Season Wrap: Freshmen Paced PHS Hockey Program

The hockey team made strides in an 11-10-3 season.

"I think our program took some bigs steps forward this season," head coach Marc Gregory said. "We had our most talented freshman class enter the program in years."

The five freshman—JJ Piccinnich, Tom Palestina, Dean DeLucia, Rich LaBarbiera and Steven Scheideler—all saw regular ice time.

Piccinnich finished third on the team with 22 goals.

"JJ was certainly a pleasant surprise as a freshman averaging three points a game," said his coach.

"We had some very good players really dedicate themselves in the off-season to become some of the top players in North Jersey," Gregory said.

Mark Apidopoulos increased his point total from 29 a year ago to 63 this past season. Apidopoulos finished with a team leading 38 goals and 25 assists.

"Dylan Rizer also had a tremendous year for us," Gregory said.

The sophomore increased his point total from 25 to 44. Rizer was second on the team in scoring with 28 goals.  

"Matt Hazuda was a huge asset by moving to defense and really playing well down the stretch for us," Gregory added.

"Our two seniors Pete Reveille and Mike Woods were great leaders for us," said Greogry, who completed his eighth season as head coach. "They made a conscious effort to improve their defensive responsibilities and make us a better overall team. They will be difficult to replace, but it's nice to only have to fill two spots."

Reveille tallied 10 goals and 23 assists, and Hazuda netted 10 goals and 17 assists.

Goalie Dan Crandall recorded 549 saves for an 83.6% save percentage and finished with a 4.6 goals against average.

Paramus placed third in the Montclair Holiday Tournament in early January. The Spartans fell to Northern Highlands 4-3 in the league tournament and 5-2 to Kinnelon in the state tournament.

The Spartans outscored opponents 129-109 and outshot them 709-659.

Looking ahead, Gregory said,"Our off-season work ethic will be the key to whether we continue on the path that we started this season. If we get complacent, then we will take steps back."
 
"Everyone seems to be very happy with our improvement and overall results this season," Gregory said. "But as a coach, I just see what we can be next year, and the hard work it will take to get to that point. This is a talented group of kids that are fun to be around and want to be coached. That's a great start, but it's not the best we can be."