NJ High School Hockey Report
Mid Season power rankings and more from across New Jersey High School hockey.
Non-Public
Like in most years the Non-Public race will come down to just a handful of teams. This year it looks like again Delbarton and CBA are on a collision course to meet at the Prudential Center in March. Don Bosco Prep is slowly catching steam and can be an X factor later on in the state tournament.
Power Ranking
Delbarton 10-0-0 - The Green Wave handed CBA their first loss in over two years on January 4th and have kept the momentum going ever since. Senior Duncan Stewart is having a tremendous Senior Campaign netting 10 goals and adding 7 assists. TSA Athlete Nick Faccone Commit Lafayette (Lacrosse) provides energy and scoring to this Delbarton line up. Delbarton will be tested moving forward as they take on PDS, Bosco, Lawrenceville, CBA in their next four match ups.
Christian Brothers Academy 11-1-0 - CBA responded to their 4-1 loss to Delbarton with 5 straight convincing wins. CBA is has the most talent on their roster in the state as Junior Forward Christian Chouha has 19 Goals and 18 Assists on the year. Senior Defensemen Patrick Reilly Commit Princeton has rejoined his team this year after coming back from the USHL and will be a key contributor down the stretch. Circle January 31st as CBA looks for revenge on Delbarton.
Don Bosco 10-2-1 - Bosco travelled up to Massachusetts earlier in the season to challenge themselves vs BC High (Tie) and Xaverian Brothers Academy (Win). Since then they defeated Lawrenceville 3-2 and have dropped 2 games vs CBA. This team has talent but looks like a team tha is a step behind the top two programs. What Bosco has are two very talented goaltenders in Senior Ethan Marich (93svp) and Jr James Tarabocchia (94svp) who are very capable of stealing games.
Outside Looking In
St. Augustine
Princeton Day
Gloucester Catholic
Bergen Catholic
St. John Vianney
Pope John
Team To Watch
Princeton Day 6-4-2 - Despite losing 8-2 to Gloucester Catholic, PDS has shown some spunk this season. Junior Forward Liam Jackson is one of the most talented forwards in the state and has netted 8 Goals and 16 Assists this year. They have a major opportunity moving forward as they take on Delbarton, Hun and CBA.
Player To Watch
Andrew Skorupka - Sophomore Goaltender - CBA
A lot of questions were asked on who was going to replace an all-time CBA and NJ High School great John Donohoe in net this year for CBA. Skorupka has answered most of the questions early on this year posting a 91.0 save percentage in his first year as a starter. More importantly, Skorupka has shown maturity in between the pipes and appears to be getting better as the season wears on for his CBA team.
Public A
Largely a down year for the big schools as it looks like it will be a top-heavy race to the finish line.
Power Ranking
Westfield 7-4-2 - Recent struggles make it hard to rank them as the number one team in Public A but they define what Public A is, inconsistent. 1-3-1 in their last 5 almost erase their strong start when defeated Hillsborough, Ridge and Middletown North. They are a team with a lot of talent has the potential to make a deep run if Coach Bertucci can get his team back on track. TSA Athlete Alex Ebel has been a consistent scorer for his hockey program netting 6 Goals and 9 Assists, he will be asked to carry the load the stretch run for Westfield.
Ridgewood 10-4-2 - A slow start to the year going 1-3, Coach Lucchesi righted the ship and has seen his team go 9-1 in their last 10. Sophomore Goaltender Jack Scali has proven that he has the ability to back stop his team to victory with a 93.2 save percentage. Senior Carson Kopff has proven to be one of the best players in the state with 16 goals so far this season. As they head down the stretch they need to take care of business vs Bergen Catholic, Highlands and Ridge.
Monroe 10-2-0 - Coach Kevin Felice has done a tremendous job with this group as they have surprised many racing out to a 10-2 record. Senior Dylan Batko has been on an absolute tear accumulating 43 points thus far this season. Junior Nick Izzo is trying to catch his teammate providing 35 points himself. These two are dangerous and are hard to contain for any team. Middletown North, St. Joes, Princeton and Rumson are on deck for Monroe, if they come out alive, they are a real threat come tournament time.
Outside Looking In
Hillsborough
Livingston
Princeton
Team to Watch
Ridge 6-4-2 - A slow start to the season for the defending State Champions but they have appeared to turn a corner on their season going 4-0-1 in their last 5 games. TSA Athlete Zachary Alvin has done an unbelievable job getting his team to where they need to be halfway through the year accumulating 8 points for the Ridge Blueline. The biggest question for Ridge is Penn State Commit Egor Barabanov going to return from the USHL?
