Lawrence ice hockey
By: John E. Powers
Youth is proving to be very big for the Lawrence High School ice hockey team.
The Cardinals cruised through the first two games of the Nottingham Invitational Tournament, opening with a 10-4 win over Hamilton, followed by a 7-1 thumping of Ewing at Lawrenceville. The Cardinals, who opened the season 1-3, with losses to Princeton (8-1), Hightstown (7-3) and Steinert (8-2), improved to 3-3. They will face Nottingham for the tournament title at 7:15 p.m. tonight (Thursday night) at Lawrenceville.
Freshmen Brock Krawczun and Tim Finnerty combined to score four of the Cardinals’ 10 goals in the rout of Hamilton. The Cardinals beat Hamilton 5-0 to open the season. This time, Krawczun enjoyed his first career hat trick, scoring two of his goals in the first period, when the Cardinals took a 2-1 lead at the Loucks Ice Center.
"They played great," Borowsky said of the freshmen. "They played to their potential. It’s a nice surprise. I knew we had incoming freshmen. I didn’t know their history and hockey background."
Junior center Viktor Kis set up Krawczun’s first goal with a terrific centering pass just over a minute into the game. Then, with 1:33 left in the first period, Krawczun scored with a shot that went over the right shoulder of Hamilton goalie Jeff Ostrowski. Finnerty added one of four Lawrence goals in the second period that blew the game open.
Senior forward Evan Fruscione had a hat trick in the game with Ewing and also had two assists. Junior forward Patrick Jaeger had a goal and two assists for the winners, who peppered Blue Devils’ goalie Ricky Hunt with 48 shots. Jaeger and Finnerty also had goals, and Krawczun added two assists. Junior Matt Watson and sophomore forward Jake McClister also scored goals. Senior goalie Zyon Zate, who split time with Matt Azrolan in the Hamilton game, made 33 saves against Ewing.
The strong games should help the young Cardinals as they face a very daunting early schedule.
"Starting the season against the powerhouses is never easy," said Borowsky, whose team finished 5-13 last year.
"The kids responded well to it.
"They guys have done a great job staying positive."

