READY TO ROLL: Princeton Day School boys’ hockey player Nic Petruolo controls the puck in a game last season. PDS is expecting junior defenseman Petruolo to be a key performer this winter. The Panthers were slated to get their 2016-17 season underway by hosting Bishop Eustace on November 29 and playing at Seton Hall on November 30. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

Last winter, the Princeton Day School boys’ hockey team produced one of the best turnaround stories of the season, going 15-6-3 after winning just three games the year before.

With most of his top players returning from that squad, PDS head coach Scott Bertoli believes the Panthers can reach the next level.

“Our schedule is pretty daunting this year and I did that for a reason,” said PDS head coach Bertoli, whose team was slated to get its 2016-17 season underway by hosting Bishop Eustace on November 29 and playing at Seton Hall on November 30.

“I have a lot of confidence in them that they can play good hockey. They want to be challenged and they deserve that opportunity and I have tried to provide that. We wanted to play Delbarton for years and we got that opportunity; we look forward to that.”

Battling traditional power Christian Brothers Academy (CBA) recently in a scrimmage gave Bertoli further evidence that his players are up to the challenge.

“We generated some chances and we should have scored on a couple of them,” said Bertoli.

“We didn’t get dominated, we didn’t get outplayed for long stretches of time. It was encouraging to play at that level because they were very, very good. We went toe to toe with them. We didn’t alter our game plan, we just played and competed.”

Bertoli believes his team should compete at a high level on the defensive end.

“We returned six defensemen, the kids have definitely gotten better, they have improved,” said Bertoli.

“A lot of that is coming with the club level that they are playing at. Everyone is a year older, they are more mature, they are confident. That has really been evident.”

Junior stars Eric Sherman and Nic Petruolo will be leading the way on the blue line.

“Their games have really jumped to another level,” said Bertoli. “They play at a high level outside of school with their club teams. The play of those two has really been encouraging.”

To augment Sherman and Petruolo, the Panthers will feature sophomore Chip Hamlett, junior Brian Frister, and a pair of seniors, Peter Shannon and Gianluca Travia.

“Chip Hamlett was one who was a freshman last year and was a little undersized and you are asking a lot for him to step in and play the schedule that we play,” said Bertoli.

“Physically he has really started to grow, his game has really taken off and right now we have him paired with Petruolo. Then it is Frister and Sherman along with Travia and Shannon. Those are a solid six, they all play different types of games.”

Senior goalie Logan Kramsky has given the Panthers a lot in his career, starting and starring from day one as a freshman.

“On the bench when he is in the net, it is very encouraging to me; I have a ton of confidence in him,” said Bertoli.

“I know if I am feeling as confident as I feel with him in the net then the kids playing in front of him feel that way. Over the years, I don’t know how many times I have turned my head thinking the puck is going into the back of the net and all of a sudden, he makes a save. He has got that knack and a lot of times it is in those scrums in front of the net when there are second or third chances. In the past we haven’t done a good job of clearing the front of the net. Hopefully we have worked to improve that and he doesn’t have to make as many of those saves.”

Bertoli is looking for junior star forward Tyler Coffey to be around the net all winter long.

“Tyler has really made some big time strides. Physically you can really tell that he has committed himself to the weight room, just getting bigger and stronger,” added Bertoli of Coffey who had 18 goals and 14 assists last winter.

“The kid has always had a high skill level, he had always been able to produce offensively and create scoring opportunities. I expect him to have a good year. He is going to be our go-to guy, he is going to be a staple on the top line.”

PDS has a number of other scoring options, welcoming back such stalwarts as sophomore Coby Auslander, senior Keith Asplundh, junior Ryan Lisk, junior Russell Friedman, senior Jack Mascali,
and senior Ian Zyvith.

“We have that next level of forwards in Auslander, Asplundh, Lisk, Friedman, Mascali, and Zyvith; those are guys that are going to be able to contribute offensively,” said Bertoli, who will also use senior Evan Szabo, senior Nick Day, freshman Cade McLaughlin, sophomore Ty Eastman, senior Tyler Birch, and junior Connor French at forward.

“Every day in practice, we juggle lines and we will continue to do that until we find the right mix of chemistry. We have kids who can play both center and wing, certain kids are more comfortable playing center so we are trying to accommodate them there in the best interest of the team. There are a lot of really good pieces, we can go 11, 12 forwards and play them on a regular basis.”

In assessing his team’s prospects, Bertoli believes that rugged defense and clutch scoring are the keys to success.

“I think if we can commit ourselves defensively to really limiting tap-in situations, lay-ups, Logan is going to make the save 99 percent of the time when he has time to see the puck; so it is just being strong defensively in front of the net,” said Bertoli.

“Then on the flip side, I think we will generate offense. We have a good skill level up front. I would like to think we have good special teams because we put a lot of time and take a lot of pride into our penalty kill and our power play. We spend a lot of time doing that so I hope that continues to be a strong point. For us, it is can we score enough in 5-on-5 play and get timely goals.”