News About the NJ Jr. Titans Hockey Club

Since 1984, Bob and Mike O’Connell, Directors of the New England Pro-Am Hockey League have conducted the prestigious Chowder Cup summer Junior Tournament.  They are two of the most respected hockey people in the East. The Titans have participated in a number of their tournaments at the Junior Level.  They run the original Junior Tourney as well as the annual International Pre-Draft Tournament which began in 1989.  This coming summer the Men’s Chowder Cup will consist of 80 teams, Women’s Chowder Cup will consist of 36 teams, Junior Chowder Cup will consist of 80 teams, the International Pre-Draft will be comprised of 48 teams and their latest tournament will be the Mini-Chowder Cup consisting of 24 teams. Entries will come from the United States, Canada, Siberia, Latvia, and Belarus.

In entering Titan teams into the mini-Chowder, their latest tournament, Mike had the following response: “You know my feelings regarding the Titans.  A great Organization that is an asset to any of our tournaments”.  Thanks Mike.  Coming from you, that is a tremendous compliment. The Jr. Titans name is synonomous with respect and moving players to the next level. Significant effort is spent building and cultivating our relationships at the Junior and College level; our good name carries weight with Elite Tournaments like the Chowder Cup series and our relationships can benefit all Jr. Titans (both at the youth and Junior levels).

A defenseman who played for our Jr. Titans Sr. Chowder Cup team this past August has committed to Holy Cross for the 2008-2009 season. Kyle Atkins currently plays for the Brockville Braves of the CJHL – he is 6′1″ 195 lbs. 

 Atkins: Junior A Playoff MVP for Brockville

Remember, we all wear that same uniform.  Everyone should work to preserve and enhance our reputation through their actions. 

A very determined Jr C team came out to win two this weekend. They started their mission on Sat. with a non-league game vs. the Philadelphia Patriots. The Titans hit the ice and had one focus. That was to win and win with finesse. At the end of the first period the Titans pushed forward with a 4-1 lead. Ben Yuro sparked the Titans with assists from Garret Christie and Angelo Rosena. Shortly after, Bobby Deatrick found the net with assists from Zach Belfer and Chris Swan. Charlie Bregenzer found himself in the first period with one goal and one assist. Matthew Keane also planted a goal with 2 minutes remaining in the period. The Titans never looked back from this point.

     They entered the ice in the second period with a surprise eye opener. The Patriots scored two quick goals making the score 4-3. The Titans came with one purpose and that was to win. With a 4-3 game all the Titans stepped up their performance. A young Cameron Bregenzer played strong defense to push the puck up into the zone. Again Ben Yuro stepped up to lead the Titans into victory. Ben scored his second goal of the game assisted by Mark Sabitini. The second period ended with 2 additional goals from Joey Torrisi and Chris Swan. Charlie Bregenzer also added to his day 2 additional assists.

     As the third period rolled around it was evident the Titans were working as a complete unit. One additional goal was scored by Angelo Rosena. This completed a well traveled Saturday with an 8-3 final score. Yllano Tubilleja faced 24 shots and the Patriots faced a battling 48 shots on goal.

 As Sunday rolled around the Jr C team stood tall and full of confidence. The NJ Titans were home facing again the same Patriots. Christopher Goletz guarded the net for the Titans today.

     Charlie Bregenzer led the Titans with the first goal of the day assisted by Matthew Keane. The Titans didn’t miss a beat and pushed toward the goal with force and determination. Additional goals in the first were from Ben Yuro and Mark Sabitini. It seemed the Titans only grew in strength as the game went on. The defense worked well feeding the forwards, who seemed to show no mercy.

     In the second period Bregenzer came out strong and stormed the net. He gave the Titans an additional score and one more assist. Bobby Deatrick and Joe Torrisi followed the lead and moved the score to a whopping 6-0.

     A tired and frustrated Patriot team came out in the third to score on the Titans. The game heated up quickly while several penalties occurred as the result of both teams wanting to win. Zach Belfer scored one more from Bregenzer completing the weekend. Sunday’s final score ended at powerful 7-2 Titans. Chris Goletz faced 26 shots on goal. The Patriots faced 44 shots. A great weekend for all Jr C players!

