Dawgs dig through tough week

Hopewell Valley ice hockey

By: Mike Molaro
   For the better part of this season, things have been going positively for the Hopewell Valley Central High School boys ice hockey squad.
   Last week, though, the Bulldogs (12-7 overall, 8-2 in the Colonial Valley Conference) hit a road block with three straight setbacks. While trying to end its longest losing streak of the year, HoVal remains upbeat and confident.
   "We are pretty up and positive," Bulldogs coach Rob Siris said after Monday’s 9-3 defeat at the hands of Ridge. "We’ve already qualified for the states. Our losses have been to tough teams.
   "We are working on our work ethic against the better teams. We need to play a complete game, and if we don’t, we won’t win."
   Ridge, one of the top teams in the state, held a 2-1 lead midway through the game before using its superior talent to put things away.
   "We hung with them for half the game," Siris said. "They just had too much speed, size and skill for us. They are a great team, and they showed why they are ranked seventh (in the state). They lost in the state finals last year by one goal. I think they are the best public school in the state."
   Freshman forward Tom Rush and senior defenseman Gregg Amato each had a goal and an assist for HoVal, while junior forward Alex Laughlin scored a goal. Sophomore forward Eric Doran, sophomore forward Brian DeAngelis and senior forward Austin Zook each contributed a goal.
   Despite the loss to Ridge, the Bulldogs found some positives on which to build for the upcoming Mercer County and state tournaments.
   "We learned a lot from the caliber of team they are," Siris said. "Their skill level is tremendous. We played extremely well in spurts and during those times we proved we can skate with a team like Ridge. If we play like that all the time, we don’t have seven losses.
   "I scheduled this game near the end of the season to get us ready for the county and state tournaments. Playing a team like Ridge can only make us a better team."
   HoVal, the two-time defending Titans Cup champion, relinquished its title last Saturday as Notre Dame registered a 4-1 victory at Sovereign Bank Arena. The Irish also defeated the Bulldogs 5-2 earlier this season.
   Junior forward Charlie Knights gave HoVal a 1-0 lead just 1:43 into the game off assists from Laughlin and Rush. Senior goalie Bryan Driver made 24 saves in the Bulldog nets.
   HoVal had its chances but couldn’t convert them into goals.
   "We had two power plays early in the game and had four good scoring opportunities we didn’t capitalize on," Siris said. "It could’ve easily been 3-0 or 4-0 instead of 1-0. We went into the final period down just 2-1.
   "Notre Dame is a great team. Against great teams, you need everybody to elevate their level and we didn’t do that today."
   Despite 20 saves from Driver on Feb. 2, the Bulldogs dropped a 2-0 decision to Steinert. HoVal defeated the Spartans five days earlier, 4-3 in overtime, in the semifinals of the Titans Cup.
   "Steinert worked hard and deserved to win," Siris said. "We underestimated them and it cost us. We didn’t deserve to win. We had no work ethic and didn’t play close to the way we are capable of playing."
   After watching films of all three games, the Bulldogs saw their level of intensity increase against each opponent and understand the importance of taking advantage of situations.
   "Our work ethic against Ridge was astronomically better than against Steinert," Siris said. "The guys were much more focused and their play was elevated against Ridge.
   "The guys also saw how the great teams like Notre Dame and Ridge capitalize on situations. We didn’t do that against Notre Dame and they came back to win. Great teams don’t let scoring opportunities slip by."
   Unfortunately for the Bulldogs, they learned that first-hand against Notre Dame and Ridge.
• NOTES: The Bulldogs skated against Notre Dame yesterday for the third time this season and face Montgomery at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Ice Land in Hamilton. They take on West Windsor-Plainsboro South on Monday.
   HoVal is seeded second in the Mercer County Tournament and received a first-round bye. The Bulldogs skate against 10th-seeded WW-P North on Feb. 21. North defeated Ewing 2-0 on Jan. 26. Notre Dame received the top seed in the MCT, Princeton is third-seeded, and Steinert is seeded fourth.