ON POINT: Princeton High boys’ hockey player Abe Arshan looks to unload the puck in recent action. Last Friday, sophomore forward Arshan tallied two goals and three assists to help PHS defeat the WW/Plainsboro hockey co-op 13-3. The Tigers, who improved to 6-3-1 with the win, host Lawrenceville on January 14 at Hobey Baker Rink, face Freehold Township on January 16 at the Howell Ice Arena, and Notre Dame on January 19 at the Mercer County Skating Center. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
Abe Arshan helped set the tone for the Princeton High boys’ hockey team as it faced the WW/Plainsboro hockey co-op last Friday at the Mercer County Skating Center.
PHS sophomore forward Arshan assisted on a goal by Baptiste Demurge five minutes into the game and then less than four minutes later got loose on a breakaway and buried the puck in the back of the net as PHS jumped out to a 3-0 lead.
In reflecting on the early outburst by the Tigers, who never looked back on the way to a 13-3 win, Arshan pointed to the squad’s upbeat approach.
“I think we get off to a good start when everybody is happy in the locker room and everybody is bonding together,” said Arshan. “We really get going that way.”
In reflecting on the two early tallies, Arhsan saw them as products of a team effort.
“I just saw Baptiste, he is a big, strong kid,” said Arshan. “I saw him get to the net. I trust him and I trust all of my teammates. It was a good team play on my goal. We were on the kill. The whole team had a play on that one. I saw Jacob [Rotenberg] send it up the ice. It hit somebody and we got a lucky bounce and I put it in.”
After WW/P narrowed the gap to 4-2 early in the second period, the Tigers responded with four goals in a span of 46 seconds to break the game open.
“One of our captains, Liam Campbell, gave a good speech,” said Arshan, who got one of the goals in that stretch. “Everybody came out buzzing. We wanted to get a few and we got some.”
The win was the fifth in six games for a PHS team that is getting into a groove.
“I think we have something really special,” said Arshan, who ended up with two goals and three assists in the victory as the Tigers improved to 6-3-1. “We really have a good community this season. Everybody is happy together. Everybody knew coming into this year that it was going to be a good strong squad. Everybody wants it, everybody wants to win. We work for it.”
Arshan, who now leads the Tigers in scoring with 25 points in 13 goals and 12 assists, has put in a lot of work to improve his game.
“I have just been with a great club team, the Princeton Youth Hockey Tigers 16U AA,” said Arshan, who tallied four goals and three assists last winter in his freshman campaign. “We have great coaches, it is a great organization. That has really helped a lot. I put a lot of work into my skating in the offseason. I spend a lot of time on the ice.”
PHS head coach Rik Johnson confident his team could outwork the WW/P co-op.
“This was a team where we knew they didn’t have a lot of numbers,” said Johnson. “This was going to be a statement game for us to really come out and skate hard and wear them down.”
Johnson credited Arshan with making a statement this season.
“Abe has been great, he has been awesome,” said Johnson. “Obviously his skills are really fantastic. He is starting to do the mental part with the hockey IQ kind of thing which really makes you a dangerous player.”
The Tigers displayed their skill in their four-goal outburst in the second period.
“It was wearing them down and playing your game,” said Johnson, who got four goals from Dylan Hagt in the victory with Anders Hedin tallying one goal and three assists and Campbell scoring two goals and two assists. “I think they are starting to buy in. Everybody is starting to believe in themselves a little bit.”
PHS is starting to show lots of offensive balance.
“The top two lines are steady guys, they are good kids too,” said Johnson, who top line includes Hagt, Hedin, and Ryan Garlock while the second line is comprised of Arshan, Campbell, and Demurge.
“They actually came to me. We are pretty collaborative like that and they thought this mix would work. I will tinker a little bit … depending on what is actually working.”
Johnson has tinkered with the defense to find the best combinations along the blue line.
“The group is really young, we try to match them up,” said Johnson. “We put Sam [Gibb] with a young guy and then we put Jacob [Rotenberg] and Emil [Vecchi] back on defense. They were forwards until this year and it has really worked out well. They have been very sound. They like the physical aspect which is nice.”
In reflecting on his squad’s recent hot streak, Johnson believes it stems from self-belief.
“It is the believing in themselves, there is a lot of talent, there is a lot of skill in the room,” said Johnson. “They play their club stuff and many of them have been with the team for three, four years. It is just believing in yourself.”
Having lost close games to Colonial Valley Conference rivals Paul VI and Robbinsville in December, Johnson is confident that the Tigers can be a force in CVC play down the stretch.
“It is the discipline, we don’t need any heroes,” said Johnson, whose team hosts Lawrenceville on January 14 at Hobey Baker Rink, face Freehold Township on January 16 at the Howell Ice Arena and Notre Dame on January 19 at the Mercer County Skating Center. “It is just keep playing hockey and staying disciplined.
It has been a real good team effort. I am very happy with the way they are playing. Everybody is working together. Everybody is working for the same goal — Ws.”
Arshan, for his part, believes the wins will keep coming for the Tigers.
“We are feeling good,” said Arshan. “We lost by one goal to Paul VI and Robbinsville, there are some things we can make better. It is just really a good team
out here.”