| NEWS |
  
|
| FEATURES |
| ENTERTAINMENT |
  
|
| COLUMNS |
     |
| CONTACT US |
|
| HOW TO SUBMIT |
|
|
| BACK ISSUES |
|
|
 (Photo by Bill Allen/NJ SportAction) caption:
|
Finnell's Maturity, Scoring Production Key Factors for PHS Boys' Ice Hockey
By Bill Alden
You could hear the maturity in Sam Finnell's words as he assessed the 10-game winning streak put together recently by the Princeton High boys' ice hockey team.
"We won 10 in a row but we ought to not worry about that," said the junior forward after he tallied three assists in PHS' 9-1 win over Pennington last Wednesday.
"We have to worry about what is ahead of us. It's good to have 10 wins but we have teams like Notre Dame and Hopewell coming up. Those are going to be really tough games."
PHS, though, has emerged as a tough team with Finnell and sophomore line-mate John Ryan triggering the team's formidable attack.
Through the Little Tigers first 12 games, the pair has emerged as one of the top scoring duos in the area with Ryan having notched 35 points and Finnell chipping in 25.
"John and I have played a lot together," said Finnell, whose 25 points have come on 12 goals and 13 assists. "We play on a club together (the Mercer Chiefs). We've been playing together for a while."
Finnell has focused his efforts this winter on improving his passing and toughness. "I'm pretty happy," said Finnell in assessing his performance so far this season. "I'm sharing the puck more, working on being more of a playmaker. I'm also taking the body more, trying to be more physical."
PHS head coach Paul Merrow is pleased with the growth he has seen in Finnell. "Sam's play has been great," said Merrow, whose team dropped to 10-2 with a 6-0 loss to Hopewell Valley last Friday.
"As a junior, he is really stepping up. He's starting to be a team leader out there. He's matured tremendously not only mentally but physically he's matured quite a bit."
In Merrow's view, his team needs to mature collectively in order to meet the challenges ahead with the Titans Cup and Mercer County Tournament on the horizon.
"This is the meat of our season," said Merrow, whose club plays Notre Dame on January 21 at Mercer County Park. "We need to shore up our forechecking. Against teams with speed, we get too many guys caught down low. We're going to get burned on 3-on-2s. After a while, that will take a toll."
The PHS offense, though, has the firepower to take its toll on teams. "I told the kids at the beginning of the year that it doesn't matter how hard your shot is, it matters that you just get it to the net," explained Merrow, whose team has been generating more than 30 shots a game.
"Anything can happen. At this level, with a shot above the waist, a goaltender is going to catch it or block it off into the corner. With shots below the knees, there are rebounds all the time."
While the partnership of Finnell and Ryan is a main catalyst for PHS, Merrow points out that he has plenty of weapons at his disposal.
"They play real well together," said Merrow, referring to Finnell and Ryan. "They play with each other on the Chiefs and they know where each other are going to be. Sam and John are a big key to our offense but Peter Teifer, Nick Brener, Kyle DeBlois, and Jonathan Naylor are also doing very well."
As PHS heads into the pivotal stretch of its season, Merrow knows that his team needs to maintain its balanced attack. "We want to earn respect not only among the CVC but in the statewide picture for public schools," maintained Merrow. "Whether we win close games or lose close games, the goal is to play well."
Finnell, for his part, believes that the team can achieve that goal if it keeps working together.
"We get along pretty well, it's a good group of guys," said Finnell. "We know what we have to do, we all work hard. We have to stay with our forechecking and really work within the system."
And Finnell's maturity has helped make him a key cog in the PHS system.
