By Warren Rappleyea
For the most part, Old Bridge High School’s ice hockey team has played reasonably well; however, the Knights are still looking for their first win this winter.
Coach John Hughes’ young team has also struggled with injuries and often many varsity newcomers have been suiting up. Old Bridge’s last two encounters have been rough. On Jan. 4, the Knights fell behind, 6-0, in the first period and ended up losing to Freehold Township High School, 12-2.
On Dec. 28, Woodbridge High School downed Hughes’ team, 8-0, in the consolation game of the John Piccolo Winter Classic at the Old Bridge Arena. The Knights were down, 2-0, after the first, and Woodbridge added a goal in the second period before pulling away in the third. Andreas Pawles stopped 48 Woodbridge shots. The two teams had played to a 1-1 tie earlier this season, as Mathieu Schroeder made 31 saves in net.
Old Bridge played well but lost 5-4 to Red Bank Regional High School in the opening game of the Winter Classic Dec. 27. Leading scorer Peter Hernandez scored a pair of goals, and Heather Figueroa and Chris Kennedy also scored, as the Knights fell just short despite outshooting the Buccaneers, 39-32.
South Brunswick High School edged Old Bridge in another close game Dec. 21. The two teams scored twice each in the second period, with both Knights tallies coming off the stick of Hernandez. The Vikings pulled away in the third to take a 5-2 victory, although Schroeder turned aside 32 shots.
Earlier in the season, Colonia High School’s three-goal third-period outburst proved the difference in a 5-2 Old Bridge loss, during which freshman forward Matt Kravitz posted both goals for the Knights and Pawles made 43 saves. The Knights also fell, 1-0, to Ocean Township High School in a game Schroeder stopped 51 pucks.
“We’re rebuilding, and this is a very young team,” Hughes said. “We’ve had our share of injuries, and we only have a few seniors. Sometimes we’ve had seven or eight freshmen in the lineup at the same time, and they’re still adjusting to the varsity game.”
Hernandez, a junior, has been a bright spot up front, netting eight goals to go with three assists. Figueroa, a sophomore forward, has a goal to go with her team-leading five assists. Kravitz has three goals, and fellow freshmen Erick Gaffney, Filip Vigodner and Rishab Nikula have all earned playing time.
Old Bridge was scheduled to host Southern Regional High School Jan. 10 and Colonia was set to be in town Jan. 11 for the second meeting between the two teams. The Knights are off until Jan. 20, when they meet Saint Joseph High School of Metuchen at the Arenas at Woodbridge.