by Brian O’Halloran
The Woodbridge Barrons’ hockey team is set to face off against a proven St. Joe’s squad in the Greater Middlesex Conference hockey final on Saturday, February 20th. The game will mark the first time the Barrons have made it the GMC final in the team’s young existence.
The 2015-2016 campaign began well enough for the Barrons, going 8-1-1 in their first 10 contests. Their only loss came against GMC rivals St. Joe’s in their second game. The tie, a 4-4 affair to Monroe, caught the team by surprise after they bested the Monroe squad 10-3 on the road in their third game of the season.
Senior alternate captain Hunter Spearnock, who is number six in the state for assists as of Monday, February 15th, knows that the team made some crucial mistakes early on by underestimating some of their opponents. “I think we took [Monroe and Marlboro] too lightly. The whole team did. And then we went in playing bad hockey and then they came out a lot better than us, and just kind of took it to us,” he said.
Coach Rotella agrees with Hunter’s assessment. “I am extremely happy with my team’s record. Even though we are 16-3-2, I still look back at the loss to Marlboro, and the ties to Marlboro and Monroe, [as] games that I would like to play again, if possible.”
But play again, they cannot. Now, the Barrons have to find a way to best the team that delivered their first loss of the season back on December 2nd by a score of 2-12, enacting a 10 goal mercy rule early in the third period.
However, the Barrons have grown stronger since that game, playing more as a team through communication and strong passing. It hasn’t hurt that their underclassman net minders, sophomore Adam Godfrey (.898 save percentage) and freshman Lucas Hrabovsky (.888), each have a shut out, and on nine separate occasions, have limited opposing offenses to one goal.
The defense will look to get the puck to the forwards, led by senior Kyle Mortensen, who, for the first time in his high school career, has not been sidelined with injury. Mort leads the Barrons with 38 goals and 27 assists on the season, and is 4th in the state for goals scored.
His line mate, Hunter Spearnock, leads the team with 38 assists, and is happy with the team’s production this year. “I had pretty high hopes for this season,” Spearnock said. “Definitively thought this year was going to be better than other years because, I don’t know, we just had a funny feeling about [it].”
That funny feeling has led the team to an 8-1-1 division record, and the second seed in the GMC tournament, giving them a bye into the semifinals, which Rotella could not be happier about. “Honestly, I was expecting a whole lot [this season]. I expected us to be competitive in the GMC, but when I say competitive, I [mean] competing to be .500. I was mistaken and I’m glad I was.”
Throughout the season, Rotella has urged his players to “want it more.” When the NJ School Sports Pre-Season Predictions came out, the Barrons were slotted as the fifth seed. Rotella said he printed the list, and as inspiration for his players, when they beat a GMC opponent ranked above them, they crossed their name off the list.
All that’s left for the Barrons to do is cross off St. Joe’s, and Spearnock has a simple plan for doing so. “The more you move the puck,” he said, “and the better chemistry you have, the easier it is to win games.”
The GMC Finals will be played at the Woodbridge Community Center on Saturday, February 20th, at 6:00 PM.
The Barrons will play their first round of the 2016 NJSIAA Public B Tournament on Monday, February 22nd, at Richard J. Codey Arena in West Orange at 6:00 PM. The 20th seed Barrons will play the 13th seed, Verona.
