WW-P North wins MCT hockey title

Title evidence of building program

By: Justin Feil
   TRENTON — The way that Joe Ferrara sees it, the West Windsor-Plainsboro High North ice hockey team’s Mercer County Tournament championship was just a matter of time.
   "It seems like we’ve been building," said Ferrara, a Knights defenseman. "First year, we missed the tournament by a half game. Last year, we made it to the finals, but we came up short. This year, we closed the deal. It feels good. It feels like we’ve been going step by step."
   The latest step was perhaps the most impressive. WW-PN avenged a 6-5 overtime loss to Hightstown in last season’s MCT final and an early-season 6-2 loss to the Rams with a 7-1 victory in the title game Saturday at Sovereign Bank Arena.
   "Last year was a real disappointment," Ferrara said. "We really wanted to come out fired up, and we did. We finished business today."
   The win gave the ice hockey team the first-ever county title of any team at WW-PN. It was a preseason goal for the Knights, who entered the MCT as the second seed in just their third year of existence. The win stretches WW-PN’s win streak to nine games going into today’s 4 p.m. game against Princeton High at Mercer County Park. The Knights, who are 16-3-1 overall, have not lost since dropping the Titans Cup semifinal to Hopewell Valley on Jan. 17.
   "We just realized how to win," Ferrara said. "How to win is hitting hard, playing hard and playing for each other. That Titans Cup game, we didn’t do that. The past nine games, we’ve been doing that — playing hard for each other and hitting hard."
   It’s something that WW-PN expects from Ferrara every game, and the junior has delivered time and time again. It makes sense that the best public school team in the county has one of, if not the best defenseman in the area.
   "I’m not going out on a limb with that one. No offense against any of the other defenseman in the league, but Joey is the best. He does everything," said WW-PN head coach Tim Grable. "Joey is one of seven underclassmen defensemen that we roll, and he’s the leader of them. Joey is the type of kid who has never had a game off since he’s been playing in the program. He comes to play every single night and plays hard every single night. Anybody on the team that’s down, all they have to do is look at Joey."
   While it was hits by Luke Shevlin and Steve Avery that fired up the Knights on Saturday, Ferrara was his usual spectacular self. And behind him, the Knights stacked one of the best goalies, Jimmy Merrow, who finished with 38 saves. With an offense that’s been scoring goals in bunches, it makes for an imposing lineup.
   "With this team, I’ve very confident," Ferrara said. "No matter what line, I’m really confident. In close games, we’ve been able to pull them out. Hopefully we can keep this rolling and finish off the season with a win."
   The only way for that to happen, however, is for the Knights to win the state title. It’s what Ferrara and WW-PN see as the next step in the building process, after they take a shot at the Colonial Valley Conference Valley Division crown. They currently stand one game ahead of Hopewell Valley in the loss column.
   "We’ve got to finish out our regular-season games, then we’re really concerned with states," Ferrara said. "Tonight was last (state) cut-off. Hopefully we’ll get a good seed, and keep playing hard, keep rolling into states."
   WW-PN is looking to put together the sort of complete game that brought it Saturday’s convincing win as it heads into the postseason. In the atmosphere of playoff hockey, it is the defense that can dictate a game’s outcome.
   "Right now, we’re peaking," Ferrara said. "I’ve been here three years, and this is the best I’ve seen our defense play ever. Instead of three guys, we’ve got six players who are real strong. No one’s a letdown."
   Hightstown took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Adam Tousant less than five minutes into the game, but the Knights’ Aaron Mendez tied the score, 1-1, and Ted Wilson’s first of three shorthanded goals was the game-winner with 3:08 left in the first period.
   "It felt real good to keep them at one," Ferrara said. "We would have loved to get a goose-egg, but one feels good. It’s not just the six defenders. It’s the whole team playing defense. It’s not just the defense. We’re all playing together as a unit."
   "Joey’s been a three-year starter," Grable said. "He was a freshman thrown out on the ice every other shift. Now, with three lines, he goes every third shift. He’s phenomenal."
   Saturday, Joe Ferrara’s play was again phenomenal in helping the WW-P North ice hockey team to its first Mercer County Tournament title, the first big step in the Knights’ continuing building process.