Don Bosco Hockey is proud to announce that Seniors Zach Hammond and Connor Sedlak along with Junior Lukas Klemm have been named team captains for the 2020-21 season. Head Coach Greg Toskos is excited to get started in this unusual year, “We have a great core group coming back that we’re really excited about and we couldn’t be prouder as a program to feature these three players as our captains. Their leadership will be tested right away as we will play one of the toughest schedules in the state.”
The Ironmen open the season on the road, December 21st, in a State Semi-Finals re-match vs Seton Hall Prep, followed by Bergen Catholic two days before Christmas.
Bosco will close out 2020 with two more games against Gloucester Catholic on the 27th and Morristown Beard School on the 29th, before breaking for the new year. “It’s a different year for sure,” said Coach Toskos, “but our goal remains the same and we’re looking forward to getting the 2020-21 campaign under way.”
Coming off the an 8-3 quarterfinal win over Pingry, the Ironmen looked to keep their offensive momentum rolling into Mennen Arena for an NJSIAA Semi-finals showdown against six seeded Seton Hall Prep. The Pirates, fresh off their 3-2 win over three seed Bergen Catholic, were all that stood in Bosco’s way for a return trip to the Prudential Center and a chance to defend their 2019 State Title crown.
Merrimack College commit Michael Rubin with 3 assists vs SHP in Semi-Final action
After a scoreless opening few minutes, that saw each team trade scoring chances, Seton Hall Prep got on the board first to take a 1-0 lead. Five minutes later, leading scorer, Junior Connor Sedlak (20g, 22a) found a loose puck behind the SHP goal tender off a Lukas Klemm (6g, 11a) shot to even the score.
Coming out of the break, Bosco struck first, six minutes in as Freshman Sal Guzzo (10g, 15a) cashed in on the power play off a nice feed from Lukas Klemm and Junior Michael Rubin (7g, 18a) to put the Ironmen up 2-1. Shortly thereafter, Senior Arthur Tsimerman (4g, 4a) scored his second goal in as many games, taking a pass from Rubin to give Bosco a 3-2 lead. However, Seton Hall continued to play tough all night and answered right back two minutes later to pull within one going into the final period.
Jr. Connor Sedlak, 2 goals vs SHP, leads the rush
In the third, with the season on the line, the Ironmen rallied for two goals as Sedlak found the back of the net on the power play, for his second of the game. But the Pirates would continue to hang around, getting their third of the game a minute and a half later, to pull within one again. A minute later however, Bosco would strike again, as Freshman Ryan Fine (10g, 13) took a Drew Fortescue (1g, 9a) pass and went five hole, to secure a 5-3 win and the Ironmen were off to the Rock for the fourth straight year to defend their 2019 title.
Don Bosco looks to defend their title and repeat as NJSIAA Non-Public Champions against number one seed CBA, Monday March 9th, 6:30 pm at the Prudential Center. Please come out and support the Ironmen!
After facing off with a tough Pope John team in the first round of the state playoffs, the Ironmen faced upstart Pingry School. Coming off a win against St. Augustine Prep, Pingry brought in plenty of fire power looking to knock off the defending champions.
Soph Lukas Klemm chipped in with 3 assists
Right away, the Ironmen would go to the power play and cash in as Merrimack College commit, Michael Rubin (7g, 15a) took a feed from Lukas Klemm and rifled home a point shot to put Bosco up 1-0. Less than two minutes later, Senior Arthur Tsimerman (3g, 4a) found the back of the net for a 2-0 lead. However, Pingry would answer right back to get on the board. Bosco found the net two more times in the opening frame on goals by Will Fortescue (5g, 18a) and Boston University commit Freshman, Ryan Fine (9g, 12a) to take a 4-1 lead into the locker room.
Following the ice cut, the Ironmen wasted little time, putting another three goals on the board in the second period, as Senior Hunter McGee (6g, 14a) and Junior Jake Geraci (1g, 10a) each netted a goal, while Ryan Fine added his second of the game. Despite the offensive outburst from DBP, Pingry added a second goal to close out the second period scoring.
Jr. defenseman Jake Geraci notched his first goal of the year
Senior Captain Robbie Greenleaf (2g, 2a) finished off the scoring for the Ironmen in the third period, while Freshman Goalie Ethan Marich made 16 saves on the night as the Ironmen advanced by a score of 8-3. Lukas Klemm (6g, 8a), Sal Guzzo (9g, 15a) and Connor Sedlack (18g, 22a) had three assists apiece to lead the team in scoring on the night.