The boys started out the weekend with a big win against the Montgomery Blue Devils by the score of 5-1 behind the fantastic goalie job of Chris Heck.

Joe Dickinson had four of the five goals with assists from Kyle Clark and Patrick Manfredi. Defense was strong with hard hitting done by Ben Cleaves, Ryan Selby, Mike Holmes and Julian Santos. Patrick Carkeek scored the second goal of the game assisted by Jonathan Nelson and Billy Murphy.

Connor Hall again showed his versatility by dropping back and helping out the defense on numerous occasions preventing the Montgomery team from scoring a second time.

On Sunday the Titans came out hard with two fast goals by Joe Dickinson and Patrick Manfredi but the Monclair Blues quickly came back. While defense played hard behind the Titan goalie Aaron Zaentz the Blues came back to win 4-2.

by a Titan Fan

Montgomery 1 Titans 5
Montclair 4 Titans 2

On Tues. Oct. 23, 2007, Dr. Harvey Kesselman who is the Dean of Education at Stockton College here in New Jersey came to speak to some of our players.  Players and parents from the Jr B and Jr C team as well as Midget National and Midget American teams were treated to an entertaining and informative symposium by Dr. Kesselman.

Dr. Kesselman spoke about the college admission process covering everything from SAT’s, to applying to schools, financial aid, scholarships and athletics, not only at Stockton, but at schools throughout the country.

It was a great learning experience for the players as well as the parents about what is involved in the admission process.

The Jr Titans would like to thank Dr. Kesselman for taking the time to speak to our organization. We are lucky to have him within our organization!!

Sometimes victory is how you think about the game.

Coach Haviland’s 95A PW team is having a very good season, winning the majority of their games against top NJYHL and DVHL A teams.

This past weekend, the team tried a little experiment by playing the Avs AA squad, one of the best at that level.

The game was not close, and the boys were impressed by the precision and the continuity of the Avs, who played at a higher level than the best teams they had seen at Silver Sticks.

The game was a blowout. The Avs opened the floodgates in the 3rd and had a 10-0 lead. The two young refs, thinking it was a league game called ‘mercy’ without asking both benches. The Avs bench cleared, they lined up for the post-game handshake, but our boys wanted to finish the contest despite the score.

So the Avs went back to the bench, and the puck dropped. This time it was the Titans who won. The score was 1-0 for the “last few miles” of the game, and a team that could have walked away feeling down, left the ice as winners of the end of the scrimmage against top competition.

Wins are fun, development and raising your competitive level is the better satisfaction. Good job boys!

The freshest skaters at the rink began another 7 week session of “Learn to Skate” on Saturday or Sunday afternoons. 

Youngsters as small as 3, all the way to adults are taking their first steps on the ice, or moving to the next level.  Each small group has a coach/teacher, with an emphasis on meeting incremental progress goals each 7 week period.  Students have a public session immediately following their lessons to have fun or to work on their new skills.  Whether you have a budding Sid Crosby or Tara Lipinski, or just a kid that wants to have more confidence on the ice, have them come out to the rink.  Its great fun!  Group lessons will begin at 12:00 Public Skating begins at 1:00 and is included in the student Learn to Skate fee.

Please come a half hour prior to your lesson to ensure proper skate fitting and to check in. Space is limited, so do not hesitate. Call the rink today or visit www.wallsportsarena.com

Have cool holiday family fun. HALLOWEEN SKATE
Saturday, October 27 from 1:00 – 4:00 pm. Wear your costume and join in the fun on the ice with
candy, games, prices, music and more!!!

We look forward to seeing everyone this weekend!!!!

The T1 Bantam Minor team lost first to the undefeated Avalanche on Saturday 5-2. They may just be the best team in the league at this point with a 29-5 goal advantage in league play. The boys battled hard against this bigger and stronger squad. The Avs picked up 2 shorthanded goals in the first to best Thomas Caccia’s unassisted goal take a 2-1 lead. In the second, it was all Avs as they added 3 tallies. The Titans won the 3rd period with a great effort by goalie Anthony Stolarz. Caccia added an assist with Chris Deatrick on a Tyler Pearson goal. Justin Canzano played well in defensive support. The team tried to match lines having Tyler Pearson skate with their top player Ian Spencer #4. Ian is a top prospect with 15 AYHL points coming into the game. Ian is a projected USA national team player. Coach Haviland said “He is the best player I have seen in this district since Steve Mandes from Valley Forge Minutemen, currently at Harvard. Steve was a formerly a USA National team player.” “Ian was great scoring 4 points in the game”.

