Basking Ridge Middle School Hockey Wins Back-To-Back League Titles

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — The Ridge Middle School hockey team finished another standout winter with its second straight league championship, adding a 2026 title after its 2025 comeback championship run.

Ridge also placed first in the regular season standings, capping a season that established the team again as the league’s top finisher.

The team’s path included wins over programs from Summit, Madison, Westfield, Cranford, Watchung Hills, and Berkeley Heights.

In the championship game, Ridge defeated the only team that had beaten it during the regular season. That result allowed the team to avenge its lone loss at the most important point of the season and secure back-to-back titles.

Ridge’s roster included student-athletes in grades 6 through 8. The team was led by 11 eighth graders:

• Grayson Aguilar
• Christian Bennett
• Henry Cox
• Gus Daggett
• Sam Frankel
• Grant Frazee
• Benji Graham
• Christian Guarnari
• Liam O'Reilly
• Beazie Putnam
• Jackson Souza

The team provided leadership and consistency in key moments throughout the season and helped guide the team through a competitive schedule and another playoff run.

The program’s success this winter was built on chemistry, effort and a shared commitment to excellence, according to the source material. Ridge carried that approach through a 10-game regular season and into the playoffs, then delivered in the championship game to secure the second consecutive title.

The season also marked the end of head coach and general manager Tim Daggett’s tenure with the program. Daggett completed his fifth and final season by leading Ridge to another championship.

He spent five years building the team into a perennial contender, and his tenure ended with a legacy tied to discipline, sportsmanship and championship success.

The 2026 title also served as a send-off for the team’s eighth graders as they prepare for the next stage of their hockey careers.

For Ridge Middle School hockey, the season closed with another banner year, a first-place finish, and a second straight league crown.