This is the eighth 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.
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MORRISTOWN COLONIALS
Head coach: Ian Anderson, second season (5-15-1 career record)
Division: Mennen
NJSIAA Classification: North, Public
Last year: Morristown got out of the gates strong last season with a 4-2-1 start, but faded down the stretch as it lost 13 of its last 14 games- including 10 in a row to close out the year. It finished 0-8 in the Mennen Division, and did not qualify for the Mennen Cup or the NJSIAA state tournament.
Key losses: Morristown graduated only one senior from last year’s squad, which is defenseman Chris Kay, who tallied three goals and four assists. However, John Mrotchek- the team’s third-leading scorer as a freshman- transferred and is playing for Bernards-Somerville-Middlesex this season.
Top returners: There are few teams in the area that can claim as many returning players as Morristown does going into the season.
Up front, senior Jackson Byrne (15 g., 11 a.) was the team’s leading scorer and was a Second Team-All Mennen pick. Seniors Liam Wilson (8 g., 15 a.) and Clark Smith (5 g., 11 a.) will provide both scoring ability and leadership for this team.
On defense, Morristown will be led by senior Brody Toye (5 g., 9 a.), who was also a Second Team All-Mennen selection. It also returns its senior goaltender in Thatcher Neville, who posted an .862 save percentage with two shutouts in starting every game for the Colonials last year.
Burning question: How will Morristown rebound after a rough second half of the 2022-23 season?
Morristown certainly took its lumps last season, especially late in the year. Moving up from a one-year stint in the Halvorsen Division was always going to be a challenge for a team which graduated a strong senior class from the year before, and that’s exactly what happened for this team last year. Now, it goes into this year with a strong returning cast which figures to be much improved with a lot of senior leadership.
Outlook: Continuity will be important for the Colonials this year. It’ll be the second year under coach Anderson, as the first year under a new coach always figures to be challenging with learning new systems and styles- especially with a team that had only one senior last year.
By and large, almost all of this team returns from last year. Byrne and Wilson are two very talented players up front, while Toye provides scoring ability from the blue line. Additionally, Morristown is one of two teams in the Mennen Division that is returning its starting goalie from last year in Thatcher Neville, which should give it a bit of an advantage as he figures to be even better going into his senior season.
There’s no question this team is going to be improved this season. We won’t really know how much until they’re out on the ice and playing games, but it would not be surprising to see the Colonials right in the thick of things in the Mennen Division after going 0-8 and missing out on the Mennen Cup last year.
Check back Friday for a preview of Park Regional
E-mail Mike Gurnis at michaelgurnis@gmail.com
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