Hopewell Valley Ice HockeyAnyone who spent any time at all around head coach Mark Kowal and his Hopewell Valley Central High School ice hockey team this year just wanted to see them win.
By: Matt Nalbone
But their season was one of peaks and valleys with many of the highs coming in losses and the lows in wins.
The gang from Hopewell saw their season come to an end this past week as they lost in the second round of the NJSIAA Public School tournament to eighth-seeded Ridgewood, 3-1.
The Bulldogs fell behind early when Ridgewood scored twice in the first period, and then found themselves down by three midway through the hockey game.
Sophomore Matt Kazior scored in the second period, but it was the final goal of the year for Hopewell (10-11-3), as they fell by the two-goal margin.
Hopewell wasn’t without its chances as the Bulldogs had two five-on-three-man advantages in the last period, but were unable to capitalize on either.
"We had some chances," said Kowal. "We were unable to cash in on them and you’re not going to win if you can’t."
Kowal said there were several factors to why things didn’t go Hopewell’s way against Ridgewood, such as a game against Nottingham the day before and a two-hour bus ride to the game, but he wasn’t using them as excuses.
Hopewell out-shot Ridgewood, 25-22, with junior goaltender Matt Seems making 19 saves.
"There were some great quality opportunities," the coach said. "Jay Rush played well, Tim Kerr skated well, Emeka Ogbonna played well and we hit a few posts. Their goalie played well and their defense cleared the puck well."
The game put an end to an up and down season that started out slow but the saw the guys playing their best hockey went it counted the most.
The team will lose only three players after this year Nick Inbergiotta, Greg Benn and team captain Forrest Covin.
"All three gave us leadership and maturity," the proud coach said. "They were quality role models for the younger players and they are kids with character and poise."
Kowal wasn’t only happy that he had the opportunity to coach his seniors but his entire team.
"This group learned tremendous lessons this year," he said. "We had to learn how to lose before we could learn how to win. It’s unfortunate that this team didn’t win. I didn’t realize how much I really liked this team until it was time to say good-bye. As the season progressed, maturity occurred and that will serve us well for next year."
As disappointed as the coach might be now, he should take solace in the fact that the future looks very bright. The team will return 18 players, including seven of their top-eight scorers.