By Bill Alden

While the Hun School boys’ hockey team struggled to pile up wins this winter, Eric Szeker had no qualms with the effort he got from his players.

“It was a tough season record-wise — we were in a lot of games where it was competitive coming down to the end,” said Hun head coach Szeker, who team went 5-17-2 this winter. “A couple got away from us, just trying to get aggressive and trying to come back. No matter what our situation was, whether illness hit us or injuries, everybody that showed up competed every single day. We learned a lot for sure.”

Hun’s season-ending 4-1 loss to crosstown rival Princeton Day School on February 12 proved to be a microcosm of the winter.

“It was a great game, it is two local schools and everybody is excited to get out there,” said Szeker. “They are a skilled team. They play at a high pace and they can move the puck. We had our opportunities but one or two bad turnovers to them and they took advantage of it.”

Senior goalie Patrick Donoghue starred in a losing cause against the Panthers, making 54 saves, while Evan Koserowski scored a third period goal on a feed by James Stelmak.

“Patrick was outstanding all season for us, he played against some big time opponents and faced a lot of shots,” said Szeker. “He gave us a chance every single night. I give our guys a lot of credit the entire year, no matter what the score was our team went out to compete and work hard. It was a really nice goal too. Stelmak made a nice play to Koserowski and he tucked it right underneath the bar. It really lifts the bench to see two guys who don’t often get on the scoresheet have a nice play. To do something like that was awesome.”

The Raiders enjoyed an awesome night when they defeated Red Bank Catholic 4-0 in early February to earn their fifth win of the winter.

“It was a great day, it was our Senior Day,” said Szeker. “I think that always brings a nice energy to the rink. The students were there cheering us on. The guys really get excited for games like this and get up to be ready to play.”

Hun had eight guys on the score sheet in the victory and both goalies Donoghue and Elliott Wong both made 15 saves as they combined on the shutout.

“That is normally how we have to win games, we didn’t really have one person who lit up the score sheet,” said Szeker, who got goals from Jake Beck, Jimmy Dolan, Bailey Cook, and Anders Van Raalte in the win. “It was normally a group effort. Both of our goalies got to play. We wanted everyone to be able to play on that day and it worked out for us.”

The squad’s senior group showed a great work ethic in their time with the program.

“They are great guys; Jake O’Connell, Luke Rassier, and Bailey Cook are guys who have been around for a long time,” said Szeker. “They showed up every day and worked hard. They were great leaders and great seniors. Patrick and Elliott in net were outstanding every night. It didn’t matter who we had in net from game to game, you were going to get a really good performance. We are going to miss them for sure.”

Looking ahead, Hun has a good foundation in place. “We have a large group returning which we are really excited about,” said Szeker, who had a trio of juniors, Nate Trawinski, Van Raalte, and Beck, spark the offense this winter.

“We will have a big senior class with a lot of the guys who have been through two tough years. I know we are ready to make that turn and start winning a lot of games here. Whether it is Nate, Anders, or Jake, we have a lot of guys coming back who have played a lot of varsity hockey. They are going to be taking over for everything and I am excited for it.”

Freshman Connor Mulligan made an exciting debut for the Raiders as he became more of a factor down the stretch.

“Connor was outstanding from day one when he showed up for tryouts,” said Szeker. “As the year got on, he just got more wise. He is playing against some older guys and he did well, especially as he got his feet underneath him.”

Most of the teams’ defense corps will be returning as well, led by junior Andrew Darst, freshman Devin Espana, junior Chase Preston, and junior Ezra Broomer.

“We flopped around some guys back there, a couple of different guys played there,” said Szeker. “For the majority of the year, we had four guys who were really solid every single day and they are all coming back. Darst has been a workhorse back there for a couple of years. Devin did extremely well. Chase Preston is a pretty solid guy for us back there. Broomer is a junior, he will be back.”

In Szeker’s view, the program is poised for a breakthrough campaign next winter.

“I am thrilled with where everything is at,” said Szeker. “We don’t have a lot of guys graduating, we have a really good core coming back. We competed in so many games this year. We are not far off, we are right there with everything. We are excited for what is coming up next season.”