(Photo by Frank Wojciechowski) ICY BLAST: Hun School defenseman Matt Johnson blasts the puck in recent action. Last Friday, Johnson scored a goal to help fifth-seeded Hun top No. 4 Montclair-Kimberley 5-0 in the first round of the state Prep tournament. The Raiders, who improved to 7-7-2 with the win, were slated to play at at top-seeded Pingry on February 8 in the Prep semis with the winner advancing to the title game on February 10 at Princeton Day School.

Hun Boys’ Hockey Wins Prep Opener; Gaining Confidence for IHL Playoffs

Bill Alden

Francois Bourbeau wasn’t brimming with confidence as his fifth-seeded Hun School boys’ hockey team prepared to play at No. 4 Montclair-Kimberley last Friday in the state Prep tournament.

“We tied Pennington last week and they lost to Montclair-Kimberley,” said Hun head coach Bourbeau.

“Montclair-Kimberly was rated higher than we were. We knew we were playing a strong offensive team. I had no expectations.”

After Hun battled MKA to a scoreless tie in the first period, Bourbeau felt a lot better about his team’s chances.

“I said to the guys after the first period that we know we can compete with them,” recalled Bourbeau.

“They were not as strong as we expected. We just needed to keep playing with the same intensity and discipline. We needed to keep playing the right position and not start over committing.”

It didn’t take long for the Raiders to take a commanding position in the contest as sophomore forward Alex Vukasin scored two goals early in the second period.

“I think we had the momentum from there,” said Bourbeau, referring to Vukasin’s two-goal outburst. “I think that was the backbreaker for them.”

Hun went on to win 5-0 as Vukasin added another goal and Matt Johnson and Will Sweetland each chipped in one tally to help the Raiders improve to 7-7-2.

“We finished strong; we kept playing disciplined and positional hockey,” said Bourbeau, whose team was slated to play at top-seeded Pingry on February 8 in the Prep semis with the winner advancing to the title game on February 10 at Princeton Day School. “We played with composure after we got the lead.”

The composure displayed by freshman goalie Devin Cheifetz gave Hun the chance to finish with a win.

“Our main asset in the first period was Devin; he made a lot of good saves,” said Bourbeau.

“He had 17 saves after the first period. He helped us stay in the game and then Alex was the turning point. The combination of the two of them was great.”

Bourbeau is hoping that the win over MKA can be a turning point as his team takes part in the Independent Hockey League playoffs.

“I told the guys that seeing that we could compete against MKA shows me that we can go a long way in our league playoffs,” asserted Bourbeau.

“Whether we win or lose against Pingry won’t have an effect. Winning against them would be awesome but we know how strong they are.”

As Hun heads down the homestretch, Bourbeau is confident that his team can produce that strong finish.

“I told them that we have two weeks of hockey left and that if they are committed we can have a good finish to the season,” said Bourbeau, whose team also has regular season games this week at Notre Dame on February 9 and at Academy of New Church on February 11.

“We need to play with intensity for three periods and we can stay on the same road for the rest of the season.”

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