The Old Bridge High School hockey team is off to a strong start with seven wins in 10 games and the Knights are sitting in third place in the Greater Middlesex Conference (GMC).
Coach Drew Campbell’s team is coming off of a 10-0 victory over a weak Colonia team, but prior to that the Knights downed division rival Monroe for the second time this season.
Four different players scored in the 4-2 triumph over Monroe and goalkeeper Justin Amato was solid between the pipes recording 42 saves. Jared Layer, Steve Weir, Dominick Cuce and Ryan Ferro, who also had an assist, scored for Old Bridge.
The first time the two teams met, the Knights came up with three, third-period goals to take a 5-4 victory. Weir, Layer and Mike Cistone scored in the final session, with Brian Donaldson and Don Kukuyev netting Old Bridge’s other goals.
Campbell’s team also showed its mettle in a 5-4 come-from-behind win against Manasquan earlier in the campaign. Trailing by a count of 4-3 entering the third period, the Knights rallied on goals by Dan Sech and Weir, who netted the winner with just 2:49 remaining, to come away with the success. “Overall our defense and goaltending have been very good,” said Campbell, whose team has allowed 32 goals against in 10 games. “Our guys have also managed to find a way to score goals when we need them.”
The Knights other wins have come against Hunterdon Central, a 3-2 decision, and Johnson Regional, 9-6, in the George T. Cron Tournament. Old Bridge also forged a 4-4 tie with Watchung Hills.
The only losses came against Cranford, 3- 0, also in the Cron tourney, and GMC foe South Brunswick, 6-2, in a rematch of last year’s conference championship match, which the Vikings won in overtime.
This time out, the two teams played an upand down first period. Despite goals by Kukuyev and Layer, South Brunswick was up 3-2. The visiting team added a goal in the second period and two more tallies in the third for a 6-2 win.
The good news for Old Bridge is that the Knights will get another shot at the Vikings when they visit South Brunswick on Jan. 25. Campbell’s team will also play host to undefeated St. Joseph of Metuchen, which leads the GMC, on Feb. 8.
“Those are big games for us, we’re looking forward to them, but we can’t be too focused on them now because we still have a lot of games to play,” Campbell said.
Old Bridge was set to visit Red Bank Regional on Tuesday and was to play host to JP Stevens Wednesday. The Knights are then off until next Wednesday when JFK comes to visit.