This is the third entry of The Morris-Sussex Hockey Report’s 27 teams in 27 days, where each day (except for Thanksgiving) there will be a team preview of each area team (boys and girls) leading up to Opening Day on December 7.
KINNELON-JEFFERSON-SPARTA (KJS UNITED)
Head coach: Jeff Myhren, 18th season (190-166-41 career record)
Division: Halvorsen
NJSIAA Classification: North, Public Co-Op
Last year: KJS United had a breakout season last year, as it overcame losing seasons in the first two seasons of the tri-op to go an impressive 14-6-1 record. It went a perfect 8-0 in the Halvorsen Division to win the regular season title, before it fell, 5-1 to Mount Olive-Hopatcong-Hackettstown in the Halvorsen Cup final. It qualified for the Public C state tournament, where it knocked off Lacey-Barnegat in the preliminary round, before falling to Toms River South-East in the first round.
Key losses: In total, KJS graduated nine seniors last year. Most notably, it lost forwards Dylan Fleksher (7 g., 8 a.) and Harrison Root (5 g., 2 a.), along with defenseman Aidan Ferguson (2 g., 8 a.) and Connor O’Neill (2 g., 6 a.).
Top returners: The backbone of this team is without question its goaltending.
Senior Rylan Gibbons has proven to be as good of a goalie as there is in the area, coming off a year where he had a .924 save percentage with three shutouts. He was named Halvorsen Division MVP for his efforts, and backing him up is junior Brian Sisti, who shined with a .939 save percentage in limited action last season.
KJS has a very senior-heavy group of talented forwards, led by Anthony Prunty (22 g., 11 a.), who earned First Team All-Halvorsen honors. Adam Stefancik (Second Team All-Halvorsen, 5 g., 19 a.), Joey Kopec (9 g., 3 a.), Anthony Pandiscia (9 g., 13 a.), and Logan Winslow (5 g., 4 a.) round out a very experienced and talented group.
It will be led defensively by senior Aiden Parlapiano, sophomore Alex Roslan, and junior Joey Marino.
Potential incoming impact players: Sophomores Cooper O’Neill (D) and Cormac Gibbons (F), along with freshman forward Braydon Sisco should all have an impact this year according to Myhren.
Burning question: Who will step up aside from the seniors?
With the team returning the division’s top goalie and MVP in Gibbons, along with five talented senior forwards headlined by Prunty and Stefancik, there’s no question KJS will have plenty of leadership and talent up front and in goal. But graduating nine seniors is a very tough number of players to replace for any program just from a depth perspective, and it will be interesting to see which underclassmen step up.
Outlook: KJS United went a perfect 8-0 in Halvorsen Division play last season before falling in the Halvorsen Cup final.
This is a team that will be able to count on one of the best goaltending duos in the area, along with a dynamic pair of forwards in Prunty and Stefancik. While it graduated some important depth pieces, it has some players coming in who should be able to fill those roles.
Goaltending can take you as far as you want to go in this sport, and KJS United certainly has that. There is enough scoring here to combine for a team that should be a true contender, once again, for a Halvorsen Cup title, in what should be a very balanced division.
Check back Sunday for a preview of the Randolph girls team.
E-mail Mike Gurnis at michaelgurnis@gmail.com
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