ROAD WORK: Hun School boys’ hockey Guillaume Hebert heads up the ice in a game earlier this season. Senior forward Hebert has emerged as a scoring threat for Hun this winter. The Raiders, who fell 8-1 to Don Bosco last Wednesday at Citi Field in Flushing, N.Y. after competing in the Purple Puck Tournament in the Washington, D.C. area from December 29-30, are back in New Jersey for a busy week. Hun, now 7-4-1, hosts Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) on January 10 and Seton Hall Prep on January 11 before playing at Lawrenceville on January 15. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Over the last few weeks, the Hun School boys’ hockey team has been on quite an odyssey.

From December 28-30, Hun was based in the Washington D.C. area as it competed in the Purple Puck Tournament. The Raiders started 2018 by making a trip to Flushing, N.Y. last Wednesday where they faced Don Bosco at Citi Field, the home of the New York Mets, the site of the NHL’s Winter Classic two days earlier.

In the view of Hun head coach Ian McNally, the team’s journey got off to a good start in D.C.

“The point of going is to jell a little bit; it is our one extended road trip,” said McNally.

The guys are staying on their own without their parents and getting the chance to have team meals and all of that stuff, so that part went great. The kids had a good time; we were there for two nights.”

On the ice, the Raiders went 2-1 in pool play at the Purple Puck, posting wins over Archbishop Spaulding High (Md.) and Georgetown Prep (Md.) and falling to Loyola High (Quebec). In a consolation contest, Hun lost 5-1 to Regis Jesuit (Colo.).

“It was tough to get through. There were 10 teams, you played three randomly allotted teams, and then they chose the top four teams to compete in the semis,” said McNally, noting that the competition employed a scoring system that involved points for winning periods as well as games to determine the standings.

“We did alright. We dropped the first game and that unfortunately set us back. We had get to all the period points going forward; we missed out on a couple even though we won the games. It was still great for us.”

Hun got great production from junior forward Kyle Mandleur, who scored 10 goals on the weekend.

“I have to put in the scores and taking a look at his stats, even I was taken aback at the amount of times he scored multiple goals,

“He went four in row with a hat trick, three in the tournament and one right before it. That is unheard of.”

Mandleur’s linemates, freshman Matt Argentina and senior Guillaume Hebert, also starred at the competition.

“Matt is a skilled player too, and he is finding his way as a freshman. There is a difference between being 14 and 17,” said McNally.

“He has been great, he is a running mate for Kyle and is showing that he can play at that level. Guillaume has been a great surprise. His point production has been substantially improved from last year. That is a nice bonus, because he plays the game the right way and he plays hard. Guys can count on him for the little things.”

The Raiders received a special bonus when their game against Don Bosco was moved to Citi Field.

“They called us a month before that and said we have this unique opportunity,” said McNally, noting that Don Bosco had played a game at Yankee Stadium when the Winter Classic was held there in 2016.

“We took a week to decide. At first it seemed like it was too big to undertake in a short period of time, but then the whole school got behind it. They changed the schedule for the day and let everybody out early. They had buses; there were probably 500 people from Hun there.”

The trip to Citi Field proved to be a unique experience for the Hun players.

“It is unbelievably cool to be at ice level and look around and see basically two professional stadiums at once; you are on the ice and looking at the stadium boards and lights in CitiField,” recalled McNally.

“We were in the visitor’s dugout and locker room. We were in this massive baseball locker room and we needed an eighth of the space. You walk out through the dugout and then the field opens up in front of you. The kids got jerseys for the event and all of their parents, friends, and families were there.”

Although Hun fell 8-1 to Don Bosco, taking part in the event will leave indelible memories.

“You are caught up in the game, you want to try as hard as you can for all of the people that came and try to keep it tight and give them a game,” said McNally, acknowledging that Don Bosco is having a special season as it is undefeated and ranked No. 1 in New Jersey. “The kids will never forget it. It was a professional experience for them.”

Now Hun will be remaining in New Jersey for a while as it hosts Wyoming Seminary (Pa.) on January 10 and Seton Hall Prep on January 11 before playing at Lawrenceville on January 15.

“We are in this Mid-Atlantic Hockey League (MAHL) and we have only played one game against LaSalle, we lost 7-6 and it was a good game,” said McNally, whose team is now 7-4-1.

“Now we have got five of them coming up in a row. The focus is trying to make the playoffs in the league, four of the seven teams make it so everybody is still in the hunt. We would love to take a run at that. The good news is that, aside from the Bosco game, who is at another level, we have played our best against Holy Ghost and Mo-Beard, the times we have been tested.”