NHS hockey team enjoys memorable season

By Joe Ragozzino
Sports Editor
The Nutley High School varsity ice hockey team enjoyed one of its best seasons.
After finishing runner-up in the NJIHL-Central Division McInnis Cup playoffs, the Raiders made a great bid for a State championship. NHS, the No. 18 seed, stunned second-seeded Kinnelon to reach the quarterfinals of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association Public B tournament.
It marked the farthest the Raiders have ever been in the State tournament. Unfortunately, the drive ended as they lost to Hopewell Valley to finish with an impressive 15-6-7 record.
Undoubtedly, the season was made special, thanks to the play of the 13 seniors.
“They all started in the program when I took over four years ago,” said NHS head coach Eric Puzio. “They all matured. I had a feeling that this was going to be a productive year for us. We set high goals at the beginning of the year, saying we would like to compete for a league title, which we were able to do, as well as making some believers in the State tournament.”
The seniors are defensemen Mike Cargill, Matt Newton and Sean Murphy; forwards Mike Radziewicz, Bryan McDonald, Joey Fierro, Ryan Pergola, Matt Calleo, Stephen George, Tyler Morgan and Andrew Zinicola; and goalies Matt Rasp and Anthony Palmieri.
Newton was the captain and McDonald was an assistant captain.
The senior camaraderie was evident.
“They have been playing together since they were 6, 7 years old,” said Puzio of the seniors on the team. “It was time for them to come together. After starting off slow this year, they realized they had something special. It was pretty big for them to come together, especially in the league against Montclair, MKA and West Essex.”
The Raiders particularly showed their resolve after getting trounced by West Essex, 8-0, in the McInnis Cup final. They traveled to Skylands Arena in Stockholm to beat 18th-seeded Sparta, 5-2. Two days later, they went back to Skylands and stunned Kinnelon, 3-2, on March 4.
But unfortunately, they couldn’t duplicate the same kind of performance in the quarterfinals at Codey Arena in West Orange, falling to Hopewell Valley, 6-1, on March 7.
Still, Puzio gave his team credit for beating a highly-regarded team like Kinnelon.
“Nobody gave us a shot against them and we outplayed a team that won a State title a couple of years ago,” said Puzio. “These guys have to be commended, especially after coming off that 8-0 loss to West Essex, and beating Sparta and two days later and beating Kinnelon.”
Despite losing those seniors, the Raiders will return a few key players such as junior forwards Dan Olivares, Brandon Perdon and Dan Koslecki; junior defenseman Sean Griffith and freshmen forward Will Paro and David Fierro.
The offseason preparation, however, will be critical if the Raiders hope to have another successful season. That means going to the weight room and playing as much hockey before the official start of practice on Nov. 15.
Nevertheless, this season was one that the Raiders will truly remember.
“They deserved it,” said Puzio. “They worked their butts off. We overcame a bunch of adversity this year. We had a lot of distractions. They were able to stay focused and be able to set their goals of getting to the league championship and getting to the State tournament and doing some damage.”