Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Housley Classic ... off to a good start ...


Comets 7 - Pascack Valley 1

In addition to the "Housley Classic" being a one game elimination tournament, this was going to be an important game for the Comets. They were coming off of losing 3 of their last 4 games. 2 of which, were one goal games that the Comets controlled but could not win. Capitalizing on opportunities was a common problem in those two games. Finishing plays, working together, and minimizing breakdowns were all issues the Comets needed to improve.

The first game of the "Housley Classic" started just like the last two games. The Comets played strong, and had some great opportunities, but failed to score. Then it happened. Pascack Valley scored the first goal. This appeared to be a problem for the Comets in the last two games. In both games the other team scored the first goal. However this time, the Comets stuck to their game, and continued with their style of play. The continued to play like a team, with passing, a solid forecheck and pressuring the puck, and in addition they played a strong defense. This continued pressure lead to a goal to tie up the game, followed by a go ahead goal. At this point the Comets never looked back!

They continued playing the same system with, passing, solid forecheck and back check, and went on to score 5 more unanswered goals, to win the game 7-1. The Comets will now play Northern Valley Old Tappan for the "Housley Cup" championship on Friday, New Years eve, at 1:45pm. However, please double check with the Ice House, as the snow storm has changed around a lot of the start times for these games. We hope to see you at the game and have a great New Years!


Tuesday, December 21, 2010

A Weekend to Forget ... or at Least Learn From

Comets 3 - West Milford 4

Well by now I'm sure most of you have read the articles, and or the blogs. It was not a great weekend. The home opener was set for Friday night. There was a good size crowd and a lot of positive energy. The Comets were ready for a good game.

As the game opened, the Comets had a ton a pressure in the offensive zone, with lots of shots. Only problem was they just could not capitalize. Then when they did find the net, they would go through a few breakdowns, which would lead to a few goals. Next thing you know, the Comets found themselves losing to a team they had previously beaten, in a game they really should have won. But instead of just putting the game behind them and forgetting about it, there was a lot they could learn from a game like that.


Comets 1 - Northern Valley Old Tappan 2

Well what can you say about this one. Another close one goal game. Another game where the Comets had a lot of pressure down in the offensive zone, but could not capitalize on opportunities. Another game where a few breakdowns, lead up to another loss. It seemed as if the Comets were in it, the whole game, and at any point things would start clinking for them, but it just did not happen. It was their second loss in 2 games and third loss in the last four.

Looking ahead, the Comets have a week of practices, a Christmas break, and then it's on to the Housley Cup tournament, where they will play Pascack Valley. Let's hope they can shake this state they are in, and play the kind of hockey we saw them play the first weekend!

Have a great holiday, and we'll see you Sunday the 26th at the Ice House at 7:00pm!


Sunday, December 12, 2010

That Was a Little Better!

Comets 5 - Northern Valley 3

Well, it was a much better game, that's for sure. There was passing, there was checking, there was pressure and digging in the corners, there was even effort in fighting for rebounds. It as if the Comets really tried to correct a lot of the issues from the night before! In addition, there was the first two goals from freshman Robbie Marut, and the first goal for Senior Suzanne Meeks. A lot of good was happening.

However, after taking the a 5-2 at the end of the first period, the Comets seem to lose a little focus. In addition to taking some bad penalties, and letting up one more goal, the scoring also came to an end. They played well enough to hold on to their 5-3 lead, however, they will need to play 3 strong periods, like their first period, if the want to beat the stronger teams in this division.

The will have the opportunity to show they can play 3 full periods next weekend when they play their home opener against West Milford. West Milford will, for sure, be looking to even up the score after the Comets beat them 3-0 last week. See you then!

Saturday, December 11, 2010

A Tough Loss can be a Wake Up Call ...

