Raider Skaters Fall to Johnson

With each game, the Scotch Plains-Fanwood High ice hockey team adds another building block to what they hope will be a successful future. Monday night, the visiting Raiders lost to Johnson High School 7-2, despite another strong effort from goalie Jason Breit, who had 31 saves on the night.

"It was a tale of two games for us," said Raiders head coach Matt Gualtieri. "We were non-existent in the first period. We came out in the last two periods and played a little more inspired hockey. One of the things that plagued us this year is a little bit of inconsistency. We knew where we were when the season started, but effort-wise it should be a full 45 minute effort. We just feel we got 30 minutes today."

Forward Andrew Skoog scored the first of two goals for the Raiders, while Alex Markovits tallied the second.

Skoog injured his shoulder on January 15, ripping muscles in several spots. He's been back for three games now and feels ready to make significant contributions the rest of the way.

"We lost Andrew for a couple of weeks," Gualtieri said. "He's been our top scorer. We got consistent efforts from a lot more guys who stepped up in roles they're not used to playing. John Foti stepped up for us when Andrew went down. What we're hoping is when we hit the Union County Tournament, we get everybody firing on all cylinders, everyone who has gotten that increased ice time while certain guys were out. We're hoping we can put it all together and hopefully try and make some noise and ruffle someone's feathers."

And everyone can feel the confidence building inside the locker room.

"They're starting to get ready," Gualtieri said. "They know the first season is over. It doesn't matter what our record is now, it's our second season when the tournament starts, and anything can happen. If somebody wants to take us for granted, we'll be ready to play, that's what we're hoping for."

"We're getting a lot better, improving a lot," added Skoog, who is just a sophomore. "We have a bunch of kids in the middle school program. We're looking forward to getting all of them here. We'll definitely be improving in the next couple of years. We'll definitely make states, if not next year, then the year after."

Meanwhile, Gualtieri is happy with the leadership he's received for his young team this season.

"Terrence White stepped up again," he said. "He's gotten better as the season's gone on. He's our captain. It's something we look for, leadership. Also, he leads by example. We've gotten that from him."

The Raiders have added an extra tournament to their schedule, which consists of three teams from Woodbridge Township and Millburn. The Raiders will face the Millers on Friday at the Woodbridge Community Center at 3:15 p.m.

The county tournament will begin for SP-F on Monday. Seedings for the seven-team tournament will be finalized later this week.