Dominant effort not enough for Cougars

MHS hockey out-shoots foe in loss

By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
   The Montgomery High School ice hockey team was dominant in winning its first three games of the season.
   The Cougars also dominated their first loss.
   ”It’s hard to more than double a team’s shots and lose, 4-1,” said MHS head coach Rob Scarpa after the Cougars fell to Hillsborough by that score Tuesday.
   Montgomery held a 50-17 shot advantage, 40-9 over the final two periods, but couldn’t get more than one puck past Eric Visnovsky. Kevin Hover’s power-play goal late in the second period gave the Cougars life and trimmed Hillsborough’s lead to 2-1 entering the third period.
   ”They scored a couple times on a couple mental breakdowns early,” Scarpa said. “We were playing catch-up. We figured we would eventually catch up. We never lost focus. We never got frustrated. We were hoping we’d pop in that one and get going from there.
   ”Visnovsky, he was the MVP today. You get a hot goalie, he can make a real good team look average. He won the game for them today.”
   The Cougars will try to bounce back against Montclair Kimberley today. MHS had outscored its first three opponents by a combined 12-4 final.
   ”We’re designed not to give up goals,” Scarpa said. “We’re designed to protect our end. We did a nice job of that for the majority of the game. They held possession of the puck for no more than 40 seconds. We had it for two minutes sometimes. Their goalie did his job tonight.”
   The Cougars are looking to return to their winning ways today. There is no panic from MHS after one tough loss to its rival.
   ”I think we’re a very solid team,” Scarpa said. “I can see the grand picture of what we can become, but we have a lot of work to get there. The kids are working. A very positive thing about this team is they’ll come back tomorrow to work on the things we need to fix.
   ”We just didn’t score. We’ve been scoring a lot. Today we didn’t score. It’s part of the game.”
   With an upbeat attitude and good experience and playing abilities, it’s no wonder that Scarpa is excited about the team’s potential. The Cougars have already seen improvements through their first four games, but need more as they go forward.
   ”I’ve seen the intensity level pick up,” Scarpa said. “Skating ability is their strength. They worked hard to improve on that. They’re relatively young so they’ve been working on their strength and conditioning. That’s going to help as the season progresses.
   ”We’ve played three games in a row without a practice. Some things we want to fix unfortunately have had to wait a bit.”
   The Cougars will work on lowering their goals against average and finding ways to consistently put the puck in the net at the other end. The goal is to have their roles understood while figuring out what they can depend on to make them the best team possible.
   ”It takes some time, but they get it,” Scarpa said. “They know what’s expected. They can answer the questions when they’re asked. It’s now a matter of making it happen on the ice. We have changed a lot of things this year. We’ve changed things and the kids, they’ve bought into it.
   ”It’s a matter of it all coming together,” he added. “We knew it would take a little time with what we’re asking them to do. They’re coming along like we expected.”
   MHS produced a lot of things it was looking for Tuesday, one day after topping Hunterdon Central on Monday. Today, the Cougars look to pick up another win.
   ”I would hope to get on a very good roll,” Scarpa said. “We made progressions in the game. We skated real hard. We had good shifts. We applied pressure. We did everything we wanted except the outcome wasn’t what we were hoping for.
   ”We had a nice win against Bridgewater to open the season, 4-2,” Scarpa said. “We played pretty well. Any time you can open with a win against a rival is good. We came back against West Essex, and I didn’t think we had our best effort, but it was 3-0. We got the win. It was something we had to do. And even though the score was 5-2, it was a good win over a vastly improving Hunterdon Central program (Monday).”
   MHS followed with a loss to Hillsborough, one they hope can serve them as they go forward.
   ”When we play close games like that in our division, it’s whoever makes the fewest mistakes (wins),” Scarpa said. “Whoever can’t hold strong will likely give up opportunities and goals. You can outplay and outshoot them, but if you have a mental breakdown, you can still lose.
   ”We just had a couple early. It’s a nice lesson for a young team to learn.”
   Hillsborough made the most of those slip-ups to win for the first time against Montgomery in the young series. The Cougars don’t want any more milestones for opponents.
   ”We’re going to look to keep progressing and making strides,” Scarpa said. “A win would be great. You want nothing less than a win every time you walk out there. I think our kids have confidence in themselves. They know they’re going to win games.”
   And more often than not, the Montgomery High ice hockey team is going to skate home a victor when it holds a dramatic shot advantage. Tuesday was one of those exceptions in what is shaping up to be another big year for MHS.