GETTING AFTER IT: Princeton Day School boys’ hockey player Rosheen Nissangaratchie, right, goes after the puck last Wednesday against Bergen Catholic. Junior forward Nissangaratchie tallied a goal to help PDS tie the Crusaders 1-1. The Panthers, who defeated St. Joseph (Montvale) 2-0 last Thursday to move to 5-2-2, host Lawrenceville on January 19 and Seton Hall on January 22 before playing at St. Peter’s on January 25. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Rosheen Nissangaratchie is making up for lost time as he has finally hit the ice for the Princeton Day School boys’ hockey team after transferring from the Delbarton School.

Sitting out for the first 30 days of the season under New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA) rules, Nissangaratchie made his debut for PDS on January 3 against Pope John and picked up an assist as the Panthers prevailed 4-1.

Last Thursday, Nissangaratchie notched his first goal for the Panthers as PDS skated to a hard-fought 1-1 tie against visiting Bergen Catholic.

“I was just practicing,” said Nissangaratchie. “It felt so good to finally play a game at Pope John and then today, my first home game.”

Nissangaratchie’s tally came late in the first period as he got loose on a 3-on-2 rush.

“Will Brown made a nice pass,” recalled Nissangaratchie. “He pulled both defensemen and slides it over and I put it short side.”

The Panthers found themselves playing short-handed for much of the first period as they got whistled for three straight penalties in the early going in a spirited Gordon Conference clash that was contentious for all 45 minutes.

“We were going from the beginning, from the first draw, it was a gritty game,” said Nissangaratchie. “There was a lot of hitting, going at it, and a lot of talk. That is the game.”

With PDS outshooting the Crusaders 38-30, it looked poised to break through with the go-ahead tally, particularly with some third period flurries.

“We had a lot of chances, we just have to finish, it happens,” said Nissangaratchie. “It was one of those games, we will be ready next time.”

Nissangaratchie is confident that his line will keep generating scoring opportunities.

“Ryan Vandal on the right and Riley Schmidt in the center, they are great players,” said Nissangaratchie. “I love those guys.”

It has been a great transition for Nissangaratchie as he has found a good fit at PDS.

“They were all welcoming, the school was real nice,” said Nissangaratchie. “Everyone is easy to talk to, everyone is nice.”

PDS head coach Scott Bertoli, for his part, is glad to have Nissangaratchie finally on the ice.

“The kids are playing with more passion and Rosheen definitely brings that,” said Bertoli.

“When your teammates see that and you are an older guy that plays at a high level that has had some success, people look up to you. When you see that from an older guy, I think that just should inspire you to go out there and want to do the same thing, have the same impact and play as hard as he does.”

While that passion led to some early penalties against Bergen Catholic, Bertoli credited his squad with fighting through that disadvantage.

“Obviously you don’t want to start off by taking three penalties,” said Bertoli.

“Actually I thought in a weird way, it energized our group because we stayed aggressive on the penalty kill. We were physical.”

Bertoli liked the aggressiveness his squad displayed on the offensive end.

“I thought we got better as the game settled in terms of the penalties,” said Bertoli.

“In the 5-on-5, I liked our chances. It was one of those games where I never thought we were going to lose. We weren’t giving up a ton of grade A chances. We were generating enough where you just think one of them is going to go in.”

Senior goalie Tim Miller helped keep PDS from losing as he made 29 saves.

“Timmy has been great, going back to last year,” said Bertoli.

“He gives us a ton of confidence, he is more mature now. As a coach, I feel really good about having him in there, he is the kind of kid who can steal a game for you. I think our kids probably feel the same way.”

While Bertoli felt that the Panthers should have defeated the Crusaders, he was proud of how his players battled.

“That is not the result we deserved but the energy and the effort were both A-pluses,” said Bertoli, whose team defeated St. Joseph (Montvale) 2-0 last Thursday to move to 5-2-2 and hosts Lawrenceville on January 19 and Seton Hall on January 22 before playing at St. Peter’s on January 25.

“The performance is what I am more concerned about. Results are important. We want to win hockey games but I would trade an effort and a performance like that for win.”

Drawing on his experience in the Gordon Conference through his time with powerhouse Delbarton, Nissangaratchie believes the effort against Bergen Catholic was a good sign for PDS.

“The Gordon is the best league in New Jersey, I can tell you that,” said Nissangaratchie.

“There are great teams all around, every matchup is a good game. We are going to try to win every game and play our hardest every game and leave everything out there. I think we will get good results. Today was a tie but I think it was turning point in the season. We are showing teams that they have to watch out for us.”