New Look ... New Season ...

And so it begins ...

Well, here we are again, at the beginning of a new season .. well almost. As most of you know, the season does not officially start until November 15th. But that doesn't mean the team is just sitting around and waiting. Captain practices, High School open house, parent meetings, fund raising, and Comets Ice Hockey apparel are all well underway.

With a smaller squad this year, the Comets having been sharing the captains practices with the River Dell/Westwood hockey team, and things are going very well. Turnout for the Comet squad could be a little better, but many students are still involved in other activities. However the work ethic of those who are showing up has been impressive. A nice little bonus is that many of the players from both HHS and RD have played together before in the Ice Dog organization, and with Ice Dog coach Jim Schafer running the practices, there has been a great synergy! The Comets should be well prepared for the start of the season!

In addition, HHS hosted an Open House for 8th graders, where they can come and learn about all the activities the school has to offer. The Ice Hockey table was buzzing! Coach Church and many of the varsity players were on hand to answer questions, and encourage future players! The sign ups were impressive!

The Parent Meetings are underway, and Yankee Candle fund raising is going strong! Remember, forms are due back Nov. 7th. The Comet apparel for the '11-'12 season is being finalized now, and order forms should be available shortly.

As everyone knows, this team is going to be a small squad this year. They are going to need the support of all family, friends, neighbors, ... distant relatives ... Facebook friends ... everyone they can to make this a successful season. Lets come out to show our support and our commitment to these kids!!! Good Luck Comets!!!

A helluva season!

Round of 16

Comets 0- Morris Knolls 6

Well, there is not much to say. Our kids did all they could. They knew going into the game it was going to be a tough one. It was a very emotional night for both the parents and the kids.

About the game ... well Morris Knolls is a very good team. They moved the puck with precision. No player held onto the puck for more than a second or two before a precise pass was made. They cycled like crazy. The Comets did all the could to keep up with them but it just wasn't enough.

The Comets did improve as the game went on, they even started to put some serious pressure on MK mid way through the second period. But a couple of tip in goals and it was a 0-5 game. MK managed to put one more in during the 3rd to make the final score 0-6.

It was a tough night, that I think left a lot of fans thinking "what if ..." But all that aside, we are all very proud of our kids. Especially the seniors, who, in their 4 years with the team, had help the team reach some accomplishments that had never been done before. They (and their parents) will truly be missed. We wish them all the best as they start looking towards their lives after high school!

As a side note, even though there are 8 players leaving, it in no way means it's time to throw the arms up in the air and give up. There is still a lot of heart on this team, especially with some of the younger players. This team has some very large shoes to fill, and they will all have to step up to the task to show that the heart of this team is still beating!

Comets win in first round in States!!!

Comets 4 - Marlboro 3

Comets win in overtime! Yup, they won! This is the first time they made it past the first round of states in a long time, or possibly ever! What a game. Comets jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the first, but then watched that lead slowly slip away. Facing a 2-3 deficit, the Comets managed to tie the game halfway through the 3rd period. Onto Overtime!

Marlboro had a ton of shots in OT, and the Comets were almost out of gas! Legs dragging, I believe it was Mike who managed to push a pass up to an exhausted Matt C, who gave everything to skate past the defense and blast a shot past the Marlboro goalie! Nice win.

Now it is time to rest. The Comets will face the #2 seed Morris Knolls on Thursday. Hope to see as many of you as possible on Thursday!

Well, the league playoffs didn't go so well ...

Comets 3 - St. Joes 6

Well, not much to say. Joe Camporeale wrote a good recap for the Chronicle. Comets played well, but just not for the entire game. They lost in the first round of the league playoffs. Now the efforts are turned to the States! Good luck team!

Big win before the start of playoffs ...

Comets 3 - Watchung Hills 2

As a last minute addition to the schedule, the Comets would be facing Watchung Hills. Watchung Hills plays in a very competitive division, and their record can be a little misleading. Even though they do not have a lot of wins, they are a very solid team. This was going to be a good game to get the Comets up to speed for the playoffs.

The Comets jumped onto the score board first with 2 very important goals. The first goal gave an assist to Jack Marut, which pushed him to pass Steve Celentano's record for most points scored by a Hackensack player. The second goal was scored by Austin Holmes. His first of the season! Congrats to both players.

It seamed that the Comets were in good control of the game, but then some sloppy plays let Watchung Hills back into the game to tie it up 2-2. Hopefully the Comets have learned their lesson, to not let this happen again.

The game was tied up to the end of the 3rd period, when Matt Carroll scored with less than a minute left, to give them the lead and eventually the win. Next stop, the playoffs at the Ice Vault!

This is a tough one ...

Comets 3 - Paramus 6

Well ... what can you say? I think coming of that very well played loss to Howell, everyone, coaches, players and parents, were expecting a great game from the Comets last night. Well, we got 2 periods worth. And even that was a bit of a stretch. The previous night the Comets had definitely played up a level, skating toe to toe with Howell, one of NJ's top ranked teams. They may have lost by one goal, but they played with tremendous heart. Everyone felt that.

So as they went into the game against Paramus, the same level was expected. Instead it seemed that the Comets dropped down a few levels, and just could not keep up with Paramus. They managed to hold on to a 1 goal lead going into the 3rd period, but even that was a little shaky. With all the pressure, the Comets should have been able to really pull away. Instead, they gave Paramus the feeling they were still in the game. And at the start of the 3rd period, it was Paramus that would lead the charge. Capitalizing on Comets mistakes, Paramus managed to score 4 unanswered goals in a very short span, to pull ahead 6 to 3.

