RUSHING FORWARD: Princeton Day School boys’ hockey player Jake Harrison controls the puck in a game last season. Junior forward Harrison starred as the Panthers went 10-9-1 this winter and advanced to the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public state quarterfinals. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Coming into the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public state tournament, the Princeton Day School boys’ hockey team was primed to finally make a run to the final four.

Sixth-seeded PDS got off to a good start, cruising to a 5-2 win over 11th-seeded St. Joseph (Metuchen) in a first round contest.

“We kind of dominated the game from start to finish, the scoring chances were probably like 25-3; their goalie was unbelievable and kept them in that game,” said Panther head coach Scott Bertoli. “On the scoreboard it looked like a game but we still felt pretty good. We played well, we did what we needed to do.”

In the quarterfinal round, PDS ran into a formidable obstacle as it faced third-seeded Don Bosco Prep, who defeated the Panthers twice in regular season action this winter.

“The biggest thing was just defensively being more responsible and committed,” said Bertoli, reflecting on the team’s game plan coming into the clash. “The issue with some of those teams when we played them in the past is that we haven’t buckled down defensively like we need to. We haven’t limited chances in transition and all of these teams have really good players. When you give those kids too many chances, eventually they are going to score goals.”

In the early going, PDS showed great commitment as it took a 1-0 lead into the second period.

“Our start in the first period was probably the best first period the program has played in 10 years,” asserted Bertoli. “It was 1-0, it should have been 3-0 and ultimately it needed to be 3-0 to win that game. We generated so many chances off the rush with our end zone offensive play but it expended some of our top guys. We lean heavily on our top guys. We needed to build momentum. Getting off to a good start had been a struggle against these teams earlier so we wanted to avoid that.”

While the Panthers played well throughout the contest, they ended up losing 2-1 in overtime to end the winter with a 10-9-1 record.

“Depth has always been an issue when we play those teams, they are bigger schools,” said Bertoli. “They are two and four times the size of us when you look at their boys population. We knew that they were going to make a push. We felt good and managed it for most of the game. It was a great hockey game.”

Bertoli has no qualms about the effort he got from his players but was frustrated to see his squad fall short of the semis once again.

“I was pleased and felt like we deserved a better fate,” said Bertoli, noting his belief that a hit from behind on a PDS player in OT should have drawn a penalty and given the Panthers a power play. “Do I think we deserved to win the game? Not necessarily, but our effort did for sure. In the first period, we were awesome. That is really our ask – to go up there and put our best foot forward and see where the chips fall. At the same time it was disappointing, here we are again losing in the quarterfinal.”

Senior goalie Calvin Fenton put his best foot forward against Don Bosco, making 31 saves.

“Calvin played great, he clipped the 1,000 save mark in his career; it is the first time we have had someone do that since Logan Kramsky,” said Bertoli. “Logan was one of the best we have had and he was a four-year starter. It was impressive that Cal, who hasn’t been the starter for the entirety of his time there, was able to do that. He made some big stops and we were great in front of him. We limited chances in transition. I don’t think we gave up a single odd-man rush in the first period.”

Fenton’s effort exemplified a senior group that set an upbeat tone this winter.

“It has been tremendous, the charge was to redefine the culture and push it in a positive direction,” said Bertoli, whose Class of ’25 included Zach Meseroll, Wyatt Ewanchyna, Max Guche, Reilly Gilligan, and Hart Nowakoski in addition to Fenton. “That was priority one for those kids and they knocked it out of the park when it comes to that. Our bench was always positive. We had a lot of adversity this year and there were lots of times where the bench or the locker room could have flipped. We had a little stretch where we lost four games in a row and they never turned on each other. They were positive, they were supportive. As a coach, all I can ask for is that there is a positive culture and the kids are enjoying their experience, they are learning the game, and everyone is pushing in the same direction.”

In Bertoli’s view, it was a positive campaign overall for the program.

“We had some very impressive results, I think our top kids performed unbelievably well,” said Bertoli. “We gave our younger kids some opportunities and they did well when they got those opportunities. The challenge is that it is hard to ask freshmen and sophomores that may lack some size and strength to deal with the competition that we play on a regular basis.

We were a little compromised from a depth perspective. There were a few results that we would have liked back, whether because of our starts or our inability to finish a couple of games but overall it was a good year.”

Looking ahead, Bertoli acknowledges that the Panthers need to compete better from start to finish.

“We need to figure it out; one thing we talked about is that we need to be more consistent in the regular season,” said Bertoli.

“We need to win more games and host those quarterfinal games at our rink. That is the first thing we need to do. You are always going to get yourself a better chance if you are playing at home. That is why teams fight and claw and battle for home ice advantage in every sport. We needed to do that and honestly we were a point or two away from doing that.”

Bertoli is confident that PDS can get over the hump to make deeper state runs.

“I think we have identified some things that we need to do and areas where we can close gaps with those top teams,” said Bertoli, referring to such foes as Delbarton, Don Bosco, and Christian Brothers Academy. “We tied Delbarton, we took Don Bosco into overtime and we beat CBA. But to their credit, they win in those big moments. I think there is the expectation that they are going to win and they win more often than not. We just need to get to that point.”