This is the 13th 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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BERNARDS-SOMERVILLE-MIDDLESEX (BSM)
Head coach: Paul Manore, sixth year (42-42-10 career record)
Division: Halvorsen (moved up from Haas); Also will be playing in the Skyland Conference-Raritan division.
NJSIAA Classification: South, Co-op
Last year: BSM posted its third-consecutive winning season, finishing 13-5-2 with an impressive 9-1 record in the Haas Division to win the regular season title. In the Haas Cup, it was upset by Park Regional in overtime in the semifinals. It qualified for the Public C state tournament, where it downed Tenafly-Cresskill in the preliminary round before bowing out to Woodbridge Twp. in the first round.
Key losses: The biggest loss to graduation for this team will be forward Tanner Clemson, who posted 12 goals and 20 assists last winter. Defensemen Justin Gordon, Troy Cuttic, and Will Rogus will all need to be replaced on the blue line. Up front, it lost Cam and Tim Jelinek, Stephen Parisi, and Andrew Doherty. It also will not have the services of junior defenseman Bryce Babich due to injury.
Top returners: BSM will have no shortage of firepower up front, highlighted by the return of Haas division MVP Jimmy Hathaway (30 g., 17 a.). Seniors Dylan and Ryan Leonard, who posted 36 and 40 points respectively last season are also back, along with Taylor Favreau (17 g., 9 a.). The Leonard twins were Second Team All-Haas picks last season, while Favreau was an honorable mention.
Defensively, it will count on sophomore Thomas Diemar and junior Abbey Gallagher as returners to lead the blue line. In goal, it brings back senior goalie Baylyn Shankman, a Second Team All-Haas selection who is committed to play Division III Women’s college hockey at St. Olaf College in Minnesota.
Potential impact newcomers: Senior forward Paul Roman, who plays club hockey with the Woodbridge Wolfpack, will step in this season. It picked up a key transfer in junior forward Harley Pirzadeh, who moved from California. Sophomore forward John Mrotchek also transfers in after posting 10 goals and seven assists for Morristown last season. Freshman defenseman Lincoln Moriarty will be counted on for big minutes on the blue line right away.
Burning question: Can BSM continue its success in the Halvorsen division?
This program has gone through a meteoric rise over the last few years after years of struggles in the Skyland Conference. It moved into the MCSSIHL Charette division during the COVID shortened 2020-21 season, and right away found success, winning the Charette Cup in back-to-back seasons before moving to the Haas for last season. It dominated the Haas division last year, finishing in first before falling in the first round of the Haas Cup. That first place finish, however, allowed the program to make yet another jump up in division, this time to the Halvorsen.
Any time a team moves up a division, it’s always interesting to see what happens and how it adapts. The good thing is that this program does have a lot of talent coming back which should serve it well as it looks to level-up once again.
Outlook: BSM is well-suited to make the jump up in competition this season- so well that it also is making a return to the always-tough Skyland Conference in addition to the Halvorsen division. There is a ton of returning firepower along with a nice influx of talent coming in, and it is backboned by an experienced goalie in Shankman.
Make no mistake about it- this team will be tested in a much different way than it has the last couple of years. It’s going to have tough competition in the Halvorsen as well as its crossover games with the Mennen, plus a loaded Skyland schedule. But a program will only take on that type of a challenge if it thinks it can handle it, and this BSM program is certainly one that is talented enough to think it can hold its own with a very experienced senior class. From a Halvorsen perspective, this division is always hard to predict- especially when a team is moving up from the Haas- but this team has the talent to be one of the better ones in this division, and can certainly challenge for the Halvorsen Cup.
Note: While BSM is playing in two different conferences this season, it will only participate in one conference tournament, which will be the Halvorsen Cup.
Check back Wednesday for a preview of Roxbury
E-mail Mike Gurnis at michaelgurnis@gmail.com
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