Montville preview 2021-22: New coach, new division

MONTVILLE MUSTANGS

Head coach: Anthony Iannone, first year.

Division: Haas

Last year: Montville finished 2-6-1, with a 1-6-1 record in the Halvorsen Division. It finished in last place in the Halvorsen.

Key losses: Connor Perez, F.; Owen O’Hara, F.; Adrian Prelich, G.

Top returners: Matthew Trifari, F., So.; Michael Chang, F., Jr.; Austin Bailey, F., Sr.; Trey Baresich, D., Sr.; Chase Unice, D., Sr.; Matthew Crowell, D., Jr.; Alexis Riley, G., So.

Newcomers: Connor Howard, D., Fr.

Outlook: After a last-place finish in the Halvorsen Division in 2020-21, Montville finds itself back in the Haas after three years away from it.

Anthony Iannone takes over as head coach, after Alex Beatrice led the program for the last four seasons- which included a Haas Cup title in his first year in 2017-18. He inherits what figures to be a very young roster, which should benefit from moving down to the Haas Division.

Seniors Trey Baresich and Chase Unice will provide leadership on the back end for the Mustangs, with the blue line figuring to be the strength of the team. Sophomore goalie Alexis Riley saw limited time behind Adrian Prelich last season, and figures to slot in as the team’s full time starter.

At forward, the Mustangs will be led by sophomore Matthew Trifari, who was voted as the Halvorsen Division Rookie of the Year last year. Junior Michael Chang (3 g., 5 a.) and senior Austin Bailey (2 g., 4 a.) will also provide some scoring punch.

Overall, there are many question marks with so many younger players being counted on to contribute this year. It is unclear at this point where exactly this team will fit into the Haas Division picture, as it seems that most of the division is in line to take a big step forward this season. But if its trio of top forwards in Trifari, Chang, and Bailey have another strong year, it should be strong enough defensively to be one of the better teams in the division.

E-mail Mike Gurnis at michaelgurnis@gmail.com