This is the 12th 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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WEST MORRIS WOLFPACK
Head coach: Phil Togno, 16th year (seventh with West Morris, 141-190-31 overall career record)
Division: Haas
NJSIAA Classification: North, Public
Last year: West Morris finished 8-9-4 in an up-and-down year with a 5-3-2 record in the Haas Division. However, after a shootout win over Roxbury in the semifinals followed by an overtime win over Park Regional in the finals, the Wolfpack won its second-straight Haas Cup title. It qualified for the Public B state tournament, where it lost, 7-0 to Chatham in the first round.
Key losses: West Morris will have to replace a four-year starter in goal in Phil Togno, who recorded his 2,000th career save last season. It also lost a pair of solid contributors in Matt Healy and Jimmy Thompson.
Top returners: There will be a ton of returning talent up front for the Wolfpack, who bring back the team’s top three leading scorers in junior Benjamin Barnhill (15 g., 16 a.), senior Tommy Togno (11 g., 14 a.), and senior Zach Knopf (10 g., 20 a.). Senior Michael Ferry (6 g., 2 a.), junior Layton Cummings (4 g., 7 a.), and sophomores Tyler Hill and Brendan Mullin make up a talented group of experienced forwards.
The blue line will include returners in seniors Nick Dargel and Jake Salamone (5 g., 7 a.), as well as juniors Karl Alstede and Alex Trezza.
Potential impact newcomers: West Morris will have three different players competing for playing time in net after the graduation of Phil Togno. Freshman Michael Treiber, and juniors Sean Vala and Jake Jenke will be in contention for the starting role.
It will bring in a nice group of newcomers up front in freshmen Dylan Wilmott, Rhone Amijo, and Shiva Kutikat, and sophomore Ella Fuller. Freshman Gavin Smith will also join the blue line.
Burning question: Who takes over in goal?
As already mentioned, it’s going to be a three-man battle for the starting goalie role between Treiber, Vala, and Jenke. They’ll have big shoes to fill after Togno provided a rock-steady presence between the pipes for the last four years, in leading the program to back-to-back Haas Cup titles. He was also a First Team All-Haas pick last season as well. If this program is going to compete for a third-straight Haas Cup, it will need one of those three to step up and give the team quality starts throughout the year.
Outlook: On paper, this is as good of a roster as you’ll find in the Haas division this season.
There’s plenty of returning scoring ability along with an influx of talented newcomers who should be able to fill the back of the net. Combine that with a nice group of experienced defensemen, and West Morris might have the best group of skaters in the division.
While the Haas division is wildly unpredictable on a nightly basis, this is a talented and well-coached team. If it stays healthy and gets quality goaltending, the Wolfpack appear to be the favorite in the Haas.
Check back Tuesday for a preview of Bernards-Somerville-Middlesex
E-mail Mike Gurnis at michaelgurnis@gmail.com
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