Comets 0 - Wayne Valley 7

Maybe everyone was feeling a bit too confident, maybe they were not taking their new opponent too seriously, but whatever it is that happened, it seemed that everything that was going right last weekend, was going wrong last night. At every position, it seemed that the Comets were struggling with every aspect of their game.

Let's hope they can shake off this loss, and learn from it as the head up to Sport-o-Rama tonight for a late game against Northern Highlands, with a 9:00 PM start. Good luck Comets!




Friday, December 10, 2010

2010-2011 Comets Schedule


Here is the 2010-11 Comets schedule. If you want, you should be able to download this jpeg and print it out. These schedules should be popping up around the High School any day now.

If anyone wants a large printout (1"2 x 18") to put up at their favorite deli, just let me know.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Photos From St. Joes game uploaded

The Flickr account has been updated and we will now be posting photos from the games on that web page. The photos from the St. Joes game have just been uploaded. We will do our best to get shots of all the players ...

Here is the link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cometsicehockey09-10/

...or you can click on the "Comets Photos" link at the top right of this page.

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Nothern Valley Ice Blog

For those of you who do not know, there is a great blog about our league, the Northern Valley Ice Blog. It can be found on the Bergen Record web page www.northjersey.com. It's a great blog, with great reporting and great photos.

As a new addition to this blog, we have addd a link to the Northern Valley Ice Blog in the upper right, so you can navigate to it easily. Enjoy!

Monday, December 6, 2010

Blog Updates ...

As I'm sure everyone knows, our league has changed to "Big North- Silver". The link is on the upper right side of this blog. When click on it, it will bring you to the standings/schedule section. You have to click on the "Big North - Silver" tab at the bottom to get to the page with our division.


You can also click on another link on the upper right labeled, "HS Hockey Schedule & Standings". This is the main website that has various schedules, standings, and information.

You can also check out "High School Spots Net" and the "Star Ledger Recaps", as well as a new link for the "Bergen Record" for more recaps and information.

Welcome to the Start of the 2010-11 Season!


Well the season is getting into full swing. Ice and dry land practices have been going on for a few weeks now, and this weekend the Comets had their first two games. And what a weekend!

Comets 3 - St. Joes 2
Saturday night the Comets faced St. Joes. This was the first regular season game for the upper classmen additions of Suzanne(Sn), Phillipe (Sn), and Austin Yu (Jr). The three of them made quite an impact on the team. It was a well played game for both sides, and a real nail biter at the end, as the Comets managed to hold on for a 3-2 win!Nice way to start the season.

Comets 3 - West Milford 0
Sunday Night had them playing against West Milford at the Ice Vault. Even though the Comets had the lead at the end of the first, it looked like it was going to be a pretty tight game. Then as they got into the second period, the Comets had complete control of the game and never looked back! It even gave Coach Church the opportunity to rotate in all his skaters, giving them all a chance to contribute. In the end they skated away with a 3-0 shutout! Nicely done!

This weekend the Comets will face face Wayne Valley at the Ice Vault at 6:00pm, and Nothern Highlands at Sport-o-rama on Sunday at 9:00. See you there!

...as a side note I will be posting a link for more photos from the games. I am trying to pick up where Ron Gildea left off, with taking pictures of the team. I will try to get shots of all the players, so please be patient if shots of some of the players are missing. I will do my best to get everyone.




Wednesday, January 20, 2010

On the Right Track ...

Comets 3 - Ridgewood 2
Playing their 3rd game in 4 days, once again, against the tough Ridgewood team was going to be a challenging game. The Comets were all going to have to be on top of their game. This time they were. The game was a very tightly played game, and all the players were working hard. Mistakes were kept to a minimum. Very few penalties were called. After two hard periods of play, the Comets once again found themselves going into the third period with a 2-2 tie. They were going to have to play hard the entire period to come away with a win. And they did. They scored the go ahead goal with just over 11 minutes left. Great hustle and back check by the forward, and strong, controlled play by the defense and goalie keep Ridgewood at bay giving the Comets a much needed win.

