ON THE STICK: Princeton High boys’ hockey player Brendan Beatty, left, goes after the puck in recent action. Last week, senior star and captain Beatty scored two goals as 16th-seeded PHS fell 9-3 to top-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) South Public sectional tournament. The loss left the Tigers with a final record of 7-12. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Knotted in a 2-2 stalemate with the West Windsor-Plainsboro hockey co-op after two periods in the Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) Tournament quarterfinal round, the Princeton High boys’ hockey team raised its game.

Outscoring West Windsor 4-0 in the third period, PHS prevailed 6-2 in the February 5 contest to book a spot in the CVC semis.

“They skated hard, it was a good effort,” said PHS head coach Rik Johnson, reflecting on the win. “It was good, they got down to work, they realized it was a do-or-die situation.”

While fifth-seeded PHS worked hard against top-seeded and eventual champion Hopewell Valley in the semi, it fell 4-1.

“We were there for a little bit, it seemed like the tires were getting flat after a while,” said Johnson. “Hopewell Valley was really, really sound this season. They were fundamentally sound, it has been impressive.”

In the first round of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) South Public sectional tournament, 16th-seeded PHS ran into another impressive team as it lost 9-3 to top-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan on February 24.

“We got a little loose, they were very top heavy,” said Johnson, whose team posted a final record of 7-12. “They had three guys who could easily score but we were hanging with them. We had so many opportunities, loose pucks and just missing the net kind of stuff. I think if we had half of those in the back of the net, we easily could have doubled our total.”

Although PHS didn’t take advantage of its chances in the finale, it has the opportunity to do a lot of good things going forward.

“I see a good future, we have got a ton of young guys,” said Johnson. “I would say half of the lineup was mostly young guys in top six offensive, top four defensive roles. That bodes well.”

The team’s core of juniors — Anders Hedin (11 goals, 8 assists in 2024-25), Ryan Garlock (5 goals, 13 assists), and Liam Campbell (5 goals, 6 assists) — played well this winter.

“Anders made big jump,” said Johnson. “I made a little adjustment halfway through the year; I had Anders with Ryan pretty much the entire season and then we brought Jacob Rotenberg up. Jacob really helped, he complements Anders’s style and Anders did a good job. Liam was part time because of club but next year he will be back full time. That will be awesome.”

Sophomore Rotenberg (8 goals, 5 assists) got better and better as the season went on.

“Jacob did great, he was jumping on loose pucks,” said Johnson. “There was a point there in the season, it just looked like he had a feel for it. He was definitely dialed in.”

The Tigers boasted a superb group of freshmen in Babtiste Demurge (6 goals, 8 assists), PJ Ross (1 goal, 2 assists), Samuel Gibb (1 goal, 7 assists), Abe Arshan (4 goals, 3 assists), and Dylan Hagt (1 goal, 6 assists).

“Baptiste was on the top line with Brendan Beatty there, he started off real hot,” said Johnson. “PJ and Sam were basically the second pair on defense the entire season, you can’t ask for more than that. Abe was kind of a plug and play. He could be on the top line, he could be on the second line.”

Senior star forward and captain Beatty (14 goals, 10 assists) ended up as the team’s top scorer.

“At one point in the season, I just said to him I need Brendan Beatty to be Brendan Beatty and he started running over people,” said Johnson of Beatty, who also stars in lacrosse and is a University of Vermont lax commit. “He took the message and just went on a tear. He really did.”

The squad’s other captains, Jack Zimet (2 goals, 4 assists) and Wyatt Arshan (1 goal, 5 assists), provided production and leadership.

“Jack was very sound and he was a good leader,” said Johnson.

“He was a good guy in the locker room. Cliff (assistant coach Cliff Higgins) and I saw that very early on. I remember Jack as a sophomore and Cliff saying to me this guy is going to be a captain at some point. He was very solid. Wyatt gave leadership and he had that ability to just be that plug and play. We could say we need you on defense today or we need you on offense today.”

Two other seniors, Ed Zhao (1 goal, 5 assists) and goalie Noah Vitulli (350 saves), helped shore up the PHS defense.

“Ed was very solid defensively; unfortunately he was a part timer because he played club,” said Johnson. “Noah got better and better over the course of the three years. He was thrust into a tough spot. He had flashes, he definitely would focus.”

Although Johnson would have liked to see PHS get more wins this winter, he liked the effort he got from his players.

“It was a good season,” said Johnson. “I always tell them if you left it all on the ice, you can feel good.”