John Jay enjoyed a highly successful season in ice hockey, as it recorded a 15-7 overall mark and an 11-5 record in the ultra-tough Conference 1. That was good enough for a second-place finish behind Mahopac.
John Jay’s success continued into the postseason, where it made it to the semifinals of the Section 1 Division II tournament. On the way to the final four, the highlight for the Indians was a 2-0 quarterfinal win against rival Fox Lane.
“Any time we play Fox Lane, it’s just a huge game,” John Jay sophomore forward Frazier Bostwick said. “It was a good turnout from the fans. It just meant a lot to move on to the semifinals, especially beating a rival like Fox Lane. Pretty much everyone on both teams knows each other. It’s good competition, it was a lot of fun and good that we came out on top.”
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Leading the way scoring wise for John Jay this winter was Bostwick, who recorded team highs with 44 points, 24 goals and 20 assists.
“He’s got tremendous speed,” John Jay coach Alex Smith said of Bostwick. “He has good hands and hockey sense. Put those things together and you can put a lot of goals on the board quick.”
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Bostwick especially excelled on the power play.
“He’s got so many big goals this year,” Smith said. “He’s been instant offense, he’s been a great asset for us. We have scored 30 more goals this year than last year.”
“As a freshman he scored nine goals last year and he’s got a lot more (24) than that this year,” Smith continued. “As he matures, he is becoming more and more of a goal scorer.”
Bostwick said that the confidence that he got from playing on the varsity as a freshman last year is a big reason why he was able to enjoy so much success this season.
“Being a freshman, I was playing with a senior, I tried to get him the puck a little bit more, in Scott Turecamo,” Bostwick said. “This year he left and I just stepped into that role as a scorer. It’s worked out well. A big part of it is just confidence. I have become more comfortable playing at this level.”
Besides garnering varsity experience last season, another reason why Bostwick feels more comfortable on the ice is because he plays with a team that he says is really close with one another.
“When we are not at the rink, we are hanging out on weekends, going out to breakfast or something like that,” Bostwick said. “That helps with the chemistry. A lot of my best friends are on this team so it’s fun."
For Bostwick, the game of hockey has been fun since he first started playing for the Bedford Bears youth hockey team at 6-years old. He said he was influenced by his grandfather, uncle and father.
“My family is really into the sport and they got me involved,” Bostwick said.
Smith said that Bostwick has shown great leadership as a sophomore and that he is one of the hardest workers on and off the ice.
“He’s been a key piece to the puzzle,” Smith said. “As he gets older and matures as a hockey player, he will be even more productive. He’s also, unfortunately, drawing more attention from opponents, but that comes with the territory.”
