Hockey Player of the Year

PHS’ Ryan had knack for scoring goals

By: Justin Feil
   You’d have to go back almost a decade to find a time when John Ryan wasn’t a scoring machine.
   "I wouldn’t say I was scorer when I was 7," said the Princeton High School hockey player. "I wasn’t really a scorer until Pee Wees. When we started hitting, I kind of pulled away. I was playing up when I was younger so maybe that’s why I didn’t score a lot early."
   Ryan quickly discovered his gift for finding the back of the net himself or setting others up to do the same. When he began his high school career, it didn’t take him long to solidify his reputation. And his high school career ends as he built on his prowess every season while helping PHS to an incredible four-year stretch.
   "We are definitely sorry to see J.R. go," said PHS head coach Paul Merrow. "He had a great four-year career at Princeton High School. He was our leading scorer four years straight. He’s our all-time leading scorer. He’s our all-time leading points getter. It’ll be a huge void to fill in the offense."
   When Ryan broke into the high school lineup on the first line with 23 goals and 27 assists, big things were expected. He didn’t disappoint. As a sophomore, he had 34 goals and 23 assists. Last year, he scored 46 goals and tallied 25 assists. And as a senior, he proved even a bigger force with 46 goals and a career-best 35 assists.
   "You come to expect it," Merrow said. "He’s great offensive player. He’s come around defensively as well. You’re always counting on him to get that game-winning goal or that four or five points a night. We relied on him a lot."
   Ryan proved a valuable part of the Little Tigers. PHS lost both games that he and Christian McCracken missed while playing in tournaments for their Mercer Chiefs club team. One of those losses was to Hopewell Valley, and when they returned, PHS beat the Bulldogs in the Mercer County Tournament semifinals to reach their third MCT final in four years. Ryan scored the go-ahead goal as PHS recovered fully from a slow start to the season.
   Ryan’s play only got more impressive as the teams got better. In the first round of the state tournament, he provided a hat trick as the 18th-seeded Little Tigers got by Roxbury. He went one better with four goals in a 5-3 upset of No. 15 Middletown North to reach the sweet sixteen for the third straight season. There, he assisted on a goal by Peter Teifer as the Little Tigers led No. 2 seed Ridge, 1-0, early in the first period before falling, 2-1, in overtime. The Little Tigers finished 14-9-3 while Ryan closed his career as the third-leading scorer in Mercer County history with 149 goals and 110 assists.
   John Ryan is the Princeton Packet Ice Hockey Player of the Year.
   "It’s pretty remarkable stuff," Merrow said. "The company he’s in, he’s in the top 10 with (Mats) Carseberg, (Adam) Shemansky, (Bryan) Bowser, and (Lee) Jelenic. That’s very good company to be in. What he chooses to do after this year, I’m sure he’ll be very successful. Whether it’s the Juniors route or the college route, he’ll be very successful."
   Ryan is leaning toward the college route, possibly the top Division I club team, Rhode Island, though he has a Juniors offer already as well. Whoever gets Ryan’s services will be getting a player who has changed and grown to meet every expectation of him.
   "Besides the obvious physical things and just playing so much hockey, I was maturing in my role," Ryan said. "As a freshman and sophomore, I was strictly in an offensive role. There was a six- or seven-game span this year where I actually played defense. The other games, I played defense on the penalty kill and played defense in certain situations. My role changed to that of an overall player and accepting more responsibility."
   Added Merrow: "Over four years, he’s matured as individual. He didn’t wear a captain’s C, but he was definitively one of our team leaders. A lot of the guys looked to him in times we needed him to come up big for us. He did."
   Ryan and the Little Tigers played their best when the games were biggest. They reached three MCT title games in four years and the sweet sixteen three straight seasons. To look at their overall record is deceptive because PHS formed a reputation for playing its best at the end of its seasons. This year was no different.
   "The culmination of the season was pretty good," Ryan said. "We made it to the finals of the Mercer County Tournament. Nobody thought we’d do that. We lost to a good Notre Dame team. Then we made it back to the sweet sixteen again and we gave Ridge a good game. I don’t think anybody thought we’d give them a game. I couldn’t have picked a better way to go out. Just fact we gave Ridge good game was a good end to the career."
   It’s one of the fondest memories that Ryan will take to his next home skating rink. More than the goals and assists he had, he remembers the Little Tigers’ big wins and even that final game against Ridge for he and his eight other senior teammates.
   "First and foremost, I remember the Mercer County Tournament my sophomore year," Ryan said. "Winning that game was great. And even though it might sound weird, that last goal in the Ridge game is something I’ll remember. I was out there. Pete (Teifer) was out there. Christian was out there. Pete Miller was out there. And Shane Leuck. We tied the Gordon Cup champion, the number-eight team in the state. It was a culmination of everything that showed we could play with anybody in the state.
   "It was kind of funny. Me, Pete Teifer and Shane, we couldn’t explain it, but we felt good about it. Everybody thought we’d be destroyed by Ridge. The semifinals of the Mercer County Tournament against Hopewell, who we’d lost to 8-1, it was the same way. That feeling really carried over to the game."
   Plenty of good feelings carried over with Ryan in the PHS lineup. In his final season, Ryan proved to be even harder to stop at the offensive end than he had been in three successful previous seasons. It was a testament to how tough it is to stop him.
   "The high level of club hockey that he’s played enabled him to improve offensively his four years in high school," Merrow said. "The level from club to high school is night and day. At the club level that him and Christian played at, his high school games were probably a lot easier for him to play in. He didn’t have the defensive pressure, so to speak, he would have in club hockey. But a lot of teams knew he was our go-to guy and they would try to stop him and they couldn’t.
   "He came up big for us from the Hopewell semifinal game to the Middletown North game," he added. "Not only does he get his goals against some of the other teams we play, but also against some of the better teams in the league and non-league."
   Ryan’s scoring gave the Little Tigers someone they could bank on in big or small games. And when PHS needed it most, Ryan came up biggest to help deliver another successful season.
   "I had a lot more fun this year," Ryan said. "Our outlook was a lot more positive. The bad start actually made the season a little more enjoyable at the end. I think our expectations were a little lower after our start and the fact we exceeded those expectations was really nice."
   For John Ryan, expectations have always been high. Since entering high school four seasons ago, he was counted on as the top scorer for the PHS boys’ ice hockey team. And that he delivered would surprise few, except maybe those that played with him more than a decade ago.