Ice Hockey
By: Matt Nalbone
The Hopewell Valley Central High School ice hockey team has been on a roll over the past few weeks and on target to accomplish their goals for the year.
Before the year even began, head coach Mark Kowal and his team set a few goals for themselves and they reached the first one this past week by winning the Valley Division of the Colonial Valley Conference.
They did so with a somewhat unexpected 10-1 trashing of West Windsor-Plainsboro North. The fact that Hopewell won was not surprising, but the fashion in which they did so was.
Earlier in the year the two teams had tied in their first meeting and then North beat Hopewell, 7-6, in the finals of the Titans cup at the Sovereign Bank Arena.
Revenge must have been on their minds, but Kowal said it really wasn’t.
"In reality, it was just another game," he said. "The only difference was that the winner would win the division. We were well prepared and we came up with a few defensive schemes to make it difficult for their forwards."
Whatever they did, it worked wonders, as the Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead and never looked back.
Jay Rush had a monster game, scoring three times in the first eight minutes of the game, and then got help from his teammates. Captain Kerry Disbrow also played big, finishing with three goals and two assists, while linemate Emeka Ogbonna chipped in with a goal and three helpers.
Jamie Maul added two goals in the rout and goalie Matt Seems kept the Knights frustrated all day.
The game was postponed on two previous occasions due to the warm weather as the ice was deemed unplayable.
"The puck bounced our way that night," Kowal said. "One of our goals in the preseason was to win the division and we also put ourselves in position to win the Mercer County Tournament."
The Bulldogs would receive the fourth seed in the tournament and face Notre Dame in the first round. Hopewell continued their great play in that game, as they shut out the Irish by the score of 6-0.
Hopewell (13-5-2) moved on to the second round where they will face a very familiar opponent WW-P North. It will be the fourth meeting of the year between the new rivals with yet another title possibly at stake.
Seems was stellar in net once again, making 19 saves, and the usual scorers stepped up again to lead the attack. Rush scored three more times, giving him five hat tricks on the year, while Maul had two more and Mike Briehler scored the other with a wicked slap shot.
"It’s always nice when your goalie pitches a shutout in playoff hockey," said Kowal. "We are growing not just individuals but as a team."
Kowal is quick to point out some of the kids who are stepping up this time of year.
"Jay is stepping up and taking responsibility now," he said. "And Kerry who struggled early in the season didn’t get frustrated, he kept is concentration and worked his way through it.
"He’s leading through his actions and I couldn’t be happier for him. He is playing like a captain should."
While they are still alive in the MCT, the state seedings came out and Hopewell wasn’t too pleased with their seed.
They receive a first round bye and a No. 16 seed, but they have to play No. 17 seed Bernards, with the winner advancing to play No. 1 seed Brick.
"Historically, CVC teams get the short end of the stick when it comes to seeding," Kowal said. "It stinks on paper, but we have to make the best of it. Our record at the cut-off date wasn’t too impressive and if the win over WW-P North was before the date, it might have been different."
The game will be played at Mercer County Rink at 3:30 p.m. next Wednesday, and if the Bulldogs win, they will travel to Brick.
"It’s a tough place to play," Kowal said. "Before the year began, we knew that the road to the Continental Airlines Arena would go through Brick. All year, I’ve told the guys that you got to do what you don’t want to do in order to get where you want to go."
To get into the third round, they will have to defeat Bernards, a team unfamiliar to them. "We don’t know much about them," Kowal said. "But I know they are much improved from before."
The only thing on their mind now however, is the game today (Thursday) against North in the MCT.
"When you play a team so much you know what they got," Kowal said. "It comes down to whoever wants it more that night will win."