Ice hockey
By: Jim Green
The New Year has brought with it a fresh start for the Lawrence High School ice hockey team.
The Cardinals, who went 0-8 through the first half of the season, opened 2004 with their first win, a 5-4 decision over Nottingham on Monday at Mercer County Park. Junior Brad Wham netted three goals to lead the way for Lawrence.
"We had a practice on New Year’s Eve, and the focus was on a positive outlook," Lawrence coach Andy Borowsky said. "I told them (the Cardinals), ‘It’s a new year. We’re starting 0-0.’
"We made some changes and took it from there. We played well."
Wham scored twice in the third period to snap a 3-3 tie, while sophomore goalie Sean Packard came up big in his first career start, making 16 saves to pick up the win. The Cardinals also benefited from the addition of junior Robert Rosetta, a transfer from Notre Dame, who was forced to sit out the first month in accordance with New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association rules.
"Sean Packard was in goal, and it was good to have Rob Rosetta back," Borowsky said. "We’re undefeated in 2004."
Despite the Cardinals’ fresh outlook on the season, they suffered again from a slow start, falling behind the Northstars 2-0 early in the first period. Packard, though, turned the tide with a huge save on a Nottingham breakaway opportunity. Wham then scored his first goal of the game off an assist from Mike Tennant, cutting the Northstars lead to one.
"We came out a little flat, which surprised me," Borowsky said. "They (the Cardinals) seemed ready to play. Then Packard made a huge save on a breakaway, and we turned around and scored to make it 2-1. They rolled from there."
Chris Lucera scored off assists from Patrick Jaeger and Josh Azer to tie the game late in the first. Evan Fruscione then netted the only goal of the second period off assists from Wham and Azer, giving Lawrence a 3-2 lead heading into the final frame.
However, a penalty left Lawrence short-handed at the start of the third period, and Nottingham’s Tim Fitzpatrick capitalized with a power-play goal that knotted the game at 3-3. Wham then responded with two unanswered goals, converting assists from Azer, Matt Mills and Sean Hancock to give the Cardinals an insurmountable 5-3 advantage.
"It was really nice to get our first win," Borowsky said. "With the whole outlook we’re trying to take on, we’re looking more ahead. It’s good that we started off all this positive talk with a win. It was good for their confidence."
Borowsky was pleased with Packard’s ability to overcome the early two-goal deficit.
"Packard played well," Borowsky said. "Going down 2-0 in the first three minutes and bouncing right back says a lot about his confidence. He was very positive. We scored two goals in the last two minutes of the first period, and that helped him. To know he has that kind of confidence is good for the future."
The Cardinals, who next face Hamilton on Jan. 19, now move forward with cautious optimism about the rest of the season.
"It’s tough, because anybody can beat anybody in our league," Borowsky said. "We’re hoping to finish this month with three wins. We’re taking it one step at a time. It would be nice to build some momentum for the rest of the season."