BY ELISA QOKU
The OBHS Ice Hockey team finished strong with a 14-9-2 record, their best in ten years. The team also reached the final round of the competitive Kolodney Cup Tournament.
This season marked the program’s best in a decade. “It felt good to prove people wrong and have the season we did because, at the start, everyone counted us out and said we didn’t have what it took,” shared senior Kenneth Doctors, who scored 14 goals this season.
The players knew that going against a team they had not beaten since 2014 would challenge them, but they gave it their all and succeeded. “St. Joe’s was the 1 seed, and we were the 4 seed and managed to upset them. The score wasn’t close either,” shared Maksim Gorelik. “This was my first year playing for Old Bridge, but I had heard that we hadn’t beaten them in over a decade so beating them felt unreal.”
Although each player on the team had individual highlights for this season, the team’s best moments came from teamwork. “For me [the highlight] has to be hitting my 100-point milestone in the GMC finals, but as a team [it] has to be making the GMC finals because it was the first time in a long time,” shared Doctors
Unfortunately, they ended their season with a 2-1 loss against Rumson-Fair Haven in the first round of the NJSIAA Sectional Tournament. “It felt very bittersweet losing in the first round, especially after playing such a close game vs a very tough team,” said Nicholas Gallo who led the team with 22 goals this season. “However, we all knew that we made an incredible jump this season, making a ton of progress and many memories that we will never forget.”
The team will lose eight outstanding seniors next season, leaving big shoes to fill. “It feels good being able to be a leader and show an example of what’s expected day in and day out within our program,” shared Doctors.
Although the season is over, the bond between the players isn’t. “It felt great to play on this this team, it made all the players on the team much closer with each other by reaching the milestones we hit,” shared Gorelik. “It also motivated us to play as best as we could and try to win as many games as possible.”
The end of the season left the team feeling disappointed but positive. “It sucks because we had an incredible run, and we certainly didn’t want it to end, but I’m proud of the effort that the team gave throughout the season,” said Gallo.
Posted on 3/18/25
Photos by Safija Shatku, Olivia Van Deursen, and Dayami Viloria
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