Article courtesy of Greg Tartaglia (Northjersey.com): http://www.northjersey.com/story/sports/high-school/hockey/2017/12/22/don-bosco-defeats-hockey-rival-stay-unbeaten/977709001/
WAYNE – Even when shorthanded, the Don Bosco hockey team seems not to be at too great a disadvantage.
The Ironmen scored two shorthanded goals on the same Bergen Catholic power play Friday at Ice Vault. The tallies came just 1:02 apart in the third period of a 7-2 win over the Crusaders on Rivalry Night.
On the surface, it appeared to be a rare feat.
“Not for this team,” Don Bosco coach Greg Toskos said. “We actually had three shorthanded goals against CBA on Monday.”
The victory at Christian Brothers Academy gave the Ironmen (9-0-1) a season sweep over their NJIHL Gordon Conference American Division opponent. Throw in a win at Delbarton – the school that defeated Don Bosco in last winter’s Non-Public state final – and a road sweep of Massachusetts powers Catholic Memorial and Boston College High, and their unbeaten record seems that much more impressive.
“As a team, everyone’s jelling really quickly, and you can’t ask for more than that,” said Tyler Sedlak, who had two goals and two assists versus Bergen Catholic (1-5-1).
“Everybody loves each other in the locker room, nobody has any grudges against each other, and every day – practice, game, no matter what – everybody gives it their all.”
The theme of brotherhood runs deep at Don Bosco.
Last season, the squad honored a player of the game for each contest with a helmet covered in “TK” stickers – honoring the late Army Maj. Thomas Kennedy, a former Don Bosco player who was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan in 2012.
This winter, the postgame talisman being passed around is “Artie,” a red and gold field artillery baseball cap. It was sent to the Ironmen by Lt. Colonel John Nawoichyk, a longtime friend of Kennedy’s.
Friday, the hat went to Sedlak, one of a pair of four-point scorers along with Vermont-bound center Mickey Burns (shorthanded goal, three assists).
On a night when Don Bosco wore its “TK” camouflage jerseys, the team also dressed an extra, honorary player: 5-year-old Kai from Washington, D.C., whose father, Tyrone Woods, was a former Navy SEAL that died in the 2012 Benghazi attack.
“I know Kai had a blast, but I think it was even more fun for us to have him around,” Burns said. “He toured our school on Thursday, came to practice that night, and everyone here loved him.”
The youngster got to see the Ironmen score four times on special teams, including power-play tallies from Tsubasa Konishi and John Campomenosi. Net-minder Max Schwarz made 17 saves and was credited with an assist on Sedlak’s shorthanded goal.
The Bergen-Bosco clash will be the only one this season, since the Crusaders have moved down to the Gordon Conference National Division. They played virtually all of their American crossover games early on and notched their win and tie against division foes Gloucester Catholic and St. Peter’s Prep, respectively.
Chris Branch finished with 41 saves for Bergen Catholic, while Will Prinz and Tommy Kleinman supplied the goals.