Youth Hockey Side Note:
An interesting side note about the Comets / Ridgewood games. 10 players (6 Comets, 4 Ridgewood) have played together at different times, for an organization called the Ice Dogs out of the ice House. It was great to see that these former & current Ice Dog players, even though playing for two different high schools, could battle so fiercely, yet give each other a "good job" tap during the whistles. That showed great sportsmanship, which is always nice to see.

A Tough Weekend ...


Comets 3 - Ridgewood 4
The Comets knew that their weekend was going to be tough, but they may not have realized how tough. Saturday's game vs Ridgewood would be a bit of an eyeopener. Ridgewood cam out flying, and our Comets were trying to keep up. Ridgewood went ahead 4-2 with just moments left in the game. With the goalie pulled and on a power play, the Comets managed to score with less than a minute left to make it a 3-4 game. Then with only 8 seconds left, an empty net, and a face off to the right of the Ridgewood net, the Comets would try again. They gave it their best shot, but could not put the puck in the net. Ridgewood wins 4-3. The best part of the game was the fact that the Comets never gave up. They played hardest at the last moments of the game. not giving up is key!
Comets 2 - Wayne Valley 6
What can you say. It wasn't the Comets best night. There were moments when the team looked good, and then there were moments when, well, not so good. This was just going to be one of those games. Wayne Valley proved to be a tough competitor. However, after going down 0-2, the Comets seemed to be pulling it back together. They were able to tie the game 2-2 by the end of the second, and it looked as if it was a whole new game. The third period though, would not be kind. 4 unanswered goals by Wayne Valley would leave the Comets trying to figured what just happened, and how to never let that happen again.

You don't want to forget about these games, you want to learn from them ...

Monday, January 11, 2010

Lots of Ups and Downs, Just More Ups ...

Well, even though it has only been a little while since the last posting, there have been 6 games played! Some good, and some, ... well, could have been better ...

Charles H. Housley Classic Tournament:
Comets 6 - Dumont 3
Well the Comets were off to a great start in the tournament. They started with a dominating win over rival Dumont. So dominant in fact, it is possible that the Comets may have been a little over confident when going on to the next round, verses Nutley ...

Comets 1 - Nutley 3
It seemed like a repeat was in store for the Comets in the Housley Classic. 2 in a row would be great. Well, Nutley did not agree. The game was packed with excitement, even if it was crammed into that small Rink 1.
There was even a penalty shot against the Comets which was stopped. Unfortunately, the Comets just couldn't get their game going enough to Beat Nutley. The same team they beat in a pre-season scrimmage.
After being humbled a bit by losing the tournament, the Comets would have to turn their focus back onto their regular season ...

Comets 6 - Fair Lawn 1
Well if losing the tournament was a wake up call, then the Comets proved to be wide awake when they faced Fair lawn. A very solid win for the Comets, to help get them back on track. Especially when gearing up to face DePaul Catholic.

Comets 3 - DePaul 2
A trip up to Wayne to the ice cold Ice Vault, would prove to be a good work out for the Comets. A really hard fought game between the two teams, would find the Comets finishing on top. Even the cold bus ride back to the high school, could not cool off their enthusiasm of this win!

Comets 2 - Paramus 6
Hmmm ... what happened here? Dominating Fair Lawn, and beating DePaul, it looked as if the Paramus game, shouldn't be too tough. Like when the Comets played Nutley, Paramus had other ideas. The game had the Comets off to a pretty quick 1 - 0 start, almost 2 - 0, but the goal was called back because of a high stick. After that, Paramus got the better part of the play, and pulled to a strong win over the Comets. Another important lesson.

Comets 5 - Wayne Hills 2
Having learned to never take any opponent lightly, the Comets played as hard as they ever had against Wayne Hills. Taking control of the play right from the beginning, the Comets played hard, and even had all 13 skaters finding ice time, in this well earned win! Nice job Comets!