By Justin Feil, The Packet Group
Bobby Palzer started facing blistering shots when he was 7 years old.
The shots come at him a lot faster now, but the Hillsborough High School ice hockey team has seen very few get by their sophomore goalie.
”He’s a confident kid,” said Hillsborough head coach Joe Bennett. “He’ll never show it. He’ll never be cocky. We can rely on him. That’s the way he’s been for two years.”
Palzer and the Raiders delivered a gem in last Thursday’s 1-0 win over rival Montgomery. Palzer made 36 saves to help Jeff Killian’s first-period goal stand up.
”It was a big confidence booster,” Palzer said of the win. “The previous years, we had some really close games with them. It just felt great to finally beat them.
”Every time we play Montgomery, it’s a big game. No matter how many seniors they lost, we really wanted to beat them. We didn’t need much more motivation than seeing them on the schedule.”
The tables were turned on Montgomery this year, as the deeper Raiders wore them down over the course of the game.
”We have, at least in my mind, a lot of depth all around,” Bennett said. “We were able to run all our lines against them and I think this year, as opposed to last year, we have a little, more depth than they do. I think they tired down a little toward the end of the game. That was a major difference. We were able to hold them off for the win.”
The win was the third straight for Hillsborough in six days after a two-week layoff, though their win streak was snapped by Pingry, 4-1, Monday in a rare slip. The four goals were more than any other game this year for the defensive oriented Raiders.
”We go into every game feeling our goaltending and defensive style — it’s not just our defensemen — that style is going to keep us in every game no matter who the opponent is,” Bennett said. “We don’t change too much for opponents. We don’t let others dictate what we do. It’s a style that allows us to stay in every game.
”We’re probably not going to put up six, seven or eight goals. We’re probably not going to give up many goals.”
Prior to the Pingry loss, the defense had been sterling in three straight wins. They allowed just one goal against Sparta and one goal to Hunterdon Central before shutting out Montgomery.
”It was definitely big,” Palzer said of the shutout. “We practice defense a lot. We try to make our forwards help. We’re really defensive minded all-around.”
That’s music to a goalie’s ears. Putting an emphasis on defense sits well with Palzer, who can make life difficult for opposing shooters. He’s been doing it for more than a year with the Raiders after taking over during last season’s holiday tournament.
”Everyone tries to do their own job,” Bennett said. “The coaching staff expects everyone to do their own job. Bobby does his. Our defense does its. Our offense does its. Everyone is expected to execute.”
In Palzer, the Raiders have found a quietly reliable goalie, who should be there for another two years.
”He’s not a very vocal guy, he’s very quiet,” Bennett said. “He never really gets rattled. You wouldn’t know if he did. He’s very to himself. He came in very confident. It took him a while to get some time. He’s continued to do what’s been asked of him on this team. He’s had a background on teams he’s played on before for preparing him for playing here.”
Palzer started in goal after experimenting at forward and defense as a 7-year-old. Even though he was still in elementary school, he knew he’d found his future.
”It just kind of clicked for me,” Palzer said. “It just worked.”Palzer grew comfortable in the pressure role that has opponents taking their best shot at getting one by him all game.
”You really don’t think about it,” Palzer said. “I know a lot of people outside of the sport think it’s crazy, but you kind of accept it.”
This year, in addition to his high school experience, he has been skating for the Mercer Chiefs U-16 AAA national club team, something that has him accustomed to top-level competition.
”Playing on this team, the levels are different,” Palzer said. “I like playing for the high school. It’s a lot of fun.”
Particularly with the Raiders winning. They are 7-3-1 heading into Friday’s game against Ridge.
Said Palzer: “I definitely thought with the seniors we had and with the depth we had in our lineup, I felt we could definitely contend in the state playoffs.”
A win over a Montgomery team that reached the public A semifinals last year was an important step in proving the Raiders’ strength.
”Montgomery always has a good team,” Palzer said. “But I think this year, since we have a lot of experienced players and a lot of older guys, that really helped us.”
Palzer isn’t one of the older players, but he has more experience than many HHS players.
”Originally,” Palzer said, “it was kind of tough. I think I adapted pretty well.”The experience, it definitely helps. You know what to expect of the level.”
Expectations were high for the Raiders coming into the year, but injuries and postponements threatened to cut into their chances to gain momentum.
”It’s tough to get some momentum with the weather,” said Bennett after the Montgomery win. “Right now, I think we’re playing the best hockey we’ve played. I think right now, we’re starting to get some momentum and hopefully we can build on it the rest of the season. I’m pleased with last game against Montgomery.
”We’re playing good hockey. I think we’re playing the way we expected to from Day One. It didn’t happen from Day One because of injuries, but things are going in the right direction.”
The Raiders are back to full strength and starting to see the potential they have if they continue to work together.
”We definitely fought through it as a team,” Palzer said. “We have a lot of experienced players. If we lose one player, we’re not completely out of it.
”Not playing games, it’s obviously going to hurt us. We came back and played really well even though we hadn’t played in a couple weeks.”
Comfortable in his second season with the Raiders, Bobby Palzer has helped to stop the pucks, something he’s been doing almost as long as he’s been playing hockey, to push Hillsborough to a quick start.
”We all just play together,” Palzer said. “It’s not if you’re a freshman or a senior. We just work together.”
