NIC OF TIME: Princeton Day School boys’ hockey player Nic Petruolo controls the puck in a game this winter. Sophomore defenseman Petruolo’s strong play this winter helped PDS show marked improvement as it posted a final record of 15-6-3 after winning just three games in the 2014-15 season. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

It turned into a Hollywood ending for the Princeton Day School boys’ hockey team when it hosted Chatham in its season finale last month.

With PDS trailing 2-1 late in the contest, senior star Connor Fletcher assisted on a goal to force overtime and then scored the game-winner on the last play of his hockey career.

“You could not have scripted it any better, it was such a fitting ending for a remarkable career,” said PDS head coach Scott Bertoli, reflecting on Fletcher’s finale. “He has done as much, if not more, for our program and our team than anyone has in my time here.”

That win marked the final chapter as the Panthers authored a dramatic turnaround story this winter, going 15-6-3 after winning just three games in the 2014-15 season.

“I think the improved play and maturity of our sophomore class was key,” said Bertoli, whose core of sophomores included Ryan Lisk (5 goals and 5 assists in 2015-16), Eric Sherman (7 assists), Brian Frister (1 goal, 1 assist), Tyler Coffey (18 goals, 14 assists), Russell Friedman (9 goals, 7 assists), and Nic Petruolo (2 goals, 14 assists).

“By and large, they were undersized last year, which a lot of freshmen are, especially with the schedule that we play with a lot of boarding schools. It wasn’t new this year when they walked into the door. I think they were a pretty confident group. They had always been a talented group but with a little more maturity and a little more size and strength, they were a really effective group this year.”

In Bertoli’s view, it was critical for the team to enjoy some early success this season and PDS accomplished that by going 5-0-1 in its first six games.

“Once we got off to a good start this year, I was happy that we stuck with it,” said Bertoli.

“We had a really daunting schedule in January. I am looking at the schedule and I am thinking every one of these games is a 50/50 game and all it takes is to lose one or two of those early games and you lose your confidence and things start to spiral. That never really happened. We talked about it. You don’t get the opportunity to play with this group for so long, come February 10, it is over and it is done with and I think they really embraced that.”

The team’s corps of juniors took advantage of their opportunities this winter.

“They did what we expected them to do,” said Bertoli.  “Jack Mascali (5 goals, 7 assists), Evan Szabo (2 goals, 4 assists), Gianluca Travia (1 goal, 8 assists), and Keith Asplundh (10 goals, 5 assists), are solid kids who really understand what we are doing. They go out on the ice and execute. They know where they need to be on the ice, they know what their roles are and most of those kids overachieved this year from an offensive production standpoint. Most of those kids can play on the first line or the third line and they don’t care where it is. They are happy to be a part of it, they are happy to contribute.”

Having a lot of players contribute helped make PDS formidable this winter.

“I think our depth was a big reason why we were successful against a lot of the teams that we played,” noted Bertoli.

“There is no question that teams like Hun, Lawrenceville, and a handful of other teams had two, three, or four high end guys and probably more of those high end guys than we have. But when you started going through your second and third lines and your fourth and fifth defensemen, that’s where we had the depth and we had the ability to compete as you got deeper into games. I was just more and more confident that our ability with three quality lines out there was going to pay off and more often than not, it did.”

The team’s depth helped the Panthers turn the tables on some foes that had tormented it last season.

“I think there were seven or eight teams that we got beat by last year, and beat by pretty convincingly, that we beat this year,” said Bertoli.

“I think we won a ton of one-goal games, which is a sign of a good team that can play in clutch situations.”

PDS got clutch play all winter long from junior goalie Logan Kramsky. “I would argue, that if he is not the best goalie in the state at the high school level, he has got to be in the top three,” asserted Bertoli of Kramsky, who posted a .991 save percentage this season.

“The kid is outstanding and he is such a great kid and such a great teammate. I have got nothing but great things to say about that kid. I think his play and the way he goes about his business and what everyone else has to say about him speaks for itself. He singlehandedly kept us in the game and he did it time and time again against really good opponents. Without that guy I would venture to say that our record would be closer to .500 than to be 9 or 10 games above it. He made that much of a difference, he just gives our team confidence.”

The play and leadership of Fletcher made a huge difference for the Panthers over the last two seasons.

“As great as an impact he had on the game and our locker room, I think what he did last year, keeping things together through the tough times, the really tough times, was more impressive to me and our coaching staff,” said Bertoli of Fletcher, who tallied 31 points this winter on 15 goals and 16 assists.

“The kid showed up every day and was all business. We were getting our butts kicked game after game. In a lot of games, we weren’t even competitive and the kid is out there, he is the hardest working kid on the ice, he is the most effective kid on the ice. He is not the most skilled kid on the ice, and yet, he just found ways to get it done and keep the kids motivated and that parlayed into success this year.”

While Bertoli is confident that his team can build on this winter’s success, he knows that the graduation of Fletcher, who is heading to Cornell where he will play for its men’s lacrosse team, leaves a big void.

“If we were to return everyone, I like the foundation,” said Bertoli. “I like the fact that they will probably come in as a confident group, but all that being said, when one of the top kids and player and character kids that has ever played here is walking out the door, those are huge shoes to fill in the locker room and on the ice. It is 20 to 25 high quality minutes that someone is going to have to take over in addition to the leadership role.”