STERN CHALLENGE: Hun School boys’ hockey player Brad Stern controls the puck in a game this winter. Sophomore defenseman Stern helped spark the Raiders to a fine season which saw them go 10-9-1 and advance to the Independence Hockey League (IHL) championship game. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

There were no mysteries when the Hun School boys’ hockey team faced Pennington last month in the Independence Hockey League (IHL) championship game.

“We had split with them, losing most recently,” said Hun first-year head coach Ian McNally.

“We are basically on the same practice schedule at IceLand. We got to know them and their coaching staff.

Coming into the rubber match between the local rivals at the Academy of New Church school rink, McNally believed that Hun had the upper hand.

“We had a positive mindset coming into the game,” added McNally. “In the semis we had beaten Haverford 8-1 in one of our best efforts of the year. It was really a dominating performance for us.”

The title game, though, turned out to be a low-scoring nailbiter. “The rink at ANC is a little smaller; within five minutes, we saw that we were going to have less time with the puck,” said McNally.

“It turned into a dump and chase type of game which we hadn’t really played this year. We were up 1-0 the majority of the game. I told the guys that we weren’t going to win 1-0 and to not get in the mindset of holding on. Our goalie, Devin Cheifetz. was really playing well. He had more than 30 saves and played his best game of the season.”

The Raiders ended the contest down in the dumps as Pennington scored with 49 seconds left in regulation to force overtime and then won the game 2-1 on a tally in the second extra period.

“With a minute left, I was thinking that maybe we were going to win 1-0,” recalled McNally, who got a goal from Alec Karanikolas as the Raiders finished the season at 10-9-1.

“They pulled their goalie. The puck popped out and all of a sudden, they tied it at 1-1 and then they scored in overtime. It is hard in a situation like that. If you lose 4-1, it is mentally different, it is not such a jarring result. The term ‘sudden death’ certainly has meaning. One minute you are winning and then you are out. A lot of guys were down afterward, particularly our seniors Harry [Hagen] and Brendan [Hurley].”

In McNally’s view, there was no reason to be down about the season as Hun finished first in the IHL regular season standings and showed plenty of progress adjusting to a new coach.

“I didn’t know what to expect at the beginning of the year,” said McNally, a 2007 Princeton University graduate who played two seasons for the Tiger men’s hockey program.

“We advanced farther than I thought we would during the season. I think that it went better than expected, especially in the league. If you get to the last game and it means something, you have done something right.”

The team’s two seniors, Hagen and Hurley, showed the right stuff, thriving in their role as team leaders.

“At the start of the year, I didn’t pick captains because I wanted to get to know the boys,” said McNally.

“Picking a captain is a pretty important decision, I didn’t want to just name the most experienced players or the oldest guys. Halfway through the season, I made Harry and Brendan the captains. They did a good job; it was not a large leadership group with a bunch of other seniors. They showed that they cared about the program and if we win or not.”

The Hun program appears to be in good shape as McNally will be welcoming back a number of stellar performers.

“We have a lot of good players coming back,” said McNally, noting that returners Brad Stern, Alex Vukasin, and Cheifetz earned All-IHL honors while Eric Szeker and Karanikolas received honorable mention.

“The foundation is very solid. I want us to win the league but that is not the end of the road. I want us to be one of the top programs in the area. I want the guys to take hockey seriously and to have it in their minds that they play hockey for the Hun School and that is a big deal. You don’t stop in February and just pick it up again in November.”