Senior captains lead Princeton Day School to fast start
It has been a very impressive start at Princeton Day and one of the reasons has been the leadership the Panthers are bringing to the ice.
“Coby (Auslander), Ty (Eastman) and Chip (Hamlett) have been outstanding as senior captains,’’ said PDS coach Scott Bertoli. “They have been the best players on the ice in all three games and have done a nice job ensuring the team is ready to play.’’
It was obvious on Monday as the Panthers (2-1) faced longtime Prep rival, Morristown-Beard, and PDS came away with a convincing 13-2 win over the Crimson.
Usually these two are splitting Prep state titles.
“They have been a longtime rival of ours and we always have highly competitive games,’’ recalled Bertoli. “Unfortunately, this year they are a relatively young and inexperienced group.’’
PDS dropped the season opener, 2-1, St. Joseph’s (PA) and have followed it up with a 6-1 win over Gloucester Catholic and the Mo-Beard bashing.
“Our speed and skill level have been impressive to this point,’’ said Bertoli. “Our forwards have done a nice job getting the puck below the goal line and generating tons of chances off the cycle. In all three games we’ve outplayed and out chanced our opponents by a sizable margin.’’
Auslander, last year’s The Trentonian Prep Player of the Year, sponsored by DeLorenzo’s ‘Burg Pizzeria, and Luke Antonacci lead the Panthers with seven points each.
Auslander has one goal and six assists, Antonacci has four goals and three assists, Hamlett has five assists, Chris Cecila has six points and Eastman has four goals.
The Panthers will be greatly tested Wednesday at Portledge (4-0), which has a win over Delbarton, then PDS has Delbarton (2-1) and a local prep battle with undefeated Hun (3-0).
“I suspect our ability to control the game and dictate tempo will be severely challenged over the next two weeks,’’ said Bertoli. “Portledge is a highly skilled group that will challenge us in ways we have not seen to this point. Delbarton is the gold standard for high school in this region, they are always a very structured and disciplined team. We have to really play well to get positive results against these teams.’’
No matter what, it’ll be games the Panthers can build on. five assists.
Transfer Cameron Briere, who played at St. Augustine last season, has five goals and Bailey Guetens has three goals and six assists.
The CVC division standing are based on points: three for a division win, two for a crossover win and one for a tie. That gives the Eagles eight points and the division lead.
Briere, who is the son of former Flyers star Danny Briere, is enjoying his time at Paul VI.
“I love it here,’’ said Briere, who moved and Paul VI was closer. “At first it was difficult because you have to get used to each other. But, I knew a few kids and they knew me from my club team. So, it’s really been great here.’’
It was a Briere goal that got Paul VI started against Hopewell Valley after the Bulldogs controlled the first two periods.
“Adding Cameron (Briere) was definitely a bonus for us,’’ said Miller. “He adds another senior voice and is a huge boost to our offensive production this year. He makes our offense more balanced as a whole.’’
Could it be another year of Fly, Eagles, Fly?
1. Princeton (3-0) —
the conference.
2. Notre Dame (2-0) —
Test with Hopewell Valley on Wednesday.
Playing well and getting
3. Paul VI (3-0) —
wins.
4. Robbinsville (1-1) —
against Princeton.
5. Hopewell Valley (1-2) —
Once they find right combination, going to be tough.
1. Hun (3-0) — 2. Princeton Day (2-1) —
looming. Fast start for the Raiders. Big games
3. Lawrenceville (2-0) —
around the corner.
4. Pennington (0-0) —
with confidence. Look to be the best in
Impressive showing
Tournament right Fast start will help