DIESEL POWER: Hun School boys’ hockey goalie Diesel Pelke makes a save in action last season. Hun will be relying on senior star Pelke to have a big year as it looks to maintain its place among New Jersey’s elite teams after going 22-3-3 last year in winning both the state Prep title and the Mercer County Tournament crown. The Raiders, who started their 2015-16 season by losing 5-2 to Holy Ghost (Pa.) on November 18, host Don Bosco Prep on December 2 and Calvert Hall (Md.) on December 5 at Ice Land Skating Center before playing at Princeton Day School on December 7. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Last winter, the Hun School boys’ hockey team went 6-0-1 in its first seven games on the way to producing one of the great seasons in the program’s history as it went 22-3-3, winning both the state Prep title and the Mercer County Tournament crown.

Hun started this season by losing to 5-2 to Holy Ghost (Pa.) on November 18, giving graphic evidence that it will have to modify its style to maintain its place among New Jersey’s elite teams.

“I think we will have to buy into a team style of play more than we have ever had to, that is not to say we think the guys are selfish or are not team players,” said Hun head coach Ian McNally.

“We have been able to get away in the past couple of years with making a mistake here, making a mistake there and having the individual talent, so in the end it didn’t matter. We were still able to produce more than the other team. Playing Holy Ghost was a wake up call because when we made a mistake and gave them a shot, they had high quality chances and they buried them. There was a pretty quick lesson that we can’t run and gun like we have been able to.”

While Hun lost standout defensemen Bobby Wurster and Chris Rossi to graduation and superstar forward Evan Barratt to the U.S. National Team Development Program, McNally is welcoming back plenty of talent.

“Everybody is very excited, despite losing a chunk of significant players, we still have a ton of returning players and guys with the chance to move up from JV to varsity,” said McNally. “There weren’t a lot of new faces. It is the same guys, who are ready to go and knowing that there are some spots available.”

Star junior forwards Blake Brown and Jon Bendorf should provide plenty of exciting moments for the Raiders this winter.

“Blake led the team in scoring last year and Jon was second, I don’t know if there are a ton of teams that can return their top two scorers so they will be leaned on heavily,” said McNally.

“Jon committed to RPI and he got drafted by a USHL team so his trajectory is college. He has gotten accolades that are unusual for players around here. Blake is enthusiastic and it is infectious when he is excited. He has got the motivation and the work ethic and that is half the battle.”

Sophomore forward Frank Vitucci was a revelation last winter, joining the Brown/Bendorf line after Barratt suffered a leg injury that kept him until the Prep tourney.

“When it was clear that Evan was not going to play early last year, Frank got first crack at that role as a freshman and never looked back,” said McNally of
Vitucci who scored a goal for Hun in its opening day loss to Holy Ghost.

“He got some big goals. We went to that Purple Puck tournament in D.C. and he was named MVP. He could have been the MVP of the prep and county tournaments. Frank is a very even-keeled guy, he doesn’t get up and down with the game. He goes and does his thing the same way every shift.”

McNally believes freshman forward Kyle Mandleur is going to make a big impact for Hun this winter.

“Mandleur scored in the Holy Ghost game and you could tell he was excited about that too,” said McNally. “He is the biggest guy on the team so he is a big boy.”

The success of the team will depend, in part, on getting production from some key veterans.

“This is an all senior and junior team so there are guys who chipped away with help and now are going to have to start scoring regularly and that is Patrick Brake, Justin Grossman, and Kyle Pettoni,” said McNally.

“Those guys were our secondary scoring for the last couple of years and, as we saw from the Holy Ghost game, we are going to need some other guys to score the goals we are missing.”

On defense, McNally sees junior Tanner Preston as the team’s linchpin.

“Tanner has got the ball right now, he will be the workhorse in terms of
minutes and special teams,” said McNally, who also has senior Griffin Moroney and senior Will Benthem de Grave in his defensive rotation.

“He has got the ability, Tanner is really good. We have moved Reed Doerler and Kevin Guns back to defense, they played forward last year so it will be a new look lineup but those guys have played three years of varsity now and they will be just fine.”

Senior goalie Diesel Pelke has proven to be better than fine for the Raiders as he joined the program last year and starred from day one.

“Last year he definitely won games for us but it wasn’t like we were going into games thinking I hope Diesel has a big game today,” said McNally.

“We were thinking let’s go and score a bunch of goals. This year it will be a chance for him to go win a lot of games for us, not that it is going to be our strategy. It will be more of a necessity and I think he is definitely up to the challenge. Diesel is a fully grown man; we will have to lean on him more than we have in the past.”

While Hun’s style might have to change a bit this winter, McNally is confident that his squad can still win a lot of games.

“We are playing an even tougher schedule than last year, we will be playing Delbarton in a game and we have Lawrenceville and Hill,” said McNally, whose team is joining the high-powered Mid-Atlantic Hockey League (MAHL) this winter as a provisional member.

“The talent is there, we will have to win in a different way but I know that we are still able to.”