Senior back-up goalie keeps Pirate heads high
By: Justin Feil
In the world of Captain Marvel, Shazam has the power to transform a regular boy into a superhero.
It’s not quite as magical in the West Windsor-Plainsboro South ice hockey team’s world, but they have their own Shazam, who’s doing his part to transform the Pirates into a state tournament team.
Shehzad Dar, nicknamed Shazam by WW-PS head coach Brian McGurney, is one of five seniors on the Pirates. Though he’s undoubtedly the least experienced of the five, and one of the least experienced on the entire team, his enthusiasm has never waned.
"Our captain, Chris Herbert, his mom got me into it," Dar said. "I was the No. 1 fan the year before, but I didn’t play. She said that they didn’t have any goalies besides Jeff Katz and told me I might as well try out, so I did."
Dar, who had played just one year of ice hockey before last season as a 10-year-old in the Ice Land in-house league won a spot on the roster. He didn’t appear in many games, but he might still have been the Pirates’ No. 1 fan. This year, with Katz still in the fold, Dar’s playing time has been limited again, but Dar hasn’t stopped doing things to keep WW-PS going.
"He hasn’t played a whole lot," McGurney said. "But he’s probably one of the best team players we have. He just came out last year. He knew he was going to be a back-up. He stayed positive and he knows his role."
Dar cheered the Pirates on from the bench through the first two periods before taking his place between the pipes for the entire third period as WW-PS improved to 6-6-2 with a 6-1 win over Lawrence on Monday.
"Whenever I get in there, I try to be solid," said Dar, who stopped nine of the 10 shots he faced. "When I’m on the bench, I try to keep the team enthusiastic and, at times, keep them on their best behavior."
For the 17-year-old, being a team leader comes naturally, and it’s that much easier with captains like Chris Herbert and David Suslak. McGurney and the Pirates can appreciate his support.
"He’s a great guy to have," McGurney said. "He keeps things light. At the same time, he’s the first one to get vocal on the bench if things aren’t going well. He tries to pick guys up. You need a positive attitude and he has one."
Ice hockey isn’t Dar’s best sport. He’s thinking about continuing his golf career at Elizabethtown College or Albright College next fall, but he hasn’t ruled out skating for a club ice hockey team. In two short seasons, he’s improved plenty while enjoying himself.
"It was tough at first," said Dar, who also used to play baseball and soccer. "During the season, that was easier with the coaches working with me. This year, it’s been getting even better with our new coach, Dan Bergan, who works with (goaltenders). For as little as I’ve been playing, I’ve improved a lot."
It’s a path that the WW-PS ice hockey team is hoping to follow as it faces Steinert 4 p.m. today at Mercer County Park in a rematch of its opening season game. The Pirates lost that one, 4-2, to the Spartans.
"It’s not a chance for revenge, it’s an opportunity," McGurney said. "It was our first game of the year. We’ll have a healthy team this time. It’s a chance to see how far we’ve come.
"At this point, with the last couple games not being real strong games, it’s definitely a test. It’s not Hopewell Valley, but it’s a test."
Making it that much more meaningful is the fast-approaching Feb. 15 state tournament deadline for being at or above .500. WW-PS plays just twice more after Friday before the cut-off. The Pirates must win at least two of its remaining three games to qualify.
"I think it looks pretty solid," Dar said. "We’ve been coming together as a team a lot better than in the beginning of the season. Even in a couple of losses, we had a lot of strengths we can work off of. Hopefully we’ll keep working as a team and get into states and counties and win something.
"With our first game, we didn’t have a whole lot of practice time. And we were more a bunch of individuals than working as a group. We’re functioning more as a unit."
It’s showing up in the box scores with more assists on every goal and more goal scorers. In the 6-1 win over Lawrence on Monday, WW-PS had five different players score goals Dustin Illgen had two, and Herbert, Andrew Shaparin, Mike Eisenberg and Anuj Patel had one apiece.
"They’re looking pretty good," Dar said of the Pirate offense. "They’re getting shots on net and capitalizing when they get good shots on."
Most importantly for the Pirates Monday was that more of their shots went in than did Lawrence’s.
"We needed a win," McGurney said. "There’s no two ways about it. The last two games, I thought we played very well the first period of Hightstown, but that’s not going to get it done. And before that, it was another loss to Johnson Regional and I thought the guys were going to start losing all their confidence."
But that’s when players like Shehzad Dar have spoken up to keep the Pirates heads up and focused on their continuing goals. For Dar there’s only one way that he’d like to exit his high school career.
"We go out there and see how far we get in the Mercer County Tournament," he said. "Hopefully we get to the finals and get some revenge on some teams we lost to before. And then we see how we do in states maybe if we make that."
The fulfillment of his highest hopes would be truly magical, but it’s a wish that WW-P South’s ice hockey team is hoping that Shazam can grant.

