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 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption:
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Hard Work, Aggressiveness Pays Off As Stuart Hockey Makes Breakthrough
By Bill Alden
Absorbing a 10-goal loss to Princeton High in its season opener, the Stuart Country Day ice hockey team could've gotten discouraged.
Instead, the Tartans skated off the ice last Friday at Baker Rink with their heads held high, knowing that they had made plenty of progress despite the 10-0 final score.
Less than 24 hours later, the Tartans' positive attitude paid dividends as Stuart looked sharp in topping Lansdale Catholic 3-1.
In the view of Stuart head coach Greg Bugge, the seeds of Saturday's triumph were sown in the team's opening night loss.
"I thought we worked hard in the PHS game," said Bugge, whose team went winless last season and hadn't won a game since the Prep playoffs in February, 2003.
"Although the score was 10-0, we walked away with a lot of positives. We didn't walk off the ice dejected on Friday; we met a lot of the goals that we had set for ourselves. We played aggressively and we kept up the energy."
In the game against Lansdale, the Tartans used that energy to push their game to a higher level. "The kids were very excited to play Lansdale," said Bugge. "We had lost to them twice last season. We put things together on Saturday, that win was an all-around team effort. Each line worked hard and played aggressively."
Bugge got aggressiveness and productivity from senior forward Sarah Williams, who scored all three of the Tartans' goals in the win.
"Sarah's contributions were obviously big," said Bugge, who got good work up front from Taylor Blazewski, Julia Helms, Noha Ghusson, Christa Goeke, Megan Fitzpatrick, and Hilary Kinka.
"She got a goal in the first minute or two of the game and that gave us a big lift. She's a great player. She's got speed and she has a good shot."
Stuart also got a big lift from its defense, which is spearheaded by the quartet of Mary Jane Sweetland, Chris Morford, Liz Colicchio, and Becce Martin.
"Our defense was really thinking out there," asserted Bugge. "We just weren't getting the puck and dumping it. We were breaking the puck out of the defensive zone."
A pivotal factor in Stuart's defense is the continued improvement of senior goalie Natalie Verhaegen, who is proving that she can meet the high standard set by her All-Prep predecessor, Lindsay Grabowski, a 2003 Stuart grad.
"Natalie had a big pair of skates to fill and she has more than done the job," said Bugge, referring to Grabowski, who is currently starring between the pipes for Amherst College.
"She came to me in 8th grade. She had never skated and she told me that she wanted to be a goalie. She spent her first two years on the team in the shadow of Lindsay, only getting into J.V. games."
Verhaegen's skills are out in the open as she recorded 40 saves in the loss to PHS and then produced a 20-save effort in the victory over Lansdale.
"I think the big difference in Natalie between this year and last is her improved positioning in the net," explained Bugge.
"She plays the angles much better. She's not just dropping down on the puck. In the PHS game, she came out of the crease to stop several breakaways."
While Bugge lauds Verhaegen's individual brilliance, he knows that his team must maintain its one-for-all and all-for-one mindset in order to enjoy success this winter.
"There are no superstars on this team, starting with the coach," said Bugge, whose team will next be in action when it plays Morristown Beard on December 22 at the Lawrenceville School rink. "We're going to win as a team and lose as a team. I tell the girls that when you work hard as a team, you can get opportunities."
And last Saturday, that hard work paid off in a victory that was a long time coming.
