Last season, Boro hockey ended the season with a 18-7 overall record and 4-2 in the Skyland division. Head coach, Matt Janos, led the boys to many successful victories, hoping for many more to come in this upcoming season.
Friday night hockey showcases school spirit for many fans.“I’m really excited to see all the teamwork and skills on display. Hockey is a thrilling sport, and I enjoy interacting with the rest of the fans,” senior Isabella Caramico said.
The Raiders take on Watchung Hills this Friday at the much-anticipated, annual Teddy bear toss game where fans toss stuffed animals on the ice that are donated to charity.
This season, the team has implemented several practices and strategies to prepare players to match last year’s success. “I prepared for this season by staying active and working on my skills,”Ansh Angrwal, a junior, said.
Both head Coach, Matt Janos, and assistant Coach Noah Anatoff, get the team ready by watching videos. “When preparing film on opponents for our scouting purposes, I first figure out what systems the other team is running and highlight this to the team. Then, I’ll go over our gameplan to exploit those areas on the ice that will be vulnerable. When looking at our team’s performance on film, I like to highlight not only where we were out of position or the breakdowns in our game, but also like to show them the things they did correctly. More positive reinforcement will hopefully lead to executing at a high level, when the games become more important,” Janos said.
The Raider players agreed with their coach. “This season we will make changes into our game based on the other team’s gameplan. Giving us the step ahead,” senior Jeremy Wachnachter said.
Janos also shared how motivation affects them when going onto the ice and getting ready for the anticipation of puck drop. “Myself and our assistant coach Noah are not too big on the yelling or rah rah approach,” Janos said. “We take each game and opponent as an opportunity, and present a path to success to the lineup. My goal is to make sure the team is loose, the music in the locker room is playing loudly, and that we are focused and ready to execute our gameplan from the moment we hit the ice,” he said.
The players are most looking forward to the matchup against Pingry, a game the team is putting a lot of time and effort into playing to their full potential. “Pingry, December 20th,” Wachnachter said, showing that this game is the one he is waiting for.
Students support the team in other ways. Junior Bailee Wolfe who records statistics for the team spoke of her family as why she decided to join the statistics group. “My brother played hockey my whole life, which meant I grew up in the rink. My family also loved it, so I was always surrounded by it. Watching my brother play high school hockey growing up was always so much fun, and it made me want to be a part of it myself. Which is why once I got to high school, I decided to join hockey stats,” Wolfe said.
Raiders can cheer on their ice hockey team as they face Watchung Hills at Proskate Ice Arena in Monmouth Junction Friday at 5 p.m.