Sr. Captain Robbie Greenleaf tallied a goal and an assist
Don Bosco returns to action Thursday night, March 5th with a chance to go to the Prudential Center and play for its second consecutive state title against Seton Hall Prep, who defeated Bergen Catholic 3-2 earlier. Please come out and support the Ironmen as they continue to defend their state title, 8:30 pm at Mennen Arena in Morristown.
Freshman Eric Vivinetto fires a shot on goal in NJSIAA first round play
Coming off a tough loss in the Gordon Cup finals, Don Bosco entered the NJSIAA round of 16 as the number two seed. Taking on a familiar Gordon Conference foe Pope John for the third time on the season, their first round game would not be easy. “Pope John is well coached and there is a familiarity level with both teams,” said Head Coach Greg Toskos. “Brownie does a great job with his guys and we’ve played some nail biting state playoff games the past few years against them to say the least. We don’t ever over look an opponent, but that is even more the case tonight, because we know what they’re capable of,” said Toskos.
Junior Kevin Rose stopped 14 of 15 shots in NJSIAA first round match up vs Pope John
The Ironmen came out firing in the first period, peppering Pope John with 18 shots, but only managed one goal. Freshman Ryan Fine (7g, 12a) buried a chance off a nice feed from Junior Connor Sedlak (18g, 19a) and Sophomore defenseman Lukas Klemm (6g, 5a). Bosco would continue the offensive display, adding another 26 shots in the second period, but were denied each time. However, Junior goaltender Kevin Rose, was just as good for the Ironmen, stopping all 10 shots he faced through two periods. Making his 12th start of the year, while posting a 93.2% save percentage and a 1.2 GAA, Rose kept the Lions off the scoreboard until a power play opportunity in the third, found the back of the net to tie the game at one.
But the Ironmen would not be out done on this night. Answering with two goals twenty seconds apart as two Freshman led the way for Bosco. Eric Vivinetto (3g, 17a) ripped a shot from the left circle off a pass from Senior Captains Hunter McGee (5g, 13a) and Will Fortescue (4g, 18a) to give Don Bosco the lead. Moments later, Sal Guzzo (9g, 12a) would add an insurance goal, putting Bosco up for good off a feed from McGee and Junior Drew Hansen (1g, 8a).
Don Bosco continues its NJSIAA Non-Public title defense on Monday March 2, 8:15 pm vs Pingry at the Ice Vault
After finishing the 2018-19 with a 27-2 record and winning their first JV Gordon Cup Championship and second Ice Vault JV League Championship. The 2019-20 Ironmen set out to defend both of their titles. After a rocky start, dropping games to Gordon Conference foes Seton Hall Prep, Delbarton and Bergen Catholic, the team came together and put on an unbelievable 8-0-2 run to close out the regular season. First up in the Gordon Cup semifinals, the Ironmen would take on rival Delbarton. After a strong 2 periods, the Ironmen held a 2-0 lead on the Green Wave. A strong third for the Green Wave knotted the contest, which brought the fans to their feet for a 3 on 3 overtime.
After several high danger scoring chances for both teams, it would end in a tie and head to a shootout. Don Bosco won the shootout 3-0, while saving all 5 shots. With their semifinal win secured, the Ironmen would head down to CBA for a rematch of last year’s final.
The first period saw each team trade scoring chances, but the goalies stood tall and neither team found the back of the net. However, midway through the second, Bosco broke through to take a 1-0 lead. Playing their second game in as many nights, Bosco shut down CBA through the next 15 minutes leaning on their strong defensive play and outstanding goal
DBP JV Repeats as Gordon Cup Champions
tending. CBA, who heavily out shot the Ironmen, had one final chance with a 5 on 3 late in the third. The Colts almost took the game to overtime, but they rang one of the crossbar and the Ironmen closed out the game and hoisted their second JV Gordon Cup, winning a 1-0 thriller.
Moving on to the Ice Vault league playoffs, Bosco had their sights on a rematch with Bergen Catholic, but the Crusaders were upset by St. Joseph Regional in the first round. During the tournament, the Ironmen utilized all 3 goalies and 30 skaters to propel them to wins over West Essex and Ramsey. The title game matched Bosco up against a familiar opponent in SJR. Through two periods, Don Bosco dominated and out shot the Green Knights leading 3-1 after two periods. However, SJR would not go away quietly. Sloppy play and a costly too many men penalty would tie the game in the final two minutes of regulation. After a quick break following the end of the third, the Ironmen reset and headed into another 3 on 3 playoff overtime. A clean opening faceoff win is all Don Bosco would need as they took possession in the zone and only needed 14 seconds to score the game winner and win their second straight Ice Vault League Championship.
Congrats to all 33 JV players for a great year and finishing with 18-8-2 record, winning back to back JV Gordon Cups and Ice Vault League Championships.
