This is the 15th entry of The Morris-Sussex Hockey Report’s 27 teams in 27 days, where each day 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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CHATHAM COUGARS (BOYS)
Head coach: Brendon Herr, ninth season (87-72-16 career record)
Division: Mennen
NJSIAA Classification: North, Public
Last year: Chatham had a historic season in 2022-23, as it won the program’s first Mennen Cup title since 1981 with a dramatic 2-1 win over Randolph in overtime in the final. It finished with a 16-4-5 record, and went all the way to the Public B state final, pulling off an upset of top-seeded Northern Highlands in the semifinals before falling, 3-2 to Middletown North in the final at Prudential Center.
Key losses: Defenseman Nikita Konevych, who was the Mennen Division’s Rookie of the Year as a sophomore (24 g., 10 a.), has moved on to the USHL where he is playing for the Austin Bruins this season. It also suffered a few big graduation losses, as Ronan (15 g., 18 a.) and Doyle Curry (12 g., 13 a.), as well as defenseman Ryan Burke (9 g., 20 a.) all graduated. Burke and Ronan Curry were each First Team All-Mennen picks, with Doyle earning Honorable Mention.
Top returners: The Cougars bring back the team’s leading scorer in junior forward Matt Nacinovich (15 g., 23 a.), who was a Second Team All-Mennen selection. He’s joined by junior Isaac Suh (5 g., 4 a.), a talented player who has missed significant time due to injuries the past two seasons. Senior Luc D’Costa (3 g., 11 a.) also returns after a strong year last year.
Defensively, Chatham will rely heavily on returners in senior Dillon Gagliardi and junior Evan Thomas to step up after losing Konevych, Burke, and Doyle Curry on the blue line.
In goal, Chatham will bring back senior Nate May, who posted an .889 save percentage in his junior season in backstopping the team to a Mennen Cup title and all the way to the Public B final at Prudential Center. Sophomore Snowden Lange also returns and will likely be May’s back-up this winter.
Potential impact newcomers: None listed.
Burning question: What will Chatham’s defense core look like this season?
Chatham lost its top three defensemen- two of them in Burke and Doyle Curry to graduation, and Konevych- one of the more dynamic players in the area- to the USHL. Those are going to be very difficult players to replace, as all three chipped in offensively in addition to being responsible in their own end. There will likely be some growing pains as this group finds out who will step up, with Gagliardi and Thomas figuring to highlight the blue line. The good thing is, it has an experienced goalie in May coming back who should be even better this year with a year of growth under his belt.
Outlook: By and large, Chatham brings back almost all of its forward group outside of Ronan Curry, and Nacinovich is one of the top scorers in the area. This team, without question, should be able to find the back of the net, and should get contributions from other forwards like senior Drew Munsey, junior Roman Kostrowski, and senior Connor Gilleece, among others.
Really, what this season will come down to, is how quickly the blue line settles in. There’s a lot of talent on this team, and as per usual, this squad should be a highly competitive team in an extremely balanced Mennen division as long as it can continue to get solid performances in goal from May.
Check back Saturday for a preview of Mount Olive-Hopatcong-Hackettstown
E-mail Mike Gurnis at michaelgurnis@gmail.com
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