Here We Go Again!

01.06.14 Comets 4 - Passaic Valley 4

The Comets had an opportunity tonight to push their record above .500, but Passaic Valley had other plans. PV has been struggling so far this season with a 3-8-1 record so far. This was a chance for the Comets to move ahead of their .500 record. But perhaps the Comets were just a bit tired, and just couldn't hold on to the win. They quickly pull ahead to a 2-0 lead, but PV would put one in the net before the end of the first.

The second period would have the Comets and PV trading goals, and the Comets would go into the 3rd period with a 4-3 lead. Back and forth play would continue through the 3rd period, and with just less than 6 minutes to go in the 3rd PV would tie it. Then after a few penalties, the Comets would find themselves finishing off the game shorthanded.

Some close calls, and some sharp goaltending from Steve, and the Comets would hold on to the 4-4 tie.

On to River Dell this Friday, January 10th at 7:15pm at the Ice House in Hackensack.

Time To Dig Deep and Work Hard!

01.05.14 Comets 3 - Clifton 3

If you click on the "HS Hockey Schedule & Standings" link on the right side of this page you will see that there are currently 3 teams all separated by one point. Fair Lawn, Clifton and our Comets. This is the "meat and potatoes" section of the division. These tens are all pretty close in skill and these games can go either way. The Comets were going to have to work hard for this one!

And work hard they did. The Comets had to kill off a few penalties, and had a few power play opportunities. After trading goals with the Mustangs, the Comets found themselves down 2-3 at the beginning of the third period. With some hard gritty work, the Comets got the tying goal from a tip in from Alex off a hard shot from the high slot! In addition to some great effort from the team, Steve came up big with some great goal tending! The game would end, as a well deserved tie.

Now on to Passaic Valley at Floyd Hall Monday, the 7th at 7:40pm.

JV Getting Into The Act!

01.04.14 Comets JV 0 - Xavier JV 6(?)

There was a lot of excitement on the Comets JV bench at the start of the very first Comets JV game, in over a year! This was an opportunity for all of the players to get a chance at some serious ice time. In addition this game would give a glimpse of a new goalie (even if it was just for one game) for the Comets in over a year as well! Alex decided to give it a shot., borrowing a full set of pads for Allison's brother Daniel (Comet Alum goalie, 2011). Alex learned first hand how "easy" that position is. It's not!

However, Alex, and the entire team, continued to improved as the game went on. Each player getting a bit more comfortable with their position and roll on the ice. Dylan did a nice job taking on a more leadership type of roll, being one of the more experience players on this JV squad.

At this writing the final score was a little unclear, though it was up there. Regardless of the whatever the final score was, you wouldn't know it by looking at the smiles on the players faces as they left the ice and left the rink. Reinforcing that these kids truly enjoy playing this great game, and are driven to keep improving! Great effort and great job Comets JV!

Success … Just a Little Late ...

12.27.13 Comets 8 - Bayonne 2

Going into the consolation game, there was still a feeling that the Comets should have been in the championship round. The previous loss still hurt, but the team would have to move on. They would have to sharpen their focus, and concentrate on beating Bayonne in the consolation round. And focus they did!

They came out playing strong and sticking to their game plan. Much of the play was in Bayonne's end, and Evan helped the Comets pulled away to a 2-0 lead with 2 goals at the end of the 1st. The 2nd period would see the Comets strong play continue, and this time it would be Thomas that would increase the lead to 4-0 by the end of the second.

The 3rd period would open with Robbie and Ian both scoring increasing the lead to 6-0. However shortly after that Bayonne would score two goals in less than 30 seconds, and visions of the Edison game started creeping in. Coach Church called a time out to settle the team down, give the players a bit of rest, and let them regain their focus that had been so strong. The Comets continued to play strong, and Robbie and Ian each scored one more goal, bring the final score to 8-2.

This game was a great opportunity to see some of the players that don't see a lot of ice time, to get some 3rd period action.  It proved to be a great night for the entire team!

And The Tournament Begins!

12.26.13 Comets 7 - Edison Township 10

This was going be one of those "one-and-done" tournaments. In order to make it to the Championship game, you have to win your first, and only game leading up to the championship game! That's a lot of pressure, with pretty much no room for error. Well, the Comets started off strong, and it looked as if things may go their way. The Comets managed a 4-1 lead by the end of the 1st period.

The Comets lead would continue through the second but that's when things would go south. Robbie first got a questionable Interference penalty which grew into a 10 minute misconduct, and then a game misconduct. We're still not sure why this happened and it was extremely unfortunate! This out the Comets at a real disadvantage. One Edison would capitalize on.

The 3rd period, the Comets were outshot 7-27, and more importantly, outscored 1-6, leading them to a 7-10 loss, and knocking them out of the championship round of the tournament! It was a real shame, because it really looked as if the Comets really had a shot at winning a tournament with such a small staffed team. Oh well, on tot he consolation game!