Fox, Cougars off to quick start
By Justin Feil, Assistant Sports Editor
Connor Fox and the Montgomery High School ice hockey team didn’t rest after last year’s surprising run to the Public A Division state final.
If anything, getting so close to the program’s first state championship motivated them to come back even stronger this year. Montgomery came into the season confident and it has shown in a 3-1 start.
”In the offseason, we put in a lot of work and we have so many returning players,” said Fox, a senior in his third year starting on defense. “We worked with each other, whether we were playing with each other or shooting on our goalie, just to make each other better.
”What we did this year was similar to two years ago. We got a bunch of our teammates together and played together on the Bridgewater Bears. My brother and a bunch of his friends did it two years ago. Our junior year, it was kind of scattered where we all played.”
The Cougars came into this season with the highest of expectations, and the early returns have been positive. MHS suffered its first loss of the season, 3-1, at the hands of prep power Pingry on Friday, but 24 hours later shook it off with an 8-1 win over Montville.
”It’s really important for us to keep these wins going,” said Fox, who had an assist against Montville. “We have two big opponents coming up, Hillsborough and Bridgewater. They’re big games. We want to win our conference, and Hillsborough and Bridgewater are great teams, and it’ll give us a leg up on them if we can win. It’s really important.”
The Cougars learned a valuable lesson in their loss to Pingry on Friday. MHS tied the game, 1-1, late in the first period on a goal by Kevin Wanke that was assisted by Jeff Garinger, but was sabotaged by penalties over the final two periods. They surrendered a pair of power play goals and finally an empty netter.
”We learned we can play with them,” Fox said. “We had a great game with a few mental lapses in the second and third period where we took some penalties. That led to their goals. We have to make ourselves better and learn from our mistakes.
”It was great for us. It made us realize we weren’t invincible. It’s a good early test. There are teams out there that can play with us.”
Against Montville, Wanke had three goals and two assists, Garinger had two goals and two assists, Steve Krafcik had a pair of assists, Luc Esposito, Brian Papsin and Kia Shirazi had a goal apiece and Esposito, Ryan Lee and Jese Negron picked up assists. Starkman had to make just 12 saves for a Cougars team that was plenty upset coming off its first loss.
”We played pretty decently against Pingry and didn’t get anything out of it,” said MHS head coach Rob Scarpa. “We had control for the first part of the game and then we let penalties become a factor and that’s not good for us. We have to be a little more disciplined.
”I think we learned early on that we can play with good teams. I think we knew that already. We realized if we make it easy on other teams, we can easily be beaten. If you do selfish things and do stupid things, and put yourself in the penalty box, you put yourself at a disadvantage. They’re not selfish kids. They had a couple selfish decisions and didn’t make adjustments to the way the game was being called. Most of the penalties were spread out among the guys.”
If the Cougars can keep it even on the ice, or get an advantage and go on the power play, they feel good about their chances to score and win. MHS is a deeper team this year, and that will wear down opponents.
Montgomery has been encouraged by what it has seen in picking up from last year’s success. Starkman has taken over in goal for Zach Schiavo, the biggest loss to graduation from last year’s finals team.
”Last year, early in the season, we didn’t start off well with our goaltender and it improved so much,” Fox said. “David, he started off well in the preseason. He’s been playing really well. I like him in the net. We have to play well in front of him. The mental lapses on Friday killed us.”
Montgomery is trying to limit, not only the shots that Starkman would have to face, but also its opponents’ opportunities.
”We’ve worked on our breakout lately and it’s improved,” Fox said. “I carry the puck a lot. We need to get the puck deep. We want to get the puck deep and then we’re going to forecheck. That’s our objective.”
The Cougars can take some of the pressure off their defense with a powerful offense that is a handful to opposing defenses.
”They generally work hard,” Scarpa said. “They have to make some minor adjustments in how they see the game. At times, they’re trying to be a little too fancy. That happens every year. They work hard and want to show off how much they’ve learned.
”We have a lot of talent. We have to find out what our strengths are, and what are weaknesses are and avoid them as much as possible.”
Fox is one reason the Cougars defense is in good shape even with a new goalie. The 6-foot-3, 225-pounder returns with another year of experience, and the added motivation of being in his final season at MHS.
”Being a senior, it’s just put into retrospect that every game matter so much more than last year,” Fox said. “I always felt like there’s another season ahead. This year, I always leave it on the ice.
”You know it’s your last year, so you want to make your impression. Senior year, we want to make our impression. We made it all the way to the finals. This year, there’s a different feeling. I want to get things done. We got the experience of last year, and we know what we want to do.”
Fox will attend several showcases in hopes of drawing the attention of a college coach. He intends to at least play at the club level next year. He’s gotten comfortable in his role for the Cougars. His experience is a big plus.
”Just knowing the systems, and what my coach wants from us, and knowing how to play for him,” Fox said. “It’s getting the puck out, getting the puck off my stick onto the offenseman’s stick. It’s playing your heart out. You have to show that for the underclassmen. You lead by example. Coach Scarpa doesn’t want to be the one correcting the kids. He wants us to correct them.
”It’s the seniors from the past have showed us how we should be playing and what we should be doing.”
Fox is one of the most complete players to come through the Cougars program. Expectations for him are as high as those for the MHS team this season.
”I expect excellent defense,” Scarpa said. “He’s great at breaking the puck out for us. He’s a big kid. He’s very intimidating to other kids. He’s a good hitter. He’s smart. He knows the position well. He’s going to be our best defenseman. He’s on the power play unit. He plays down low on the power play as a forward. He’s a big asset.”
Connor Fox is hoping that he can help MHS achieve its lofty goals this year. It’s his final chance at a state title that would cap quite a career.
”We want to repeat what we did last year,” Fox said. “We still have a long season ahead of us. We can’t think about that now or it’ll tire us out.”