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.

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 ...

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!

HUdson Catholic Win and Ridgewood Snow

Hudson Catholic:

Well the Hudson Catholic game went pretty much as expected. Comets played well and skated to a 6 -1 win. Keep in mind all 6 goals were scored in the first period. The outdoor rink was also as cold as could be! Probably the biggest thing to come from the game was Max's first varsity goal. Congratulations Max!

It was also good to see Billy Regan and the Freshmen getting a lot of ice time. Good job Comets!

Ridgewood:

Well, the much anticipated game against first place Ridgewood will just have to wait. The game was canceled due to the snow storm that was on it's way. We'll just have to wait a little longer for this match up.

Hope everyone had fun playing in the snow!