Even with the Comets calling a time out to try to settle things down, it was obvious to everyone that the Comets would just not come back. Now that the Comets know what it feels like to have such a disappointing loss, we can only hope that they will use this to fuel their fire to not let this happen again. They will soon be heading into the league playoffs, and then on to the State playoffs. Lets hope they can shake the cobwebs, and play the kind of hockey we all know they can play! Good luck team, as you head into the playoffs!

Well, after that

Senior Night ... and the best loss all season!

Comets 4 - Howell 5

It was Senior Night for the Comets last night at the Ice House, and it turned out to be a heck of a night! The game opened with a short ceremony that was put together by Mr. Holmes, with the announcing done by Mr. Regan. The ceremony may have been short, but I know that all of the parents and players appreciated the effort to make the night special. Most of the seniors have played together off and on for the last 8 or 9 years! It will be hard to see them move on.

But on to the game. The Comets would be playing the highly ranked Howell team. Everyone, fans and players alike, knew the Comets were the underdogs going in., and they would have to really elevate their game! The game started with Howell controlling the majority of the play and jumping out to a 3-0 lead by the end of the first period. The Comets were caught flat and on their heals. It looked as if it was going to be a long night! But the Comets came back in the second period turning away everything Howell threw at the net, and even putting in two goals, the last goal coming in the last minutes of the period. The Comets would go into the break only down by one goal! This was going to be a game!

Howell came out strong in the third, controlling the play again, but the Comets never gave up. Both teams traded goals, but it would be Howell that would finish ahead by one goal, 5 to 4. As far as I could tell, this was the best loss the Comets have had since Westfield in last year's States. They may have been down in this game 3-0, but they never gave up. They even outscored Howell in the last 2 periods 4-2! Now the Comets just need to bring this intensity tonight against Paramus, and then into the playoffs and States!

New Link Added ... NJ Power Ranking

I'm not sure if many of you know about a website called NJ Power Ranking. It does just it says. It ranks all the schools in NJ. It also has filters so you can just view the Public A schools (our division) or all the schools. It gives an estimated preview of how the ranking will be as we head towards States.

I've added the link to the website, www.njpowerranking.com to the right side under the title of "Useful Links".

A solid performance from the team!

Comets 3 - Middletown North 0

Well that was a much stronger showing than Sunday night. Coming off the week tie against Wayne Hills, the Comets really needed to pull out all the stops to get back on the right track, and they did. The entire performance from the forwards, to the defense, including the goaltending, was much more solid than it has been in the last couple of games! Penalties were also less than the last few games. The overall focus was much better and the results showed!

This is also the teams 3rd shut out of the season! A nice way to rebound from that tie. Now the comets will have to try to keep that momentum through to Friday, when they face the Howel team from the top of the tough Shore B division!

A "not so great" tie ...

Comets 4 - Wayne Hills 4

Well the intensity that seems to be inconsistent lately, would remain that way for the Wayne Hills game. Wayne Hills has been in last place for most if not all of the season, and did not give the Comets too much competition in the first meeting this season. The Comets won that game 6-2, while giving ice time to the players that normally don't see a lot.

That was not the case last night. Wayne Hills, was coming off a HUGE game against local rival Wayne Valley, where even though they lost 0-2, it was almost like a victory to them.Wayne Valley is in second place and the score was more like 1-0, since the second gaol was an empty netter. That's a pretty close game.

The Comets knew not to take Wayne Hills lightly this game. They knew that Hills was pumped and running on emotion. The Comets knew they needed this win, to try to build some strong momentum for the remaining of the season and heading into the playoffs. The Comets played strong but only managed to take a 2-1 lead into the second period. The game remained a one goal game going into the third period with a score of 3-2. The Comets failed to pull away and take WH out of the game. Instead WH kept chipping away, and with only a few moments left the game was tied 4-4. Not exactly what the COmets had in mind. To make matters worse, there were two breakaways for Wayne Hills within the last minute of the game.

The Comets managed to walk away with a tie, but just barely. Not exactly the kind of momentum the Comets were hoping to gain, especially with 2 very tough opponents scheduled this week. Middletown North is Tuesday, and Howell is Friday night. It is now time for the Comets to show what kind of heart they have!

No matter what, the Comets family and fans are loyal. The turnouts through out the season have been great. Thank you to all for coming out!

The win that almost wasn't ...

Comets 5 - Paramus 4

Well, it may not have been pretty, but it was a win. Our comets started off strong against Paramus, then were flat, then came back strong, then turned flat again, then were strong .... then went flat again, then managed to walk away with a win. In a game that had more back and forth in the scoring then it should have, the Comets found a way to finish with one more goal than Paramus.

They need to come together more now as a team then ever before heading into the season's end. Let's see if they can do it!

When a tie means a lot ...

Comets 1 - Ramapo 1

Well, one week after the loss to Ramapo, and with a win against Kinnelon, the Comets came into the second game against Ramapo with a lot more confidence. They played strong right from the opening face off. Everyone was a lot more focused, and the result showed it. The Comets carried a 1-0 lead right up to the last few minutes of the game. A small breakdown gave Ramapo the opportunity to tie the game, and that's how it ended.

This tie clinched a spot in the States for the Comets. But before they look that far down the road, they will have to focus their efforts on their remaining 5 games. All of which will be pretty important!