FORWARD PROGRESS: Hun School boys’ hockey star Blake Brown controls the puck in a game last winter. Sophomore forward Brown figures to be a key performer for the Raiders in 2014-15 after helping the team win both the Mercer County Tournament and the Independence Hockey League titles last winter. Hun is slated to get the season underway this week with home games against Red Bank Catholic on December 2, Malvern Prep (Pa.) on December 3, and Academy of New Church (Pa.) on December 5. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

After winning both the Mercer County Tournament and the Independence Hockey League (IHL) titles last winter, the Hun School boys’ hockey program is seeing itself in a new light.

“The energy is there, the program is here,” said Hun head coach Ian McNally. “They feel we have arrived and the guys are into it.”

That energy has been apparent as the Raiders have gone through their preseason preparation.

“The mood is fantastic, they were excited through the fall to get going,” said McNally, who guided the Raiders to a 20-7 record last winter. “The practices have been high tempo, the guys are itching to go. We have had three scrimmages and they went well.”

The Raiders boast a high quality trio of sophomores at forward in Evan Barratt, Blake Brown, and Jon Bendorf. That trio provided much of the firepower for Hun last winter as each player tallied 60 points or more with Barratt accumulating 23 goals and 38 assists, Brown chipping in 28 goals and 32 assist, and Bendorf tallying 36 goals and 30 assists.

“We certainly scored a lot last year and the guys are just as impressive this year, they are a year bigger and a year stronger,” said McNally, noting that Barratt is currently sidelined with an injury.

There is additional depth up front with the addition of  post-graduate Brayden Stasow and junior Kyle Pettoni along with the return of junior Justin Grossman, junior Kevin Guns, and junior Patrick Brake.

“Stasow is a smart, dependable player, he can contribute in all facets, taking face-offs, killing penalties; he is an all-around player,” asserted McNally.

“Pettoni is a similar type of player. He is smart, takes face-offs, and is responsible defensively. We can roll out our offense line after line which we haven’t been able to do in the past.”

On defense, the Raiders will be relying on three battle-tested returners in seniors Bobby Wurster and Chris Rossi along with talented sophomore Tanner Preston (3 goals and 28 assists last season).

“Bobby Wurster is going to be really good, it his first full season with us,” said McNally, who will also be using junior Reed Doerler, junior Griffin Moroney, and senior Dan Seelagy along the blue line.

“He transferred in as a sophomore and last year, he had a lot of club commitments and played only half the games. He is a big, strong, tall player and will be the leader on the back. Chris is also a leader for us. He is very proud of Hun hockey, he has played a lot of hockey. Tanner was awesome last year. The three freshmen forwards got more attention but he was just as good. When Bobby wasn’t there, he was our top defensemen. We have six good defensemen and that unit is going to be a strength for us.”

With the graduation of four-year starting goalie Devin Cheifetz, Hun will be looking to junior Travis “Diesel” Pelke and sophomore Thomas Brake to fill the void between the pipes.

“I coached Diesel in youth hockey and have watched him play travel this fall and in our scrimmages,” said McNally.

“He is incredibly calm and consistent, you know he is going to make the first save and he will make a lot of saves on the second shot. He is consistent with mental stability and the guys feed off of that. No matter what happens, he acts the same way. Thomas has definitely made a push. He played all fall with Princeton youth hockey, he is a very good goalie and he will see time.”

Having left the IHL, Hun is upgrading its schedule as it looks to burnish its standing among the prep powers in the state.

“We are playing an independent schedule, we are playing strong teams in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and some from New York,” said McNally, whose team is slated to get the 2014-15 season underway this week with home games against Red Bank Catholic on December 2, Malvern Prep (Pa.) on December 3, and Academy of New Church (Pa.) on December 5.

“The key for us is to string three good games together in a week. In the past, we would have one big game a week to focus on. This year we will have to play consistently on back-to-back nights without the preparation time.”