Chase Nicolette, Nutley freshman
NUTLEY – Back in the days of the old Big 10 Conference, one of the better rivalries was the one between Columbia High School and Nutley High School.
Whether it was in a sport like football in the fall, basketball in the winter, or baseball in the spring, the Cougars and Raiders had some intense battles. Montclair against Bloomfield was the biggest league rivalry, but all 10 teams in the circuit always were involved in some great competition in the athletic arena.
This coming winter, Columbia and Nutley are going to play as one team in the New Jersey Interscholastic Hockey League. Nutley has had an ice hockey program for many years. But since the numbers are down, Nutley needed to combine with another nearby school in order to continue its varsity program.
“Kids in our school have a real interest in hockey,” said Columbia HS athletic director Larry Busichio, who was a fine baseball player in his time at the Maplewood school. “Heck, in the 1930s, we had a varsity program for a few years. I guess the long-range goal is to have our own team.”
Co-op teams are becoming more popular in recent years. In Essex County, Verona/Glen Ridge has had a solid program. And in Morris County, the same holds true for Whippany Park/Hanover Park, which competes under the name of Park Regional. That squad has won several league titles in the Morris County Scholastic League.
Interestingly, in the winter of 2016-17, a combined team from Newton/Lenape Valley won the Haas Division crown in the MCSHL.
“I think combining with Columbia will be a great fit for our program,” said Nutley athletic director Joe Piro. “I think we’ll be quite competitive this coming season.”
The 2017-18 season will be the 60th year of league play in the Garden State. League play in the North Jersey Scholastic League began in 1958-59 with just five teams – Livingston, Montclair, West Orange, Morris Hills, and Morristown-Beard.
Coaching the combined team this coming winter will be Andy Surowiec, who took over the Nutley helm this past season. After a slow start, Nutley finished with a record of 7-13-2. In the Kelly Cup playoffs in the NJIHL, Nutley fell to eventual champ Governor Livingston.
“Our division will be competitive again this winter,” said Surowiec, who was a fine player at Clifton in the early years of this century. “But if we play well on defense, we might be in the hunt for a league title. We did that in the second half of the 2016-17 season.”
Nutley/Columbia will have some quality players returning, led by rugged forward Ryan O’Mara, who had a very respectable junior campaign, scoring nine goals and adding 13 assists. Forward Mark Frade and defenseman Joe Melillo will be two other players to keep an eye on.
“I hope Columbia can provide us with a goalie,” said Surowiec. “Tim Spitalnik did a great job for us in his senior campaign. He kept us in a lot of games, and that’s what you want from any goalie.”
Defensemen Dan Caputo and Phil Woodkotch, and forward Gerard LaFiura were some other key losses through graduation. Caputo led the team in goals with 14, while also playing tough defense.
This summer, the combined squad will hold some informal off-ice workouts at a park in Nutley.
“This will enable the kids to get to know each other,” said Surowiec, who previously coached in the ice hockey program at Seton Hall Prep. “We want to be on the same page in December when we start competing at Codey Arena in West Orange.
“I know some of the Columbia kids have played club hockey, so they won’t be new to the sport. We should have over 20 kids on the varsity, but I doubt we’ll be able to field a JV squad.”
ICE CHIPS — This coming season, four state championships will be held for the first time; three in Public and one for Non-Public schools. The state tourney began in 1976, but the Gordon Cup began in 1959 when Livingston prevailed.
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