BY JAMIE HAZEL
Sports Editor
The hockey team, fueled by momentum, comes off their first winning season since 2019. This year, they set out to fight for tournament victories and finally defeat their rivals.
After last year’s positive 12-9-1 record, the team heads into the season with confidence. “I feel that we have all the pieces we need this year to do something special,” said Kenneth Doctors, who had the third most goals on the team last season with 19.
Senior captions Dean Hoffman and Doctors led weekly practices throughout the offseason to get the players ready for the season and create chemistry. “It’s more about having fun and getting used to playing with each other, rather than pushing ourselves as hard as possible,” explained senior goalie Logan Schroeder, a four-year varsity player with 1,210 career saves.
Hoffman takes pride in being able to lead by example after the team lost four strong players to graduation. “[Captain practices] include the team building chemistry with the freshman before the season really starts and gets our legs going,” explained Hoffman.
Four of the team’s nine losses last year were to county rival Monroe. “We know that our rivals Monroe are going to be standing in our way for both GMC’s and States, as they have defeated us countless times in the past, so we expect to finally defeat them this season,” explained junior Nicholas Gallo, who led the team with goals last season, scoring 24 times.
Monroe knocked Old Bridge out of the NJSIAA sectional tournament 5-2 and out of the Kolodney Cup in the semifinal round 5-1. “[Their seven seniors who have now graduated] have dominated us, and it’s been overwhelmingly tough to contain their speed and skill,” said Gallo, who also had the second most assists on the team with 35. “Now, we have an older, more mature team, and, with Monroe losing their top guys, it gives us an incredible shot to compete with them and hopefully defeat them this season.”
Unphased, the Knights look forward to their chance at redemption on January 22. “It’s all [going to] start at practice. As a team, we need to concentrate and practice like it’s a game situation to always be prepared and ready for challenges we may have to face,” explained Hoffman.
The team has set themselves up for success. With goals for the season and months of hard work, it will be tough to stop them. Come support Old Bridge hockey at their first game on December 4 at home against Colonia at 3:45pm.
Posted on 12/3/24
Photos by Katelyn Buchalter, Ritee Karmacharya, and Gaby Malanga
Knight Life 