The varsity ice hockey team here at Colonia High School hasn’t exactly started their season off the way they would have liked, losing 6 games and tying 1 without a win yet.
It all started with a very close game against rival school Woodbridge High School on December 1st. Colonia was playing a very quick and solid game, and at the end of the first period it seemed like Colonia would finally beat their rival after countless seasons of losing to them. After 5 minutes of play, forward Drew Galea scored to give the Patriots a 1-0 lead. Only one minute later, Woodbridge struck back and tied the game up. Colonia put up another goal from Timothy Bizub which gave them back the lead until Bobby Mulligan scored for Woodbridge to tie the game at 2 and take us into the second period. Jacob Devlin scored in the second period to bring Colonia, but Woodbridge struck back twice and took the game for their first win.
After the Woodbridge game, Colonia has not been able to find a win, only being able to tie Bayonne High school with a final score of 1-1. Colonia’s upcoming games don’t help either, since they play hard teams like Old Bridge, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, Ocean, and Monroe in the upcoming weeks.
Junior Patrick Enz, a forward for CHS, calls this season a rebuilding year. “We’re trying out new line combinations and plays; we just haven’t found the right one yet.” Without a doubt, the team does come out strong against their opponents. For instance, Colonia only lost by 1 to Woodbridge, Lawrence, tied Bayonne, and lost by 2 to Johnson High School. There is also no shortage of shots on net, totaling up to 166, and 11 goals so far.
Before the New Year, Colonia will play teams in the same position as Colonia with new players, new strategies, but with no wins. “We’re hoping the next couple of practices can help out before we go back to a harder schedule in the New Year,” Enz stated. Starting in January, CHS Hockey will go back to playing harder teams like Monroe, Old Bridge, and Scotch Plains.
The next game in CHS’s lineup is against Ocean Township here at the Woodbridge Community Center at 3:30pm. Both teams are looking for a win this season, since Colonia hasn’t gotten a win (but have a tie) and Ocean is without a win as well (with two ties in the first two games of the season) Please come and show some support for you Colonia Boys Ice Hockey Team!
