Ice hockey
By: Jim Green
The Pennington School’s ice hockey team is beginning to learn what it’s like to be the hunted.
The Red Raiders, coming off a 6-13-1 record last year, earned the top seed in the 2002-03 Mercer County Tournament with a 14-win campaign that included wins over quality squads such as Hightstown, Notre Dame and Steinert.
But Pennington appeared unready to handle the pressure of being the No. 1 seed Monday. The Red Raiders lost a re-match with Steinert 6-3 in the first round of the county tournament at Ice Land in Hamilton.
"I think, when we were the underdogs, our boys handled it a lot better," Pennington coach Tom Horsley said. "When we started winning, other teams came out strong against us.
"Being the No. 1 seed did put a lot of pressure on them (the Red Raiders)."
Horsley tried to alleviate the pressure by imploring the Red Raiders to focus only on playing Steinert, not on the seedings.
"I told them, ‘This is an important hockey game, whether you’re seeded first or eighth," Horsley said.
The Spartans, though, seemed determined to pull the upset, grabbing the early lead with a first-period goal by Chad Daniels.
Pennington quickly rebounded with goals by junior forwards Chris Kehrer and Will McPhaden to go up 2-1 early in the second period. However, Steinert closed the second with two unanswered goals, taking a 3-2 advantage into the final period.
"We had a problem getting our feet moving," Horsley said. "When that happens, you don’t make good passes, you can’t get open and you don’t get to loose pucks.
"We worked hard in the third period, but that just wasn’t enough."
Despite the Red Raiders’ improved work ethic, Steinert netted the first two goals of the final period, opening a 5-2 lead. McPhaden then answered with his second goal of the contest, closing the gap to two.
Pennington put the pressure on in the final minutes, attempting a last-ditch comeback. But Steinert goalie Jeff Owad gloved a hard slap shot by Kehrer with 1:06 left, quelling the Red Raiders’ final scoring chance.
And with 20.2 seconds left, Daniels intercepted a pass in Pennington’s end and skated in for an empty-net goal, sealing Steinert’s victory.
"I think the boys (the Red Raiders) became complacent to some extent," Horsley said. "They thought that winning was something they could do without working hard. They found out that isn’t the case.
"I sincerely believe the boys worked hard in the third period. We didn’t work hard in the first two periods. That’s what killed us."
Third-seeded Hopewell Valley also fell in the first round of the tournament at Ice Land, dropping a 2-1 overtime decision to West Windsor-Plainsboro South. The Bulldogs had defeated the Pirates 6-1 Jan. 13 in a regular-season contest.
Through two periods Monday, Hopewell Valley seemed on the way to exiting the tournament with an unceremonious shutout loss. But senior Sean Martin, the unsung hero of the Bulldogs’ top line, came through with a goal midway through the third period, tying the score 1-1.
It was not meant to be, though, for the Bulldogs, who surrendered the game-winner to the Pirates’ Chris Herbert less than one minute into overtime. The loss means the Bulldogs will turn their attention to the state tournament, scheduled to begin March 3.
The Red Raiders, meanwhile, have only their season finale today against Steinert, of all teams remaining before they are forced to spend the off-season contemplating what might have been.
"I told the boys after the game that one week doesn’t make or break a season," Horsley said. "Nothing can take away from the record we had this year. That record was in the bank before we started the tournament."

