News About the NJ Jr. Titans Hockey Club

When you see 4 or 5 coaches on the ice for a Titan practice, the coach you do not know is likely well known in hockey circles. Some of our Titan coaches also coach at other levels, and some are off to a great start. Squirt Coach Jay Monteverdi is enjoying success in his first season as the head coach with the St. John Vianney Lancers. Supported by George Haviland and Sal Spinale, the club is 5-1-1 and enjoys a 16th rating in the latest Star Ledger Statewide HS Hockey poll, and 11 in the State Power Rankings. Another is Bantam Coach Mike Dianora who’s Wall HS has 6 wins and his scrappy team is rated 6th overall in the toughest public division.

Another team that plays at the rink having a great season is the Monmouth University Ice Hawks. The Hawks are coached by Fred Berzolla, also a Titan T1 Midget coach. Monmouth is 9-2 in the American Collegiate Hockey Association, comprised of over 120 colleges across the country. The Hawks lead the Delaware Valley Collegiate Hockey League and have dominated opponents this season with a powerful offense that is averaging almost 6 goals per game. They have 4 league leaders in scoring and 6 DVCHL All-Stars on the squad. Congratulations on a great start Coach Fred. Their next home game is at Wall January 19 @ 5PM. Come out an see some great college hockey.

So if you are at practice and a coach you do not know is helping out, listen carefully to what they have to say, they know their stuff. Work hard for them. You might wind up trying out for their team some day. Good luck guys, we hope all of your teams make the playoffs and go far!

Its not how you start, its how you finish… or maybe in the case of youth hockey, how you develop and progress over the season.

The Bantam B Black team went 2-0 this weekend to extend their winning streak to 7 games and climb over the .500 winning percentage for the first time this year.

Concentrating on goaltending and solid defense, the team beat the Penguins 3-2 on Saturday. Matt Allen started in goal and set the pace with some early saves. Jason Kirch opened the scoring for the Titans and Cameron Kelly added one in the second period in his first game back from a month long illness.

Tied entering the third, the winner was scored by Henry O’Hern after a rink long rush by defenseman Chris White.

Sunday in Hamilton, the team continued it’s fine play with a 2-1 win over the Chiefs. After falling behind 1-0, the team shut the door and allowed only 13 shots for the game. Defenceman Ryan O’Rourke, Dillon Fecci and Jay Meyers were all over the puck, shutting down any scoring opportunities the Chiefs could muster. Goals were provided by Jason Kirch and Tyler Place. Goalie Troy Klahre also posted his third half game shutout in a row.

With the wins the Titan B Black team now sports a 11-10-1 record for the season.

Way to go guys!!!

In case you were wondering how Coach Mike Haviland is doing in his new home at the AHL Blackhawks affiliate Rockford IceHogs, one look at the standings in the Western Conference will tell you he is doing quite well.  At the halfway point of the season, the Hogs sit in first place, having recently ended a 16-game point streak.  Martin St. Pierre has a 14-game scoring streak, the longest in the AHL this season.  St. Pierre leads the IceHogs with 44 points including 31 assists, and is second in the league in total scoring.  There is still a long way to go in the season, and the pesky Chicago Wolves are nipping at the Hogs heels, one point back in the standings.  The two teams meet tonight in Rockford with the top spot in the divison on the line.  (No local TV here covers the game, you can listen or watch on the web)

Coach Havliand is building off of the Coach of the Year season he had in Norfolk, last year before the club moved to its new home.  Coaching in the AHL is very different as your NHL ‘parent’ club is likely to take your best, or at least borrow them to fill in for injuries, or send players ’down’, altering team chemistry.  Congratulations on a fine first half, let’s hope the second half is as good and leads to a great playoff run!

Coach Sal Spinale often is direct and open with his views on how his teams play.  When he offers high praise, its a sure sign that it was earned through hard work.  After a less than stellar outing, he singled out one PeeWee for mention.  Winning a game is not the way to measure individual growth and development.  In his message to the troops :

“You are all young enough to improve but are you all willing? For those of you who are interested in knowing what I think a good game looks like, Matt “Brose” Ambrose had a brilliant game on Sunday night. He played the entire game on “D”, he generated some offensive opportunities with intelligent rushes, he made great decisions all night,  he fared very well in the “house”, his body play was superb, his one-on-one confrontations were more than adequate and he played the entire game (score not withstanding) with an edge. Great game Brose, keep up the good work!”

The Titan Bantam A Black team hoped to extend their winning streak against the Blackhawks from Toms River at the new Winding River rink. The Titans knew this was not going to be a easy task considering we would be playing a short bench with five players out.

The Titans accomplished what they wanted in the first period by jumping all over the Hawks and scoring three unanswered goals. Charlie Morton started the scoring with a blast from the right circle and followed that up with a power play goal moments later for a quick 2-0 lead. Dan Maguire responded later and shoveled in a rebound shot in front of the net for a three goal cushion.  Thomas Wiedmann starting in the crease with a makeshift defense looked steady and turned away the Blackhawks efforts on net to end the first 3-0.

The second period saw the Hawks steal the momentum away from the Titans and run with it.  Blackhawk effort, penalties. tired legs, losing Charlie Morton for twelve minutes due to a unsportsmenlike penalty all came into play when a chippy Blackhawk team rallied to score four unanswered goals against a Titan am playing on their heels. The sloppy penalty filled second period ended with the Hawks leading 4-3.

With the Titans looking for any kind of spark to regain their focus, Joe Millers’ slap shot from the point that found its mark early in the third to tie the game 4-4 was it! The boys got another big lift when Morton was finally released from the penalty box.  That seemed to get them a second wind! The Titan defense and a re-charged Reilly who had a eventful second period after coming in to split time with “Weeds”, clamped down and shut the door on the Hawks for a scoreless third. Time ran out however and a comeback win would have to wait for another day. I know the boys weren’t satisfied with the outcome, but considering playing five players down and people playing out of their normal positions I say great effort!

Nice job boys…..

If you want to see your Titan results here, type ‘em up and email to your manager or to tjvvin@aol.com. Pictures welcomed as well.