HHS ice hockey advances to MCT title game

The Rams beat Notre Dame 3-0.

By: Neil Hay
   When it comes to Hightstown ice hockey, you sometimes never know which team will show up.
   Monday in the opening round of the Mercer County Tournament, it was more a question of how many healthy players would suit up for the Rams.
   The answer, fortunately for the Rams, was just enough.
   An assortment of injuries and illness left coach Andy Gojdycz with 10 skaters and two goalies. By the end of the game, the Rams were sucking air. Still, there was enough in the tank to advance to the next round with a 3-0 win over Notre Dame at Ice Land.
   "They played their hearts out," said Gojdycz of Hightstown, seeded fourth in the tournament. "It was our best game of the year. We came out from the get-go with two quick goals (Adam Tousant from Matt Cox; Jeff Jaketic from Mike Schickner). We played good team defense and that was the difference in the game."
   The lead swelled to 3-0 when Tousant converted a Brett Ruina pass in the middle period. The defense then took over, keeping the puck out of the Rams’ end as much as possible. When the fifth-seeded Irish did get off a shot, goalie Dale Sokol (18 saves) was there to kick it aside and preserve the shutout.
   With a shortened bench each Ram player knew that playing smart, controlled, disciplined hockey was a must. To that end, Hightstown took a minimum of penalties. Asked why his team can’t always play like this all the time, Gojdycz laughed and said, "That’s a good question. You get your team thinking defense first, you are going to have a good chance to win the hockey game."
   With four minutes left to play, Gojdycz called time to give his squad a breather. As to the fatigue his tired players battled, Gojdycz said, "It totally depends on where their heads are. When you are on the ice and playing with a short bench, there are ways to find rest on the ice. We had ten guys out there. It was survival of the fittest. We survived."
   The win moved Hightstown into Wednesday night’s semi-finals at Mercer County Park against eighth-seeded Steinert, which shocked top-seed Pennington, 6-3. When the Rams played the Spartans back on January 6, the locals won easily, 9-2.
   "Steinert did not make states this year so this is their Stanley Cup playoffs. They will come out for a hell of a match and we have to prepare for them accordingly. They have a lot to prove."
   The Spartans also want revenge. In last year’s tournament, Steinert blew a 5-2 lead and lost to Hightstown 6-5.
   But the Rams decided this one quickly with a four-goal burst in the first period. By the final whistle, the locals had put seven goals behind the Steinert ‘keeper for a 7-0 win. Coupled with West Windsor-North’s 6-2 win over West Windsor-South, Hightstown will play second-seeded North Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m. at Sovereign Bank Arena to determine this year’s county champion. These are the same two teams that met foe the MCT title last year. Hightstown won, 6-5.
   "We are definitely going to be the underdogs against West Windsor-North," which improved to 16-3-1. "But we’ll have to see."
   Ruina, Tousant and Chris Miller all had two goals and Schickner one as the Rams cruised past the Spartans. Sokol made it back-to-back shutouts by rejecting all 18 Steinert shots on goal.
   Said Gojdycz, "Sokol got the first star in my book. He got us the shutout, the win, and is on top of his game."
   Still short of manpower (the Rams finished the game with eight forwards and four defensemen), Gojdycz said he was somewhat surprised by the final score. But that it was not indicative of the way Steinert played.
   "I didn’t expect it to be one-sided. I don’t think the score is reflective of the way Steinert played. They played well. We just got four goals in the first period and capitalized on their mistakes. We then sat back and played defensive hockey. For once we let the other team do all the work and capitalize on their mistakes."
   Now the 13-7-2 Rams will see if that formula works tomorrow in their biggest game of the season.