MAKING HIS MARK: Princeton Day School boys’ hockey player Filip Kacmarsky, right, controls the puck in recent action. Last Thursday, senior star forward and team co-captain Kacmarsky contributed an assist as PDS fell 5-3 to Seton Hall Prep. The Panthers, who moved to 4-15 with the loss, are starting play this week in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public Tournament. PDS is seeded ninth in the tourney and was slated play at eighth-seeded Seton Hall Prep on February 24 in a first-round contest. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
As the Princeton Day School boys’ hockey team hosted Seton Hall Prep last Thursday in its likely final game this season at McGraw Rink, Filip Kacmarsky soaked in the scene with mixed emotions.
“It is sad, it is four years and it all comes to an end but I enjoyed it,” said PDS senior star forward and team co-captain Kacmarsky. “I had a lot of fun, it has been great.”
Facing Seton Hall in a playoff preview of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) Non-Public Tournament where the Panthers are seeded ninth and were slated to play at eighth-seeded Seton Hall on February 24 in a first-round contest, the Panthers got off to a great start as they jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period, Kacmarsky assisted on the second goal as he helped set up a tally by Fred Ringblom.
“I saw Miles [Matyszczak] striking across so I just banked it and then he had a two-on-one with Fred,” said Kacmarsky. “It was a nice pass by Miles and a nice finish by Fred.”
While PDS, which held out some key players and mixed in some JV players, ended up falling 5-3 to the Pirates as it moved to 4-15, Kacmarsky thought the Panthers gained a lot from the contest.
“It was test it out, see how they are and prepare ourselves for next week to just to get a good sense of understanding of what kind of team they are and what they do,” said Kacmarsky. “They are a physical team, they work hard but we didn’t have all of our guys. With the right mentality and the right approach, I think we have got them. It is going to be a good game, it is going to be interesting.”
Over his Panther career, Kacmarsky has enjoyed a good run, emerging as a go-to player for PDS.
“In my freshman and sophomore year, I was kind of like a role guy,” said Kacmarsky, who leads the team in scoring this season with 28 points on 14 goals and 14 assists and has totaled 77 points in his career on 42 goals and 35 assists. “In the last two years I progressed into one of higher end guys in the lineup. It’s an honor, it is an amazing feeling.”
Kacmarsky’s partnership with fellow star senior forward and captain Ringblom has been an amazing part of his PDS experience.
“Me and Fred are extremely close, it clearly translates on the ice in that we look for each other,” said Kacmarsky, noting that he also plays club with Ringblom on the Mercer Chiefs. “We are together all of the time and obviously that correlates on the ice. We always keep it positive, we revolve our games around each other.”
PDS head coach Scott Bertoli wanted his team to come together to tune up for the state tournament.
“We only had the one game last week so we didn’t want to take the whole week off,” said Bertoli. “The reality is that these kids have all played a lot of hockey over the course of the last six months between here and the club team. It is good to put this jersey on and get back in that locker room and get together as a team ahead of an important game next week. We did some good things.”
Bertoli is confident that his team will do some big things in the playoff rematch against the Pirates.
“It is the state playoffs, that is what we gear up for every year and that is where our focus is,” said Bertoli. “I have no doubt that they will be excited to play. It will be a good game, today was a good game. It will be a very competitive game.”
With the game Thursday being the likely finale this season at McGraw Rink, Bertoli’s thoughts turned to his senior stars.
“We talked about that before the game,” said Bertoli. “For the three that have been here the longest, Filip and Fred and Hubert [Shin] to think of where they were as freshmen and the impact that the three of them make on the game now. It is just tremendous growth. Filip was the only one who played meaningful minutes as a freshman.”
Bertoli acknowledged that the trio of Kacmarsky, Ringblom, and Shin have shouldered a lot this winter.
“It is frustrating for those guys, they want do more than they probably should be doing,” said Bertoli. “We also put a lot on them, probably unfairly. They are playing teams full of kids at the level they play at. We have a young, inexperienced group.”
Despite the team’s losing record this season, PDS has displayed flashes of brilliance.
“It is crazy, we have had moments where for a couple of periods, we have looked really, really good,” said Bertoli. “Up at St. Joe’s Montvale last week we are up 2-0 midway through the second period and in complete control and there was a fluke injury that leaves us shorthanded in the zone. That leads to a score and they get momentum. They scored three goals in two minutes after we were up 2-0. That is just inexperience.”
The Panthers haven’t hung their heads as they have dealt with the ups and downs this winter.
“The one thing that has really, really stood out to us as a coaching staff is just how positive our group has stayed throughout the year,” said Bertoli. “It has been tough. The conference we play in is hard. They are not pointing fingers, those things were showing up in previous years What I am most proud of is that we maintained a positive attitude and stuck together. We had a lot of opportunities where they could have gone sideways on each other and they stayed the course.”
Kacmarsky, for his part, believes that PDS will make the most of their opportunity in the state tournament.
“We need more energy, we need physicality and at times, more effort,” said Kacmarsky. “It is kind of a little bit of everything. I am not worried about that, I am sure everyone will bring it.”