STAYING STRONG: Hun School boys’ hockey player Brayden Stasow, left, tangles with an opponent in recent action. Last Wednesday, post-graduate forward Stasow tallied a goal and an assist to help Hun rally to a 5-2 win over Seton Hall Prep as it improved to 13-1-1. The Raiders are slated to host Bishop Eustace on January 22, play at Don Bosco on January 25, and then host St. Joseph’s (Metuchen) on January 27. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Having lost just once in its first 14 games, the Hun School boys’ hockey team was in danger of suffering its second setback as it hosted Seton Hall Prep last Wednesday.

Missing some key players, Hun found itself trailing the Pirates 2-1 late in the second period.

But Hun post-graduate forward Brayden Stasow wasn’t all that concerned.

“We have a good team; we know we can pull through,” said Stasow, a native of Alberta, Canada. “We have been in those situations before and we can come back.”

The shifty Stasow took matters into his own hands, flying up the ice to score a goal with 1:09 left in the period to knot the game at 2-2.

“That was a good momentum change going into the intermission, tied up instead of one goal down,” said Stasow, reflecting on his goal.

At intermission, Hun decided that getting physical would help it maintain that momentum.

“Coach (Ian McNally) said we didn’t have anything going for us so we just have to bear down and get some pucks on net and work hard,” recalled Stasow.

“That is what we did, we played physical. We had some big hits there from a couple of key guys, that was huge for us.”

The Raiders also got some huge goals from Reid Doerler, Justin Grossman, and Kyle Pettoni as they pulled away to a 5-2 win and improved to 13-1-1.

For Stasow, coming to the U.S. and joining the Hun community has been a winning proposition.

“I found out about this opportunity, I knew the coach here and I thought it would be cool to come and try it out,” said Stasow.

“It is nice, it is a great group of guys. I really fit in nicely with these guys, they make me feel at home here. It has been huge for me.”

Hun head coach McNally didn’t feel too good when his team fell behind Seton Hall.

“I was very worried; I banged my hand on the bench a little more than I do usually,” said McNally.

“We were taking an extra second to make the plays and then they were gone. We were able to hold on and get in for the intermission and I basically just pleaded with them. A lot of guys were coughing and hanging their heads. I said we are off the rest of the week, we have got to figure out something for 15 minutes because we are going to regret it if we drop this one.”

McNally figured that Hun needed to rely on grit as much as skill to overcome Seton Hall.

“We stopped being you got to do this, you got to be there; it is not going to happen today so let’s play physical,” said McNally. “We can dump it in more. We never play dump and chase but it was let’s just chase and get it up to the point and shoot. That’s how we scored all the goals, just tipping it in from the point.”

Getting goals from Doerler, Grossman, and Pettoni in the third period, Hun displayed the depth that has made it a special team.

“Our top end guys are very skilled and they lead our team in points but all three of our lines are scoring in every single game,” said McNally.

“Reid, Kevin (Guns), and Justin or some combination of those guys scored every game. That is the difference between having a bit of success or constant success. Right now we are in constant success because we have three lines that can play.”

With sophomore star Evan Barratt having been sidelined all season due to a leg injury and fellow sophomore standout Jon Bendorf not on hand last Wednesday due to a travel hockey conflict, McNally needed Stasow to play really well.

“Brayden has been, especially in the absence of Jon, a guy that can control the play,” said McNally. “Skilled players can do that; they get in fast, they cause turnovers and dictate what is going to happen next instead of just banging it in and banging it out. He kills penalties, which is big because we like to take them. When we are missing guys, we expect Brayden to step up and he did today.”

Senior defenseman and team captain Chris Rossi, whose father, Peter, passed away in November, has stepped up under difficult circumstances.

“Today was his dad’s birthday; he is our captain and so he does the job that we need from him leadership-wise,” said McNally of Rossi.

“There is a reason people wanted him to be captain. It has obviously been a very tough year personally for him but the hockey rink has been a happy place for him. We lean pretty heavily on him when it is close. I think he is able to take that as a positive because the guys need him.”

Stasow, for his part, is very positive about Hun’s prospects as it heads into the final stages of the season.

“We have a good team in there,” said Stasow. “It doesn’t matter who we are missing, we are always going to come back and play hard and get the win.”