PDS hoping to maintain momentum from big win over Lawrenceville
The Princeton Day and Lawrenceville contest lived up to the billing as the Panthers edged the Big Red, 3-2, before a full house at Lisa McGraw Rink.
“The environment was incredible for a (high school) game and a wonderful community event for both schools,” said PDS coach Scott Bertoli. “It always helps when the game is highly competitive like it was Wednesday night. e played our best game of the season and were fortunate to beat a very good Lawrenceville team.”
The Panthers got a great game from the defense and goalie Calvin Fenton, who registered a career-high 47 saves
The winter weather cancelled Lawrenceville’s Friday meeting with Albany Academy, and on Monday the Big Red hosts Delbarton.
Bertoli wants the same intensity this week as his Panthers (8-4) face Morristown-Beard (6-6-1) and St. Augustine (7-2) at home. The Hermits have won fiveof-six.
“The challenge for us will be to replicate the focus and intensity we played with on Wednesday,” declared Bertoli. “It’s hard not to get excited when the rink is packed and all your peers are there cheering you on, so we’ll lean on our older kids to find ways to motivate our group moving forward so we can play at that level. Hopefully this is what we needed after a tough week last week, I’ll argue we’ve now beaten the top two teams in the state in Lawrenceville and Bosco, so we need to find ways to play to that level and execute against all the other top teams in our conference. Wins are hard to come by and they are extremely important for seeding purposes over the next several weeks.”
PDS is very familiar with Mo-Beard as the two battled for many a state prep title and Augustine is another key Gordon American Division game.
“St. Augustine is a very deep and balanced team that takes tremendous pride in playing good defensive hockey,” said Bertoli. “We love to attack off the rush and generate opportunities that way. I anticipate that being difficult to rely on, which means we’ll have to be responsible defensively and very patient in the neutral zone and not force the issue.”
Wyatt Ewanchyna leads PDS with 19 points and has a career-high 15 assists, Brady Logue, Chase Logue and Han Shin all have seven goals.
No Sophomore Jinx for Aversa
The Paul VI/Camden Catholic Co-op is having another solid season and one of the reasons has been the play of Nick Aversa.
Aversa, who also plays lacrosse for Paul VI, has 12 goals and 19 assists so far. He had three goals and 10 assists as a freshman.
“Nicky has done a great job building off his freshman year,” Charlie Hall, the Co-op coach stated. “He played quite a bit last year and I think that helped his confidence going into this season. He’s also a deceptively strong player. He’s not very tall, but he’s probably one of the strongest players on the team. Also, I think he’s benefiting from a great leadership group as well. The senior leaders are providing a great model for when they pass the torch to players like Nicky and a few others.”
It could be a virtual Colonial Valley Conference championship on Wednesday when Valley Division leaders Paul VI/Camden Catholic and Colonial Division leaders Robbinsville/Allentown meet at the Mercer County Skating Center for A 3:30 p.m. face-off.
Robbinsville/Allentown holds the edge 6-3-1 in the last 10 meetings, including a 4-3 win last year on a third period goal by Zach Duggan.
“We just need to play with the effort and energy that we have all season,” stated Hall. “I think these are the two best teams in the CVC on the ice and in the win/ loss column. Dan Bergan is a great coach and I know he’ll have his team well prepared for our game. It should a fun game to watch and we’re excited for the challenge.”
Nothing like a conference championship to keep that competitive spirit alive and well.
A Look Around
— It’ll be a challenging week for Robbinsville/Allentown as it faces Hopewell Valley/Montgomery that is 0-2-1 in the last three.
— After a couple CVC games with Hamilton and Princeton, Notre Dame (36) faces a good Toms River East (8-4) team.
— Princeton has dropped four straight and will look to get healthy when it faces Lawrence before key Colonial Division games with ND and HVM.
— West Windsor-Plainsboro United will look to get on the ice three times this week facing Central Regional and back-to-back games with Hamilton, which has dropped three straight
— Lawrence/Ewing/ Hightstown (2-6) has a showdown with Princeton this week and the LEH Coop needs a win badly to end the five-game skid.
— Hun (3-6) dropped a tight one to Holy Ghost Prep, 3-2.
Girls Update
After a defeat to alwaystough Morristown Beard, Princeton Day bounced back with a 1-0 shutout of Oak Knoll on a goal by Eibhleann Knox. Knox has seven goals and five assists to lead the Panthers.
Princeton High, which has no trouble scoring, recently picked up a win over Newark East Side. Cassie Speir has 15 goals and freshman Taylor Davidson has 12.
It’s looking like the NJSIAA will sanction girls ice hockey for the 2034-25 season. It has been a pilot program since 2021.
Lawrenceville snapped a seven-game losing streak with a pair of wins over the Kent School and Northfield
Mount Hermon. It has the Frederick Gunn School this week at home.