LOCKED IN: Princeton High boys’ hockey player Ryan Garlock, left, brings the puck up the ice in a game last season. Senior forward Garlock is poised for a big final season. The Tigers open their 2025-26 season when they face Hopewell Valley on December 5 at the Mercer County Skating Center. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)
By Bill Alden
After winning the Mercer County Tournament in 2023 on the way to 15-7-1 campaign, the Princeton High boys’ hockey team has endured two straight losing seasons, going 5-13 in 2023-24 and 7-12 last winter.
Looking ahead to the upcoming season, PHS head coach Rik Johnson believes his squad is primed to get back on the winning track.
“It looks like we are taking a better turn,” said Johnson whose team opens its 2025-26 campaign by facing Hopewell Valley on December 5 at the Mercer County Skating Center. “I had brought it up to Anders [Hedin], I said the last time we had a winning season was when you guys were freshmen and he goes that is going to change.”
Senior forward Hedin (11 goals and 8 assists in 2024-25), along with fellow seniors Liam Campbell (5 goals, 6 assists) and Ryan Garlock (5 goals, 13 assists), should trigger the PHS offense this winter.
“Anders made a big jump last year, he is looking good,” said Johnson. “The three of them are really hustling and being good team leaders.”
A fourth senior, Quinn Solvibile (1 goal, 1 assist), will be hustling all over the ice for the Tigers.
“Quinn will be the role player,” added Johnson. “He could play defense, he could play offense. I can put him in there as an energy leader. He is a good guy for the locker room and the bench.”
A trio of sophomores — Abe Arshan (4 goals, 3 assists), Babtiste Demurge (6 goals, 8 assists), and Jacob Rotenberg (8 goals, 5 assists) — figure to play a key role this winter.
“Abe looks incredible, he is playing really good and is slated to be a top six forward,” said Johnson. “We have Babtiste — he has been improving his game. He is a big kid and I want to see him be more physical. Jacob came on strong at the end of the season. He is probably slated for a top six forward as well, if not the top line. Everybody has to earn it, he could be there.”
On defense, sophomores Sam Gibb (1 goal, 7 assists) and PJ Ross (1 goal, 2 assists) should give PHS some strong play along the blue line.
“On the defensive end, the top pair most likely will be Sam and PJ,” said Johnson. “They were both freshmen last year and we played them together quite a bit. They had played together before and they knew where each other were.”
The Tigers boast some depth on defense in freshman Alex Shi, sophomore James Zhou, and freshman Rian O’Dell.
“There is enough good defense coming up in the freshmen and improvement from sophomores this year,” said Johnson. “Alex could be in the top pair. He is a guy we can insert and feel real confident about. We also have James who could play both ways. He is so quick. He has a good hockey IQ and a nose for the puck. I want to play him at forward but he prefers to be defense so we will see how that works out. Rian is also very sound on defense. There are five, maybe six guys that we can rotate.”
Johnson is confident that junior Peter Pessutti is ready to step up at goalie.
“Peter looks solid, I would put him on the same level as Noah [Vitulli] at his best,” said Johnson, referring to last year’s starter. “No. 1 is his being able to go post-to-post, last year he didn’t have that lateral movement. His glove is really strong.”
As PHS aims to get back on the winning track, Johnson is looking for his players to be focused and fearless.
“It is really a mentality with the discipline,” said Johnson. “I want to get back to minimizing mistakes, execute and have fun. It is don’t press too much and go about your business. Hockey is a very fluid sport so if you blow one play, it is coming back.”