Normally, having five straight days without a game this early in the season is not something a hockey team would want. For the Nutley-Columbia-Bloomfield tri-op, however, the extended break couldn’t have come at a better time.
After starting the season with six games in a span of just 10 days, the extra bit of rest is certainly needed.
“We definitely need to regroup,” veteran head coach David Macri said. “The bulk of the work is falling on the shoulders of seven or eight guys and they’re getting the lion’s share of the ice, the lion’s share of the responsibilities this season. And they’re tired. It’s hard to go out and play hockey every night.”
Despite the lack of depth and an injury that has sidelined leading scorer Alex Benkert, Nutley has stayed afloat early on, starting the season at 2-4 with a 1-2 record in the competitive NJIHL Kelly Division.
“We’re playing teams that have a solid two lines or three lines and it’s really tough to hang deep in the game with them,” said Macri. “Our guys are doing great, but there’s only so much they can do.”
Leading the way early on, especially in Benkert’s absence has been junior center Christian Sherman, who has 11 goals and six assists. Sherman, who’s on pace to smash his previous career-high of 15 goals, had the first four-goal game of his career in a Dec. 6 win over Oratory, then followed it up the next day with two goals and four assists in a 6-1 victory over Millburn-Kearny-North Arlington.
“He is off to a flying start,” Macri said. “He’s had some good help from his linemates, they’ve been getting him the puck. But gosh, he’s just a silky finisher.”
Junior Angelo Albanese has been the right winger on that top line with Sherman and has five goals with five assists. Albanese, who scored on three of Sherman’s assists in the win over Millburn, recently eclipsed the 100 point mark for his career.
Macri is hopeful that Benkert, who had 43 goals and 32 assists last year, will be able to return later this season from an upper-body injury that he’s been dealing with since before the start of the high school season.
With Benkert out, senior Liam Madsen (1 goal, 8 assists) has seen the bulk of the time at left wing next to Sherman and Albanese. Freshman Abel Grimaldi has also seen time on the top line as Macri has weighed the benefits of breaking up his top three forwards in order to have greater depth and balance at forward over multiple lines.
Behind the current “big four” of Sherman, Albanese, Madsen and Grimaldi, a host of forwards are vying to play their way into a bigger role. Junior Dominic Searls has earned more time on the second line while juniors Oliver Penalber and Daniel Kopcha as well as freshmen Hank Butler and Jack Hafif are also in the mix.
“We’ve got guys that are, and we’ve let them know in no uncertain terms, that those roles are wide open for them,” said Macri. “Those opportunities are wide open for anybody to step in and get a regular spot on line two. Right now, we’ve been rotating those guys around to try to find some chemistry and to try to find someone who can go out there and consistently get the job done. We need those gritty corner guys, those guys that just relentlessly pursue the puck and wear down the other team.”
On the blueline, senior Cameron Wright has been an ironman on defense, rarely leaving the ice, while also pitching in two goals and two assists.
“Cam’s playing up to 40 minutes in any game,” Marci said. “I don’t know where he gets the energy or how he does it, but he is out there for a solid 40 minutes of a 45-minute hockey game.”
Sophomores Ryan Coon and Trevor Romonowski also log significant minutes on defense for Nutley, while another sophomore, Matt Gennings, is starting to establish himself as the fourth defenseman. Sophomore John Paul Ooplawski and freshman Shayna Baldwin, are also vying to earn time on the blueline.
Junior Aiden Rosamilia has been stellar in net for Nutley, posting a .890 save percentage in six games with sophomore Alex Madsen serving as the backup.
Nutley will not be easing back into action when it returns from this brief break as it plays Chatham on Thursday in the first of three games as part of the Essex Holiday Tournament. Nutley will also play West Morris on Saturday and Whippany Park on Sunday as part of the tournament.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)