Janos, Visnovsky fuel HHS hockey streak

Raiders streaking at playoff time

By: John Beisser
   Spearheaded by the electrifying offensive skills of Matt Janos and the uncanny reflexes of goalie Eric Visnovsky, the Hillsborough High ice hockey team knocked off its top two rivals in the in the NJIHL White Division last week. The Raiders skated past Watchung Hills 6-1 on Wednesday before besting Montclair Kimberly Academy, 4-1, on Friday.
   The victories improved the Raiders’ record to 11-5-3 (10-2-1 in White Division) and gave them a shot to win the league’s regular season title. HHS needed a little help from Watchung vs. MKA but didn’t get it, so they finished second in the White despite Monday’s 7-0 rout of Cranford. The league playoff schedule was not available at press time, but the Raiders are likely to need victories over Watchung and Montclair Kimberly again to capture the championship.
   What makes last week’s achievements even more impressive is both victories came without the services of defensive ace Eric Psihoules, who is sidelined indefinitely with a shoulder injury.
   "Without Eric, our young guys really stepped up," said the modest Janos, who leads the team with 24 goals and 18 assists. "The system is really starting to click and things are coming together for us."
   The hard-luck Raiders have lost four games by a one-goal margin and one game by a two-goal spread, which featured an empty net goal in the waning seconds.
   A break here, a shot there, and Hillsborough easily could have three or four more wins on its resume. Overdue for some good fortune, the Raiders got the break they needed vs. Watchung Hills and, depending on how the balance of the season plays out, it just might be the play that defines the 2006-2007 campaign.
   In a continuation of a recurring theme, Hillsborough dominated early, out-shooting the Warriors 10-3 only to find themselves down 1-0 as Watchung Hills converted on a slap shot from the blue line.
   "We were all over them," HHS head coach Pat Verney said. "I mean, we were really playing well, totally out-playing them and we just couldn’t finish. It’s a sports cliché, but I do believe that over the course of a season, the breaks even out and we knew we were due for some breaks. But, you only get those breaks if you continue to execute and continue to work hard."
   The defining moment came with the Raiders down 1-0 against Watchung Hills.
   The sequence began with Hillsborough on a 3-on-3 odd man rush with Dan Curry controlling the puck on the right wing. Curry tried to get a pass through but it deflected off a Watchung Hills defender and bounced to Matt Daugherty, who was trailing on the play. Daugherty then tried to fire a pass through to Trevor Bierwirth on the far side post . The pass sailed through the air and deflected off of Bierwirth’s shin guard and into the net. Curry and Daugherty were credited with assists, Bierwirth got the goal, and the Raiders were infused a boost of much-needed energy.
   "From there, the floodgates kind of opened," Janos said.
   "Some teams would have put their heads down and said, ‘here we go again’ after playing so well early only to find ourselves down," Verney said. "The goal Watchung Hills scored was on a shot that Eric usually saves and just like that, despite all of our hard work, we’re down. But our guys kept plugging away."
   From that point on, Janos simply took over, scoring a natural hat trick with each of his three goals prettier than the next. Joe Kubrak and James Nobilio tacked on goals, the latter off an assist by Janos, and Hillsborough had itself an impressive 6-1 win. The Raiders wound up holding a 39-22 edge in shots and Visnovsky had 21 saves.
   The momentum gained in the victory over Watchung Hills spilled over to the Montclair Kimberly game. The Cougars had revenge on their minds as the only blemish on their 11-1 record was an early season loss to Hillsborough. But on this day, the Raiders were again the better team.
   Janos was involved in all four goals, scoring one and assisting on three others. Alex Merry got the Raiders on the board early on a 5-on-3 power play, off assists by Janos and DeFranco. Janos made it 2-0 in the second period off a feed by DeFranco.
   Bierwirth found Daugherty ahead of the field on a 2-on-1 odd man rush to make it 3-0. With Hillsborough leading 3-1, DeFranco put the icing on the cake with a third period goal after receiving a pass from Janos.
   Hillsborough needed a stellar outing from Visnovsky, who was under duress throughout and peppered with 37 shots. His quick reactions led to a whopping 36 saves and the Raiders were able to post the win despite being out-shot by a commanding 37-22 margin.
   "Eric’s absolutely one of the best in the state and he again showed that on Friday," Verney said.
   Hillsborough, all of the sudden, now has the look of one of the state’s very best teams. It all may have changed on one fortuitous bounce off a shin guard vs. Watchung Hills.