On Sunday, the boys lost a close game to the NJ Rockets 2-0 at the new home of the Rockets, Protec Ponds Hockey. Stolarz stopped 38 of 40, but 2 first period power play goals by the Rockets could not be overcome. The Titans could not figure out their goalie Kevin Dluhy who stopped all 33 Titan shots. We played a great game against a very good team. Tanner Vaughn was outstanding on defense.

The T1 PW Majors got to play 2 at home this weekend, after being on the road for 3 games last week. The Saturday game was a League District game against the Avalanche. Last year the Titans beat them 3 times and at Silver Sticks, but the Hackensack squad is an improved team this season, and have been particularly stingy on defense.

The Avs took this first meeting 2-1, on a power play goal with just about 3 minutes left in the game. The Titans clearly outplayed the Avs, out shooting them 35-21, and also controlling the puck for most of the game, but the dominance was not reflected on the scoreboard. We had a penalty shot by Kevin Hoegler in the third that their goalie stopped. In the first period, we hit the post 5 times and in the second mis connected on 3 of 4 other quality opportunities. We let them tie the game after the one connection we made. Trevor Heuser scored a power play goal on a one timer from a nice feed by Matt Wies.

Coach Haviland thought the boys needed to bear down more in the O-zone, and was very disappointed in the lack of urgency in the last 2 periods. Our defense men played very well and we had solid goal tending from Randy Gorda who was up to the task. We gave up 1 grade A chance. It was very disappointing to not win the game after dominating play for 3 periods, only to let them take it with the late power play opportunity. The Titans will be ready to take it back the next time they meet the Avs.

On Sunday the team fared better, beating the same Mid Fairfield team they had tied last week in Ct. This time, in a well played affair, the Titans came away 5-2 winners against this top New England squad to gain a split for the weekend.

 The Bantam B Black team went 1-0-1 this past weekend beating Old Bridge 6-4 on Saturday paced by Jason Kirch’s first hat trick of the year and the extra effort defense of Dillon Fecci.  On Sunday,  Steven Sangermano answered that with 4 goals to help the team come back from a two goal deficit to tie 5-5.  The game was tied with three minutes remaining by a Chris White goal from the point.  Henry O’Hern chipped in with 3 assists added to his 2 on Saturday for a 5 point weekend.  Great job guys!!!

The Titans Bantam A Black traveled back to PA this weekend to face a very tough Quaker team at Iceline Arena. After two straight wins in PA, the boys could not keep the winning ways going. The Quakers opened up the scoring in the 1st period at 13:04 to take the lead 1-0, only to see a hard working PP goal from Joe Miller on assists by Billy Regan and Brian Walsh, tie the game to end the first.

The Titans hard work continued into the second but a well schooled and disciplined Quaker team took advantage of Titan mistakes and pumped in three straight goals pass Thomas Wiedmann. Wiedmann and the Titan defense stood up strong to the constant pressure from the Quaker offense but could not keep this team from buzzing around the net.

After the 4th goal and many nice saves by Wiedmann, Coach Gibby changed goalies to put a spark into the team. Cody Reilly came in at the 6:58 mark of the second and it didn’t take long for him to see action. Cody made some eye popping saves to keep the Quakers off the board for the rest of the period. The Titans never got any carry over motivation into the third and saw the Quakers put two goals past a very busy Reilly. Highlight of the third period saw a very determined Charlie Morton stopping at nothing to score with an assist from Timmy Behan weave through the Quaker defense to put it home to end the scoring at 2:41 of the third, 6-2. The boys hung tough and in the end stood tall against a very good team!

by Cathy and Rick Wiedmann

Editors note: In addition to his “eye popping” saves, Cody was a team player in a completely different way. He and his Dad hopped on Dad’s Harley after the game at Iceline and drove down the Pa Pike to Jenkintown Pa to watch his buddy, fellow netminder A.J. who plays on Coach Gibby’s Pee Wee A team. Way to support the club Cody!