This is the 10th 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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MADISON DODGERS
Head coach: Joe Cecala, fourth year (22-30-2 career record)
Division: Halvorsen
NJSIAA Classification: North, Public
Last year: Madison lost its first 11 games and despite a late push, was never able to recover. It finished 5-16-1 with a 2-6 Halvorsen record. It was the fourth seed for the Halvorsen Cup, where it lost, 8-4 to KJS United in the semifinals. It did not qualify for the state tournament.
Key losses: Madison graduated its third-leading scorer from last year in forward Tyler Shannon (9 g., 11 a.). It also graduated forwards Jack Hunter and Chris Piacenti. Defenseman John Rusen, who posted two goals and eight assists last year, is not returning for his senior season.
Top returners: The Dodgers will be led by Second Team All-Halvorsen pick Sam Gero (forward), who tallied a team-high of 22 goals and 19 assists in his sophomore campaign. Juniors Jonathan Erickson (8 g., 6 a.) and Chris Palawasta (3 g., 3 a.) are also back up front.
On the defensive side, senior Kyle Piechnik- a Halvorsen Division Honorable Mention pick- tallied eight goals and 15 assists last year and will provide valuable leadership. Sophomores Patrick Layng (1 g., 9 a.) and Jacob Thompson (8 a.) are also key young pieces of a talented and developing defense core.
Senior Bryan Worthington (.844 sv%) returns after starting every game for the Dodgers last season.
Potential impact newcomers: Madison brings in a group of four freshmen this year. Forwards Lucas Gero and Will Finkle, and defensemen Henry von Steiger and Claes Machacz all figure to play big roles this year.
Burning question: How quickly can Madison’s young players develop?
It’s no question that Gero, a junior, and Piechnik, a senior, will be the engine that drives this team this season. If this team is going to be a factor in the Halvorsen Division and improve upon a tough year last year, it will need the supporting cast around those two to continue to develop. There’s a lot of promise on the blue line between the sophomores Layng and Thompson, plus freshmen von Steiger and Machaz. The younger Gero, as well as Will Finkle both figure to have an impact up front. How quickly the supporting cast around the team’s two best players develops will go a long way towards determining what type of year the Dodgers will have.
Outlook: It’s already been outlined that this is a very young team, much like it was last year.
But there is plenty of talent here, as Gero and Piechnik are players who can carry play for stretches, if need be. This team gained a lot of experience last year despite the losses, and should see continual improvement. There’s also going to be a great deal of motivation for a program that has won just 10 games over the last two years and is used to being in contention for a Cup at the end of the year.
It’s hard to say exactly where Madison fits in in a Halvorsen Division which figures to be pretty balanced all the way around, but this is a team that certainly should be much better in February than it is in December.
Check back Sunday for a preview of Parsippany Regional
E-mail Mike Gurnis at michaelgurnis@gmail.com
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