Nutley High School had never won a hockey cup championship before recently.
However, that all changed when the Maroon Raiders defeated The Frisch School, 4-2, at South Mountain Codey Arena to capture the McMullen Cup title.
And scoring one for gender equity – the star of the game for the Maroon Raiders was a girl.
Senior center Melanie Conca scored two goals for the Maroon Raiders in the decisive championship game. Conca has already signed on to play women’s hockey at Connecticut College in the fall.
Conca had eight goals and 14 assists playing with and against the boys this season.
“She has the best vision of any of our players,” said Nutley head coach Andrew Surowiec. “She also has the best hockey knowledge. She has good speed and has a good shot. She plays with no hesitation. She’s willing to go into the corners to get pucks. She is also not afraid to block shots. There isn’t a thing that she can’t do.”
The team’s leading scorer is junior center Joe Melillo, who had 19 goals and 14 assists.
“He absolutely has an unmatched work ethic,” Surowiec said. “He’s developing into a great offensive player. He was a defenseman for us, but we moved him up front because that’s what he wanted. And it’s turned out to be a good move. He played forward for his club team, so that gave him the idea to play up front for us. He has a good shot and never quits.”
Melillo plays on the same line with junior left wing Justin Devlin and freshman right wing Rocco Albanese, who had 18 goals and 11 assists.
Conca’s line includes senior left wing Eli Verdun and sophomore right wing Zach Fagin. Verdun had 18 goals and 12 assists while Fagin had 12 goals and 10 assists.
Needless to say, the Maroon Raiders had a lot of balanced scoring throughout.
Surowiec loved the contributions of senior captain Verdun.
“He’s a good vocal leader,” Surowiec said of Verdun. “He’s really able to motivate the rest of the team. He puts his body on the line all the time for the team.”
The team’s rock was junior goaltender Johnny Matrona, who collected 17 saves in the championship game against Frisch.
“He’s the backbone of the team,” Surowiec said of Johnny Matrona. “He’s had a fantastic year for us. He’s kept us in some tight games. He was getting peppered with shots pretty hard and stood on his head. His play was reminiscent of the team’s all year.”
Surowiec gave a ton of credit to his net minder.
“I think he had a tough year last year,” Surowiec said of Matrona. “He didn’t have a lot of support, so there was a lot of pressure on him to perform before the season started. I think he came into this year with a chip on his shoulder. He knew he had to play a big part if we were going to do well this year.”
The Maroon Raiders rotated five players on the defensive corps.
Junior Leo Carrillo is a solid defenseman.
“He’s a real good skater,” Surowiec said of Carrillo. “He moves the puck well and has a great shot. He also has great vision on the ice. He’s an offensive minded defenseman.”
Sophomore Cooper Fojas is another key defenseman.
“He grew a little in the offseason and got a lot stronger,” Surowiec said. “He’s a stay-at-home defenseman who blocks a lot of shots.”
Senior Isabel Fontanals is another female member of the team and a key member of the Maroon Raiders’ defensive contingent.
“She’s a phenomenal skater,” Surowiec said. “I think she catches a lot of opponents by surprise because of her skills. She’s also a good vocal leader.”
Freshman Julian Poole has arrived and become a solid contributor to the defensive unit.
“You could tell that he knows the game,” Surowiec said. “He’s also matured as a player. He’s just a hard-working defenseman.”
The last member of the regular Maroon Raider defensive rotation is freshman Frank Matrona, the younger brother of goalie Johnny.
“He originally started as a forward, but we moved him to defense,” Surowiec said. “He’s another offensive minded defenseman who handles the puck well.”
The team’s third line consists of junior Chase Nicolette at center, with junior Dennis Maguire at right wing and freshman C.J. Hannan. Nicolette tallied four goals this season.
The team was an actual co-op between Nutley and Columbia of South Orange/Maplewood. There were four members of the team who attend Columbia.
“I think it’s a great match between the two schools,” Surowiec said. “We get a lot of support from both schools. It’s the second year of the co-op and it has worked well.”
The Maroon Raiders posted a 13-6-3 record this season. The season ended with a 5-4 loss to Montclair in the second round of the NJSIAA state tournament last week.
But there will always be the McMullen Cup to hang their hats on.
“I think it was a major accomplishment for the program,” Surowiec said. “I didn’t realize the potential we had. We had hopes, but we didn’t know. There was a major improvement. We wanted to compete this year and win more, but I’d be lying if I said that this team was going to be a Cup champion. We never had a Cup champion before in the history of the school, so this team is the first. We’re ecstatic.”
Surowiec said that there was one major reason for the improvement.
“I think all the kids bought into the team concept,” Surowiec said. “They realized that they needed to work hard for each other. That’s why we were successful.”
CAPTION
The Nutley High School hockey team celebrates the team’s first-ever championship, winning the McMullen Cup championship by defeating The Frisch School at Codey South Mountain Arena recently. Photo courtesy of Nutley athletics.
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Jim Hague | Observer Sports Writer
Sports Writer Jim Hague was with The Observer for 20+ years — and his name is one of the most recognizable in all of sports journalism. The St. Peter’s Prep and Marquette alum kicked off his journalism career post Marquette at the Daily Record, where he remained until 1985. Following shorts stints at two other newspapers, in September 1986, he joined the now-closed Hudson Dispatch, where he remained until 1991, when its doors were finally shut.
It was during his tenure at The Dispatch that Hague’s name and reputation as one of country’s hardest-working sports reporters grew. He won several New Jersey Press Association and North Jersey Press Club Awards in that timeframe.
In 1991, he became a columnist for The Hudson Reporter chain of newspapers — and he remains with them to this day.
In addition to his work at The Observer and The Hudson Reporter, Hague is also an Associated Press stringer, where he covers Seton Hall University men’s basketball, New York Red Bulls soccer and occasionally, New Jersey Devils hockey.
He’s also doing work at The Morristown Daily Record, the very newspaper where his journalism career began.
During his career, he also worked for Dorf Feature Services, which provided material for the Star-Ledger. While there, he covered the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets.
Hague is also known for his announcing work — and he’s done PA work for Rutgers Newark and NJIT.
Hague is the author of the book “Braddock: The Rise of the Cinderella Man.”