When Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) sophomore Joakim Ryan hit the post at the 5:30 mark of the first period of Saturday’s NJSIAA Non-Public final at the Prudential Center in Newark, the sound effectively served as a wake-up bell for the state’s top team.
After watching CBA outplay them to that point in the game, the Delbarton Green Wave must have realized that they weren’t going to be able to skate to another win against a Colts team that was ready to compete.
Unfortunately for CBA, once the Green Wave picked up its play, Delbarton proved what most people already assumed to be true — when playing to its potential, this year’s Delbarton team is in a class by itself.
While CBA continued to play hard the
rest of the way, they were simply overmatched, as Delbarton notched its first goal just three minutes later when junior Michael Loungo took a pass from Michael Pirovano and beat CBA goalie Zach Dietrich with a wrist shot. The state’s topranked team then added three goals in both the second and third periods to secure the win and earn its third nonpublic title in the last four years. It also marked the Wave’s 14th win in a row (they finished the year on a 19-game unbeaten streak) and their 12th shutout of the season.
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With the win, Delbarton (27-2-1) also tied Brick Township for the most state championships, with six, and further cemented its status as the top scholastic hockey program in the state, winning a state record 27 games for the second year in a row.
CBA entered the game (its first nonpublic final since 2005, when it beat Delbarton, 2-1, in overtime) fully aware of Delbarton’s offensive prowess, which was even more reason for head coach Ryan Bogan’s team to try to jump out to an early lead.
They appeared poised to do it too, outshooting the Wave 5-1 in the game’s first eight minutes, and putting together a couple of good scoring opportunities on the power play. However, with Delbarton goalie Bob Kaminski holding strong in net, the Green Wave was able to absorb the Colts’ early rush, and eventually flexed its muscles.
"We didn’t score on our two powerplay opportunities early, and I knew in the back of my mind it would come back to haunt us," said Bogan. "They played great."
Leading 1-0, Delbarton forward Kenny Agostino scored his 32nd goal of the year off assists from Michael Ambrosio and Michael Pirovano at the 1:35 mark of the second. Then, junior forward Charles Orzetti found the net off an assist from Alex Velischek at the 4:50 mark, before Velischek scored on a power play at 11:33 to make it 4-0, and effectively seal the game for Delbarton.
The Green Wave further exerted its dominance in the third, getting goals from Peter McMullen, Ambrosio and Pirovano. It was a virtuoso performance from a deep, talented team that promises to be equally as dangerous next season. Only Velischeck, a senior headed to Providence in the fall, graduates from a Delbarton team that will enter next season as the team against all others will be measured once again.
As for CBA, the Colts finished their season an impressive 22-5- 2. Bogan’s team certainly played to its potential throughout its playoff run.
The Colts advanced to the finals with a strong 4-1 win over Gordon Conference rival Bishop Eustace on March 13, as senior John Frost led the way with a pair of goals, while junior forward Tim Clifton added a goal and an assist. This was a big win for a program that lost in the semifinals each of the last two seasons.
CBA jumped out to an early 2-0 lead when Frost converted a Eustace turnover and beat goalie Nick Casella with a slap shot to the upper corner with just 14 seconds to play in the first. Clifton then made it 2-0 when he tallied a shorthanded goal just under two minutes in to the second period. Clifton made a nice play, poking the puck past a Eustace defender in the CBA zone before racing down the ice and beating Casella with a slap shot to the stick side.
Much like in the final against Delbarton, CBA was the better team throughout the first period, dominating play and outshooting Eustace, 12-6, and controlling the action. The difference in this game, however, was that the Colts were able to take advantage of its scoring chances, and play with a lead.
Eustace did manage to cut the lead to 2- 1 just 1:38 into the third period on a Matt Toy goal, but Ryan came back and scored on a power play for CBA, giving them a 3- 1 lead with just over six minutes to play. Frost then capped the scoring with an empty-netter with 20 seconds left.
CBA’s defense was tremendous in the win, as it limited Eustace to just six shots down the stretch, despite the Crusaders’ desperation.
Dietrich was very strong in net, stopping 24 shots, including 13 in the second period, as CBA picked a very good time to put forth one of its strongest defense showings of the season.
While they certainly would have liked to follow up the Eustace win with an upset of Delbarton in the finals, their season remains a tremendous success nonetheless.