Jan. 2, 2019
By Alexa Borino
Staff Writer
As the final whistle blew in the third period, the boys hockey team, which is co-oped with Hackensack and Paramus High Schools, skated towards each other to share the joy of defeating Passaic Valley High School. On Dec. 14, the hockey team surpassed the Passaic Valley Hornets in a 5-1 win. This helped contribute to the team’s 6-1 record as of Dec. 15.
While at the beginning of the game the team came out flat, they pushed through to stay focused and scored late in the first period. Senior captain Kyle Bouteloupt was the one to get this goal with one minute and 12 seconds remaining in the period.
“It felt good to score first because it gave the team a boost, and we all followed that up with scoring more,” Bouteloupt said.
The second goal was scored again very late in the first period by senior captain Sean Leonard. He scored the exciting goal with 14.5 seconds remaining.
Senior fan Angelina DeCoro said the players never give up and always keeps their heads in the game.
“They go into games ready to play hard and always do just that,” DeCoro said.
After a slow first period, the team knew they would have to start to rally together to be able to play more as a unit. Sophomore Tyler McDowall said when they work together, more can be accomplished and strong bonds allow the team to perform better and achieve more wins.
“The chemistry in our lineup is much stronger than last season and is allowing us to win more games,” McDowall said.
The second period had higher energy and more intensity right out of the gate. Another goal was scored within the first four minutes of the period. This goal was scored by Hackensack freshman Wyatt Levy. Later in the period, Wyatt was sent to the penalty box.
The energy and intensity of Levy’s goal helped the team throughout the remainder of the game.
Sophomore Jake McCann said he loves when his teammates do the best they can and leaves everything on the ice.
“When you step out on the ice, you just have to put in 100 percent every time because you’re only out there for a minute or two,” McCann said. “When you give it all you got in a short time, it makes you and the rest of the team hyped and gets everyone excited.”
The other two goals were scored early in the third period. Passaic Valley tried to answer later in the last period by scoring a goal but in the end were unable to fully come back from a five point difference.
After the game, Coach Jelcic was focused on the fact that the team needs to come out with more energy. He said he did not like the team’s slow start and told the boys to step up their intensity so they can maintain the same pace throughout the entire game.
“We always want to have the same energy at all times. I think we can come out a little faster,” Jelcic said.
Although Jelcic offered feedback for improvement, he said he was pleased with the team’s overall performance.
“Our team as a whole played really well. I don’t like to itemize one person. However, our senior captains from Lyndhurst have really done a great jo so far. Kyle Bouteloupt, Sean Leonard and John Kulpanowski: all business but having some fun along the way,” said Jelcic.
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