2018-19 New Jersey High School Preview: Delbarton shoots for fourth straight

Delbarton is aiming for its fourth straight state championship. (Photo by Catalina Fragoso)

The 2017-18 season was a successful campaign for Don Bosco. The team finished 27-2-1, its best record in program history. It also reached the Non-Public championship game for a second consecutive season.

Despite the high percentage of wins, a lot of focus was paid to the two losses, both from Delbarton, once in the Gordon Cup Final and again in the Non-Public state championship game. Once again, Don Bosco was left longing for its first state championship.

While losing the final game of the season was disappointing, head coach Greg Toskos said it’s time to move on and prepare for the new season. “I just think, for us, we do have to forget about last year, and move on,” he said. “It’s a new year for us. A lot of times, people will ask me, ‘What do you think about how last year will affect this year?’ and it’s the same answer. We have new kids on the team this year. Last year, it happened. It’s in the past. We’re going to focus on getting back.

“We set ourselves up with the same goal every year, to play for three championships,” he added, “the county championship, the league championship and the state championship.”

The road to the finals at Prudential Center is never an easy one, and Don Bosco will face some challenges in trying to fill in for players who graduated. The most glaring absence is that of Mickey Burns, who was the NJ.com Player of the Year as a senior in 2018. He scored 77 points, which was fourth in the state, and he scored 15 of the team’s 17 short-handed goals. He finished his career second on the program’s all-time scoring list with 183 points.

While the team spends the beginning of the season figuring out the right mix of lines and who will take on additional scoring responsibilities, it will rely on senior captains Tyler Sedlak and Liam McLinskey — who is committed to play college hockey at Quinnipiac — to lead the offense.

As a junior, Sedlak tied for the team lead with 28 goals, while adding 40 assists. While a spotlight will be put on him, he said he doesn’t feel any extra pressure this year.

“Nothing is going to change too much,” he said. “I’m going to go in the games with the same mind-set. I’m going to make sure all my players are positive and make sure there’s a good vibe, that everyone is enjoying themselves. I have two other great captains to do it with.”

Don Bosco will be buoyed by a defense that returns senior captain T.J. Schweighardt, junior defender Will Forescue and goalie Max Schwarz. Last year, the defense allowed only 40 goals in 30 games. That experience is expected to help Don Bosco be successful and achieve its goals.

“I think early in the season, it does come down to experience,” Sedlak said. “When the team is still in early season form, I think not even just me and Liam, there’s a bunch of guys that will have to step up and show off how they know how to play hockey, and we’ll be in good shape.”

The Ironmen have begun the new season strong, starting 2-0, including a 3-1 victory over Delbarton that featured two goals from Schweighardt.

It is a small sample size, however. In 2017-18 season, Don Bosco defeated Delbarton twice in the regular season before losing to Delbarton in the playoffs. Despite graduating 13 seniors, the three-time defending state champions continue to be the favorites to win a fourth consecutive championship.

Typical contenders like CBA — with goalie Jake Brown (.946 save percentage in 2018) — and St. Augustine also will continue to be strong opposition in the hopes for a state championship, as will quarterfinalist Pope John, which also is strong between the pipes with the return of All-State goalie Matt Schoer.

Toskos is confident in his group, however, and he wants to make sure between the chemistry and the team trips — games in Boston and Providence this season after playing at Citi Field for a game during the 2017-18 season — that his players enjoy themselves.

“The most important thing is the experience,” Toskos said. “They’re high school kids. Some of these kids may not play anything higher than high school. If that’s the case, we want them to say, ‘I loved going to Don Bosco and some of the reasons were because of this.’ That’s the most important thing to the coaching staff, making sure these kids have the experience.”

Public A

With a 5-1 victory over Woodbridge Township, Hunterdon Central won its first state championship. The team graduates several talented players, including Scott Schnell, who scored two goals in the championship game. HC was a deep team in 2018, however, and look for returners such as Will Meyer and Richard Stefanik to help lead the defense and offense, respectively.

Montclair was the top seed in the Public A tournament, and, backed by junior goalie Gus Bylin, it will be looking to bounce back after an earlier-than-expected exit from the state championship a year prior. Marlboro, a semifinalist in 2018, returns its top two scorers, Anthony Galante and Dante Balsamo.

Morris Knolls and Morris Hills combine to form a new co-op in the 2018-19 season, and it will be led by goalie Ty Franchi, who made 427 saves and allowed 39 goals the previous year.

Public B

With last year’s champion, Northern Highlands, moving to Public C, Ridge should be considered the favorites in Public B. The team returns its top three scorers from last season, including Alex Konovalov, who set career highs in both goals (29) and assists (38) last season. The team will have to wait for his contributions, however, as he will miss the first couple weeks of the season with an injury.

Freehold Township also returns its top three scorers from last season (Niko Neron, Kyle Nestepny and Tyler Sanborn) while semifinalist Princeton hopes the return of electric scorer Aidan Trainor (29 goals, 27 assists) helps propel last season’s Cinderella team to an even better finish in 2019.

Randolph, the other finalist in the 2017-18 season, is typically a strong contender for the state championship, but it will have to overcome the loss of 10 players over the offseason.

Public C

A new addition to the state playoffs in the 2017-18 season, Public C was wide open and very competitive; that should remain the same in the 2018-19 season.

Summit was last year’s champion after defeating Chatham, 3-0, in the championship game. In the Public C tournament, goalie Nikita Pryymak posted four consecutive shutouts. He’ll be back between the pipes. Also returning will be four of the team’s top six scorers, including Greg Spitznagel, who had 29 points as a freshman, including two goals in the championship game.

While Chatham might have lost the inaugural Public C championship game, the team will be poised to battle for another opportunity, especially with the return of goalie Zach Pendergrast and his .913 save percentage. Northern Highlands, the Public B champion in 2017-18, moves to the Public C group and brings with it an experienced defense backed by goalie John Werber and defender Sean Vlasich.

Wall was a semifinalist, losing to Chatham, and it faces some trouble after graduating some top contributors, but head coach Mike Dianora said he still believes there is enough talent and returning experience to compete and make another deep playoff run.