Ravens eliminated in first round of playoffs
By: Sean Moylan Sports Writer
After going over 10 days without a game, the Robbinsville High varsity ice hockey players used last Thursday’s 4-4 tie against West Windsor-Plainsboro South at Lawrenceville Prep’s Loucks Arena to get their skating legs back just in time for this past Tuesday’s scheduled playoff game versus Lakeland at the same location.
Mike Piet scored two second-period goals and Robbie Zingaro added a tally to give Robbinsville a 3-1 lead going into the final period. WW-PS came back with two goals to tie it before Zingaro (assisted by Richie Salava) gave the Ravens back the lead.
Although WW-PS ended up tying the game, the Ravens accomplished their mission. All of their centers, forwards and defensemen on the first three lines had gotten in their skating. Moreover, Ravens’ starting goalie Ryan DeAngelis made saves on 17 of the 18 shots he faced before Ryan McFarlane came in to make eight more saves.
“Both teams used the game as a tune-up,” said Robbinsville head coach Dan Bergan, who knew his team needed to face the speed of live action one more time before this past Tuesday’s playoff contest.
Robbinsville (seeded 15th and with a record of 13-8-1) was scheduled to have hosted Lakeland (18th seed) this past Monday at Mercer County Park. However, the recent snow storm pushed the contest back to Tuesday, where it was scheduled to be played at Lawrenceville Prep.
On Tuesday, Robbinsville was defeated by Lakeland, 3-1.
Robbinsville scored the only goal of the first period. Richie Flocco scored the goal, with Anthony Rosetta getting the assist.
Lakeland tied the game in the second period. Lakeland scored the only two goals of the third period.
“We won the Patriot Division for the second year in a row. It was certainly one of our goals as we started the season, but the main goal was to take another step and get a home state playoff game,” said Bergan.
Bergan believed his team was peaking and playing its best hockey of the season entering Tuesday’s first-
round playoff game. In particular, Piet, one of the area’s top scorers, is playing some great hockey.
“What makes Piet such a great player is that he is multi-dimensional. Obviously, he can snipe and is a great puck handler. What people may miss is his outstanding puck distribution, unselfishness, speed, defensive play and he will really put a hit on you if given a chance. He has great hands but is by no means a soft finesse player. He has 96 goals and 190 points (both all-time records),” noted Bergan, whose super scorer had 41 goals and 18 assists entering the playoffs.
Richie Flocco’s shutdown defense on the first line makes Piet’s job a whole lot easier.
“Flocco is as good as any (defenseman) I see up and down the state. Aside from being a bone-crunching hitter, he has incredible hockey sense and vision,” said Bergan, who is also amazed by Flocco’s offensive skills, especially on his fast breaks when opposing teams try to dump and chase against him. “I haven’t seen him beaten straight up all year. Not once.”
The staple of the first line, however is Robbie Zingaro, who has scored a lot of big goals this year and is an enforcer as well.
“Anytime you gang up on Piet, he (Zingaro) is going to burn you for it. He has an incredible nose for the net and has surprising moves down low. He cleans up around the net and is a tremendous opportunist. He is the third leading scorer in Robbinsville’s short history but often gets overlooked,” said Bergan who also loves Salava’s game. “Richie Salava is often overlooked as well. He gives us tremendous speed on the outside that puts everyone on their heels. He has some of the best breakaway moves that I’ve seen.”
Nearly every good team has an essential star player who doesn’t grab the headlines, and Robbinsville’s unsung hero this season is Anthony Rosetta, who is a sometimes defender on the first line and solid center on the second line.
“He is 140 pounds and plays like a 200 pound tiger. When you see a guy that size throwing his body around it ignites everyone,” said Bergan of Rosetta.
Of course it’s very difficult to win big games without a good goalie and Robbinsville has a great three-
sport star net minder in Ryan DeAngelis. Bergan loves DeAngelis’ game so much that he calls him his “freak of nature” and “a perfect athlete.” Yet it’s his intelligence and coachability which truly make DeAngelis special.
“He (DeAngelis) is incredibly driven and one of the few guys that you can teach something and immediately see him implement it on the ice. He brings a great work ethic and professionalism to the squad as well as some outstanding stops in big spots,” said Bergan, who is a remarkable head coach.
Bergan also credits Tyler Glassman and Ryan Boyne’s work on the blue line for much of the team’s success. Everyone on the Ravens works hard and many lift on their off days. Players like Chris Alexander, Joe Normandin Connor Given and others put in extra hours of ice time over the summer to give the Ravens more depth this year.

