HAMILTON TOWNSHIP, NJ—Wednesday marked the dawn of a new era for the Hun School hockey program. The Raiders made their 2023-24 debut under Eric Szeker, who is succeeding Ian McNally this season.
His troops gave a good effort before dropping a 5-3 decision to Bergen Catholic at Ice Land.
The affair was officially designated as a scrimmage, since Bergen Catholic, which plays hockey under the auspices of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association could not play an official game until Thursday. That designation did not diminish the energy level on the ice however and both teams were able to dress an extra player or two.
The Cougars wasted no time jumping in front. Will Schlechtweg found the net just 59 seconds after the opening faceoff and Bergen Catholic never trailed.
Matthew Maglio, who assisted on Schlechtweg’s tally, made it a 2-0 game with a goal of his own at the 8:18 mark.
Nathaniel TrawinskI got the Raiders on the board but Kyle Frassetto’s power-play effort 9:32 into the second frame made it a two-goal game once more.
Ryan Levesque stepped up for Hun School not quite four minutes later when he scored on a shorthanded breakaway but Kyle Rooks and Colin Higgins added goals for the Crusaders to make it a 5-2 game 6:05 into the final period.
Justin Laplante’s late goal made the final margin a bit closer.
Szeker took a number of positives away from the afternoon.
“I loved the effort,” he said. “We were working up and down the ice. But sometimes, the effort isn’t enough. We’ve got to pick up guys and stuff like that.
Having lost 10 seniors to graduation a year ago, the Raiders are looking for contributions from the underclassmen on the roster.
“We like to see the guys coming out and competing and playing their hardest,” Szeker said. “We’ve got a lot of young player who are going to have to adjust to the level.
“What I like is we’ve got the compete level. Now, we’ve got to execute at a higher level.”
Szeker, who played for Hun School says a big key for players transitioning to a higher level of hockey is improved/quicker decision making.
“The game comes at them a lot faster,” he said. “They’ve got to make those decisions pretty quick. The plus side to it is there are a lot of skilled players at a younger age and I don’t think it’s going to take them too long to adjust to the speed, but just decision making is going to be the biggest thing they have to adjust to.”
Ice chips—The Raiders will host Haverford School Friday night in their first official game of the Eason. They’ll open APAC play at La Salle on December 6
Bergen Catholic 2 1 2—5
Hun School 1 1 1—3
First-period goals: Will Schlechtweg (BC) from Matthew Maglio, :59; Maglio (BC) from Alex Frassetto, 8:18; Nathaniel TrawinskI (HS) unassised, 14:00
Second-period goals: Kyle Frassetto (BC) from Justin Tong and Andrew Darst, 9:32 (pp) Ryan Levesque (HS) 13:25 (sh)
Third-period goals: Kyle Rooks (BC) from Nick Frassetto and George Weiner, 1:13; Colin Higgins (BC) from Braydon Kane and Rocco Venezia, 6:05; Justin Laplante (HS) from Jake Beck and Anders Raalte, 15:27
Hockey Happenings 