JACKED UP: Princeton Day School boys’ hockey player Liam Jackson controls the puck in recent action. Senior star forward Jackson tallied a goal and an assist to help PDS edge Seton Hall Prep 3-2 in overtime on December 21 in its last action before the holiday break. The Panthers, now 4-2, start the 2024 portion of their schedule by facing LaSalle College High (Pa.) on January 3 at the Hatfield Ice Arena and the Pingry School at the Bridgewater Sports Arena on January 4 before hosting St. Joseph Montvale High on January 8. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

As the Princeton Day School boys’ hockey team hosted Seton Hall Prep in its last action before the holiday break, Liam Jackson got smashed into the ice late in the second period.

Looking shaky after taking the hit which drew a penalty, PDS senior star forward Jackson skated gingerly over to the bench, seemingly finished for the game.

While Jackson was in pain, he did return to the December 21 contest.

“I banged up my knee and elbow, it was tough getting through the end of the game,” said Jackson.

Displaying his toughness, Jackson tallied a third period goal that put PDS up 2-1. After Seton Hall scored with nine seconds left in regulation to force overtime, Jackson came up big again, assisting on Han Shin’s winning goal as the Panthers prevailed 3-2 and improved to 4-2.

Jackson acknowledged that the game against Seton Hall proved to be an uphill battle as the Panthers fell behind 1-0 early in the first period.

“It was definitely a slow start, it is not what we wanted,” said Jackson. “I think we recovered well after the period. It was not an ideal win but we found a way to get it done in the end.”

The Panthers displayed persistence in pulling out the win.

“Everyone just kept at it,” said Jackson. “We were playing better, we were playing harder. We just knew it was a matter of time until we scored.”

On his third period goal, Jackson benefited from some good work by PDS sophomore star Brady Logue.

“It was a great pass by Brady behind the net and the goalie was too low so I just tried to get it over his shoulder,” said Jackson. “It was a good play by Brady.”

Jackson made a good play in setting up the overtime tally by Shin.

“Han just bumped it out to me and cut to the middle,” recalled Jackson. “I knew if I dished it back to him and put it in the area, he was going to finish and end the game. I just tried to do that.”

Producing the dramatic finish was a boost for PDS. “We knew it was going to be a hard working team,” said Jackson, who now has eight points on the season with four goals and four assists. “It definitely gave us confidence that we could be in a close game and come out with one.”

As a battle-tested veteran for the panthers, Jackson is bringing confidence to the ice as he tries to set a good example for his teammates.

“It is definitely a bigger leadership role, I try to build up the younger guys,” said Jackson. “We have a lot of great freshmen, and I try to lead them on the right path and show them the ropes.”

PDS head coach Scott Bertoli didn’t like the way his guys started the game against Seton Hall as they got outshot 17-5 in the first 15 minutes of the contest.

“I thought we were lucky to be tied after one,” said Bertoli, who got a goal from Jake Harrison late in the period. “The message was we have to be willing to play a simple game. We have to be willing to play the way they are playing, which is the way hockey is supposed to be played.”

The Panthers played much better in the second period, controlling possession and outshooting the Pirates 11-5.

“In the second period, I thought we were tremendous; as much as they carried play in the first, I thought we totally dominated the second period,” said Bertoli. “It was probably unfortunate that we weren’t up by a couple of goals. The power play moved the puck.”

In coming through in OT, PDS relied on its star players. “It is our top kids making a play at the right time because they had possession of the puck for 90 percent of overtime and generated a ton of chances,” said Bertoli. “I think it speaks to the ability of our top end guys and for them to be able to make plays when they need to. The one difference this year for us is that I feel like our top end guys are as good as the top end guys in every program.”

One of those top end guys, Jackson, took advantage of skating on the same line with Logue and junior Wyatt Ewanchyna.

“Liam had a great game; I think he struggled in the first period, he looked tired,” said Bertoli. “I challenged him after the first period to play the game the right way, the younger kids are looking up to you. He is going to get a ton of opportunities playing with Brady and Wyatt.”

Freshman goalie Drew Picker made the most of his opportunity in a rare start, recording 33 saves.

“Neither one of our other goalies was available,” said Bertoli, referring to junior Calvin Fenton and senior Mason Watson. “He is a very good goaltender — he kept us in there in the first period. He made some big stops in the third when they were pressing. He really had no chance on that tying goal, we just got outnumbered in the front. He is phenomenal, for that to be option No. 3 at goalie for us speaks to the depth at that position.”

In Bertoli’s view, seeing his team hang in there against Seton Hall was a good sign.

“I have told them if you want to be one of these elite teams, if you want to be in a state semifinal or it a state final or a Gordon final, you have to figure out ways to work through adverse situations,” said Bertoli. “We talk about it all of the time — you have to do hard well. We knew it was going to be hard today. I am happy we won the game but what I was most impressed with and proud of is the way they pivoted in the second period from being completely dominated to just flipping the switch and simplifying the game.”

With PDS bringing a 4-2 record into the new year, Bertoli believes his squad is in a good place,

“I feel like we are starting to execute and starting to buy into a lot of what we have talked about,” said Bertoli, whose team starts the 2024 portion of its schedule by facing LaSalle College High (Pa.) on January 3 at the Hatfield Ice Arena and the Pingry School at the Bridgewater Sports Arena on January 4 before hosting St. Joseph Montvale High on January 8.

“You really need to understand what your responsibilities are and just the mindset that you don’t need to score every time you are out there. That should not be your approach. For too long, that has been our approach. The win over Don Bosco (7-4 on December 13) instilled some confidence in the locker room, in the program. At one point, it was 6-1 in the third period. It is probably the biggest win the program has had since beating Lawrenceville in 2019.”

Jackson, for his part, believes that the Panthers are poised to earn a lot of big wins as they head into January action.

“We have a lot of tough games coming up, we have LaSalle, we have got Don Bosco,” said Jackson. “It is just staying on course. It is staying with what we do, playing hard, playing fast, and just playing well as a team.”