NEWARK, NJ — The most decorated program in New Jersey high school hockey did not achieve their unparalleled success by getting complacent. Every single year, the Delbarton Green Wave start the season expecting to raise a trophy on Prudential Center ice at by end. On Monday, they claimed their second consecutive title and their state record 15th in school history. After dropping 2-0 behind the Don Bosco Ironmen, the Wave crashed back, scoring two quick goals to even the ledger and force overtime. Then captain Aidan Pasic beat sophomore goalie Alex Annunziato to start the party.
“We didn’t give up,” Pasic said after scoring the golden goal, the 20th of his senior campaign. “We all believe in each other. We all know what we’re capable of doing. We know that not many people can stop us when we all work and play our game. We know what it takes [to] win any game.”
Delbarton was able to rely on their senior core who had triumphed in these moments before; both in the state championship and the previous two Gordon Cup finals. Gordon Conference MVP Sean O’Gwen—who scored an OT winner in the state semifinal last year—opened the scoring, then Matteo Conte, another senior captain, tied the score. Another senior, Egor Andreev, provided the playmaking with an assist on all three Delbarton goals.
The first period proceeded swiftly, with defense as the name of the game. The Green Wave outshot the Ironmen 7-2, but Annunziato, dressed in his throwback leather-esque pads, was up to the challenge. Delbarton’s Thomas Pirot set the tone with a pair of massive checks in the attacking zone, and Mark Ruggiere led the Ironmen’s back line, late penalty notwithstanding.
In the second period, Don Bosco got their first opportunity on the power play, but Delbarton got the first good chance on special teams. Green Wave top scorer Aidan Pasic led a 2-on-0 shorthanded rush, then dished to fellow senior Egor Andreev. Most goaltenders never would have had a prayer, but Annunziato isn’t most goaltenders. He sprang across the crease in the nick of time to make a terrific glove save and keep the game scoreless.
The show didn’t stop there, as the spring-loaded soph denied a streaking Pirot later in the period and kept his composure in a scramble despite being tripped up by a teammate. Not to be outdone, his counterpart Insauto denied Preston Ferro, the Gordon Conference’s top goal scorer, one-on-one. Then in the final minute, he lunged out to deny two excellent chances on a Bosco power play.
But the Ironmen battled to the very last second of the period; literally. With five ticks left, Preston Ferro freed the puck up and Aaron Bielen guided it to the netfront. Chris Conklin, unmarked on the weak side, jammed it past Insauto with exactly one second remaining for the opening goal. Oddly, Coach Bruce Shatel’s team made it halfway back to the locker room after the tally before being called back to the ice for one last face-off. After two periods, the Wave led 19-12 in shots, but Bosco led 1-0 in the category that matters.
Delbarton got a great opportunity to respond early in the third when top center Niko Pappachristou went off for tripping. The Wave pinched Bosco deep in their own end for nearly the entire power play, and Annunziato was forced to make a few more big saves. But the Ironmen gained possession right as the power play expired, and Pappachristou burst out of the box to join a 2-on-0 with Jack Foye. The two dished the puck back and forth, but Pappachristou’s final feed went too far. That didn’t stop Foye, though, who opportunistically pounced right back on the biscuit and beat Insauto to the near post. The back-check arrived too late, and the Ironmen led by two at the Rock.
But the Wave are inexorable. Don Bosco’s Leo McCullough took a penalty right after the goal, opening the door for a reply. On the ensuing power play, Egor Andreev slipped a perfect drop pass right to O’Gwen, who fired it past a screened Annunziato to get the top team in the state on the board.
Then the Ironmen, who had just gotten themselves in trouble by going to the sin bin, committed another costly penalty. This time it was Ruggiere, a critical member of their defense. Luck proved to be on Delbarton’s side this man advantage: a blocked Andreev shot caromed right to Matteo Conte, who snapped it home to tie the score just like that. A classic Delbarton rally; they needed just under four minutes of game time to equalize after Bosco’s second goal.
The tide continued to rise. Pasic slipped loose on a pair of breakaway opportunities with about five minutes left in regulation, but Annunziato refused to let the Ironmen slip underwater, stopping both.
In the final minute, more disaster struck for Don Bosco: another penalty. Kyle Delaney was ruled guilty of an elbowing call with 22.5 seconds left in regulation. Coach Shatel immediately called timeout to prepare his crew for their third power play of the third period. But despite a nearly disastrous failed clear, the maroon-clad men survived a final push as the Non-Public championship headed to overtime.
The penalty was killed, but not the momentum. The Green Wave continued to attack in waves, and with six minutes gone by in the extra period, they created a scramble. The puck came up to the point where Dean Zarro fired toward goal. His long shot was blocked, but Pasic then came slithering through the slot. Bosco’s defense forced him wide, but they couldn’t take it away. Annunziato lost his stick in the panic, and Pasic beat the desperate netminder to win the title for Delbarton.
