WEST ORANGE, NJ – The Seton Hall Prep ice hockey team went 1-1-1 this past week to improve to 12-7-3 on the season. The Pirates completed their Gordon Conference regular season with a 5-5-3 record. They are currently in first place in the National Division of the Gordon Conference.
On Monday, Jan. 28, the Pirates played a tough game against Pope John XXIII (Sparta) at Richard J. Codey Arena which ended in a 2-2 tie. Seton Hall opened the scoring when Ryan Kemp took a pass in front of the goal from Thomas Colucci and blasted it home with 3:35 left in the first period. Pope John tied the score at 1-1 with 5:04 left in the second period before the Pirates retook the lead with 1:29 left in the second period when Phil Feinberg scored on an assist by Colucci. Pope John tied the score with just :39 left in the third period.
On Thursday, Jan. 31, the Pirates traveled to Lisa McGraw Rink on the campus of Princeton Day School and lost a tough game 3-2. In the first period, Tyler Fogu scored on assists by Ryan Rodrigues and Ryan Kemp with 6:23 left and Aidan D’Urso scored on an assist by Sal Micciche with 3:10 left. The score remained the same until Princeton Day scored three goals in the third period, the last one coming with :50 left.
On Saturday, Feb. 2, the Pirates hosted Gloucester Catholic at Codey Arena and won 2-1. Patrick Zincone opened the scoring on a power-play goal with 2:41 in the second period on assists by Alex Kuhtik and Benjamin Colucci. Gloucester Catholic tied the score at 1-1 just 1:52 into the third period. Seton Hall retook the lead when Zincone caused a turnover in the Gloucester Catholic zone and scored an unassisted goal with 9:31 left. Jake Schunke had 20 saves at Seton Hall outshot Gloucester Catholic 37-21.
After the game Zincone said, “we knew we needed these two points for seeding purposes so we went out and played our game.” Head Coach Mike Atkinson added, “Our guys thought we played very well the last two games and we were not rewarded for their effort. Today, being up 2-1 with over nine minutes left and being able to hold off a very good team was great for us. I was impressed and their effort was great tonight.”