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Sparked by Ryan's Playmaking, PHS Boys' Hockey Makes States
By Bill Alden
With the Princeton High boys' ice hockey team fighting to secure a spot in the upcoming state tournament as it faced Lawrence High last Friday, freshman forward J.R. Ryan was determined to come up big for the Little Tigers.
The high-scoring Ryan, who came into the evening as the top scorer in the area with 36 points on 19 goals and 17 assists, passed for five assists to trigger PHS' 7-2 win over the Cardinals.
Afterward, Ryan acknowledged that the game was no cakewalk as Lawrence fought hard, trailing PHS by just 2-1 late in the second period.
"We knew that we had to put on a good show, Lawrence was no pushover," said Ryan. "When it was 2-1, we were in control of the game but we weren't capitalizing enough. Once we got that third one on the board, we knew the next goal would be pivotal. After we got that, it was smooth sailing."
Ryan was happy to play the role of distributor for the PHS attack which got two goals apiece from Matt Leuck, Nic Brener and Sam Finnell as well as one from Christian McCracken. "It was good, Matty [Leuck] finished a bunch of chances," said Ryan referring to senior captain Leuck who passed the 100-point mark in his career with his output last Friday. "It was good to share the wealth, everybody had a hand in scoring today."
The talented freshman forward has surprised himself by hitting the top of the scoring chart in his debut season. "I didn't expect to be up there so soon," said Ryan. "I knew I could work my way up there. Coach [Paul Merrow] has given me the ice time and it's been good to play with Matty."
Ryan noted that he has had to use his body as much as his stick in becoming the go-to guy for the Little Tigers. "I play better when I play physical," explained Ryan. "I get more into the game, even when I get hit. It adds another dimension to my game."
PHS head coach Merrow readily acknowledges that Ryan has given his squad an added dimension. "John Ryan has meant a tremendous deal to this team offensively," said Merrow, who was relieved that his team improved to 10-9-2, meaning that it achieved the .500 mark one day before the state tournament cut-off.
"He's coming around in his aggressiveness. We knew that he could score and play a good defensive game, I just wanted him to pick up the physical part of his game. We don't need bonecrushing checks, we just need him to get his body in the way and separate the other guy from the puck. He's doing that."
Another PHS player who is separating himself from the pack is senior captain Leuck, who scored the critical third and fourth goals for PHS in the win over Lawrence. "Those goals were huge," said Merrow, referring to Leuck's scores. "All year, he's been our lead-by-example guy. Matt got the 100th point of his career tonight, that just shows his work ethic."
Merrow admitted that his club hasn't always worked as well together as he would've hoped. "I'm always nervous with this group, it's Jekyll and Hyde," said a smiling Merrow, whose team plays at Pingry on February 18 before playing Steinert on February 20 at Mercer County Park. "When our upperclassmen weren't there, our freshmen stepped in. When our freshmen weren't there, our upperclassmen stepped up. Along the way at times, everybody has pulled together."
Ryan believes he and his classmates will pull things together down the stretch. "It's great that there are so many of us," said Ryan, who is one of a crop of outstanding freshmen that includes forwards Peter Teifer, Peter Miller, Suttan Mivzayanov, and Brian Fischer, defenders McCracken and Sam Tobia, together with standout goalie Shane Leuck.
"We definitely want to put on a good show in that first game of the states. If we get to the second one, we'll face a really good team. It'll be a good experience either way because we're such a young team."