Player to Watch
Egor Barabanov - Junior Forward - Ridge
Commit : Penn State
Currently in the USHL, Barabanov has only appeared in one game for his program accumulating 6 points (4g 2a) vs Watchung Hills. With the Sioux Falls Stampede, he has 10 gp and only 1 point, so there is a chance they send him back to New Jersey to finish the year. If he does come back, Ridge becomes a front runner again to win the state title.
Public B
The best Public-school hockey this season has been played in the Public B section. Loads of depth across the board and the top 10 teams can beat each other on any given night making for an exciting second half of the season.
Power Ranking
Northern Highlands 11-0-0 - With arguably the top two forward lines in public school hockey it is hard to argue why we put Northern Highlands at number 1. Senior Will Brown leads the team in scoring with 24 points and Junior Forward Vincenzo Capano is trying to catch him with 22 points. After cruising through the first half of the season, Highlands will be facing a loaded second half schedule. If they continue to roll it will be hard to see any team beating them come state playoff time.
Randolph 8-1-3 - Randolph is back this season playing Randolph style hockey. They are playing suffocating defense only allowing 23 goals against all year and currently sit in first in the Mennen division. Senior Zach Gallo is closing in on 100 points in his career and Senior Goalie Connor Thomas has posted a 91(svp) this season. They are deep, well coached and are relentless.
Chatham 8-1-4 - Playing in tight games all year the Cougars have found ways to win. Two wins over Morristown Beard, wins over Rumson and Knolls are impressive. Coach Herrs group has rattled off 3 straight Ties and now have to respond as they play Kinnelon, Hillsborough, Knolls and Middletown South. The Cougars have the platform to make a statement as they head into February.
Outside Looking In
Summit
Ramapo
Mahawah
Team To Watch
Middletown North 5-4-4 - A real slow start to the year for Midd North as they feature a younger experienced group that went the distance last year as underclassmen. They are deep up-front lead by Junior Forward Ryan Cook who leads the team with 17 points. Sr Andrew Gross who has potential to take over games is starting to heat up with 4 goals in his last three games. A recent win over non public St John Vianney sets up a strong finish with 5 regular season games remaining.
Public C
The small schools are deep and wide open this year. Featuring some of the state's top scorers, the Public C group is fast hockey with loads of skills night in and night out.
Governor Livingston 8-2-2 - A big time non-conference schedule, Gov. Livingston has answered the bell with wins over Westfield, Summit and a Tie over Middletown North. Senior forward Brian Kramer has accumulated 159 points in his career and does not look like he is stopping any time soon. Young sophomore netminder Scott Capan is starting to gain confidence and has posted a 91.7 save percentage. If Capan continues to progress Gov. Livingston will have the tools to make another state title run.
Pascack Valley 10-3-1 - Coach Sean Cosgroves group has put together a solid campaign thus far this season. They are a young team that keeps getting better week by week. Junior forward Zachary Groves has built upon his strong Sophomore season leads the team with 32 points this year. Senior Goaltender Aidan Rybacki, has proven to be one of the best goaltenders in the state this season with his 93.3 save percentage. With Rybacki in net this team has the potential to go far in the state tournament.
Colonia 8-0-1 - Colonia's problem through previous years has been their lack of strength in schedule This season that has changed as they have victories over Middletown South, Monroe and a tie with Middletown North. Featuring one of the top players in the state Ryan Lukko Commit St. Lawerence, Colonia has proven the ability to outscore teams. Lukko in only two seasons with Colonia has accumulated 143 points and this season alone has 7 multi goal games.
Outside Looking In
Howell
Kinnelon
Brick
Paramus
Morris Knolls
Team to Watch
Morris Knolls 7-4-1 - Flying under the radar this year is Tim Keplers group as they currently sit third in the Mennen division. Competing in every game vs tough competition, Morris Knolls has shown the ability to skate with any team in the state. Morris Knolls has a second half schedule that has potential to land them a top 4 seed in the State Tournament.
Player to Watch
Kevin Toye - Senior Goaltender - Brick
Really taking a step forward in his development, Toye has helped his Brick Hockey program come back to relevance as they currently sit at 11-1 this season. With size and skating ability Toye has turned in several key performances this year including a 29 save performance over a talented Rumson team. Toye currently has a 93.7 save percentage this season with 4 shutouts.
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