle a hostile environment and control emotions in a game that is sure to be physical.”

It’s never easy going on the road and facing the opposing team and crowd, but the Robbinsville/Allentown group has some experience and should be able to handle it.

Robbinsville/Allentown has been led by Charlie Luizza with 19 goals and 16 assists, Jaiden Gingras has 15 goals and 18 assists, JP Sferra brings 15 and 17 and Zach Duggan, who had two in the win over Clifton, has 14 and 17.

While Bergan was pleased with the win over Clifton, he would’ve liked to see a little more precision.

“I was pleased with the win but not happy with the execution of some aspects of our game,” said Bergan. “We need to clean up details for our special teams and end game.”

Brick Township has been led by Jake Toye with 20 goals and 16 assists, Brody Acropolis has 15 and 9 and Peter Morris has 14 and 17.

Since the beginning of 2023, the Brick team has gone 10-2-1.

“They have a core of 10 skaters and solid goaltending that can play with anyone in the state,” declared Bergan. “We think we can also. We’ve lost some firepower but we need to play a great defensive game and win the special teams play.”

The goaltending for the Robbinsville/Allentown group has been superb with Zander Wiley between the pipes. He has a 91.2 save percentage.

Brick Twp’s Kevin Toye has a 93.7 save percentage.

Both teams have a solid attack, good defense and dependable goalie play, so the key with be who makes the least mistakes and how well they perform on special teams.

Robbinsville/Allentown has been remarkable — at times — this season and there are enough veterans to keep this season moving forward.

KYLE FRANKO — TRENTONIAN PHOTO Robbinsville/Allentown’s Zach Duggan (10) and JP Sferra (12) celebrate Duggan’s goal against Hopewell Valley/ Montgomery during a Mercer County Tournament ice hockey semifinal game at Mercer Rink in West Windsor.