MOUNT OLIVE-HOPATCONG-HACKETTSTOWN
Head coach: Ryan Tatarka, fourth season (34-33-5 career record)
Division: MCSSIHL-Halvorsen
Last year: Mo-Ho-Ha got off to an 1-11-1 start before it started to find its footing down the stretch en route to a 7-17-1 overall record. It did not qualify for the Halvorsen Cup, but it did make the NJSIAA North, Public Co-op tournament where it picked up a win in the play-in round over High Point-Wallkill Valley-Kittatinny. The season came to an end with a loss to KJS United in the first round.
Key losses: It graduated only two seniors from last year’s squad, but both played vital roles. Daniel Testa was tied for the team leader in scoring (21 g., 10 a.), while Sebastian Slawinski provided offense from the blue linewith five goals and five assists.
Forwards: Mo-Ho-Ha will return its other top scorer in senior Daniel McGarry, who finished tied for the team lead in points with 31 (17 g., 14 a.). Senior Liam Parr (5 g., 8 a.) and junior Anthony Walsh (2 g., 13 a.) also return, while sophomore Dominic Landolfi will look to build on a strong freshman season in which he tallied 12 goals and seven assists. Also look for senior Jay Franco, sophomore Ryan Juckett, junior Alex Polichko, sophomore Alex Scelfo, junior Chris Scelfo, freshman Ryan Walsh, and senior Collin Young to contribute.
Defense: The blue line figures to be a younger group, but should be much improved after its four main defensemen played regularly in 2023-24. Senior Tyler Muscolino will lead the way, along with juniors Keegan Ciborski and Ryan Puco. Sophomore Kyle Ensinger will also look to improve upon his freshman campaign. Junior Ryan Picillo is another player who could play important minutes on defense this year.
Goaltending: Senior Talon Muscolino is the backbone of this team. He had a lot of work last winter, facing 850 shots in 24 games, and finished with an .872 save percentage and earned Halvorsen Division Honorable Mention honors. He figures to be the workhorse again this winter, with sophomores Merrick Ferreira and Connor Lomax also potentially getting a few starts.
Outlook: Mo-Ho-Ha had a very difficult year last year, although it did seem to pick up its play as the season went on. It will hope to continue that upward trend from the middle of last season with the vast majority of its roster returning. There are only a handful of seniors returning, so once again this will be a young team that hopes to continue to improve as the season goes along.
It has a rock-solid presence in Muscolino between the pipes, and the challenge for this team this year will be to clean up the play in front of him. This team will rely on a solid core on the blue line in Tyler Muscolino, Keegan Ciborski, Ryan Puco, and Kyle Ensinger, and a year of experience for that group together should make a world of difference. This is a team which will get better as the season goes along, and should qualify for the Halvorsen Cup and will be a tough out for anyone.
E-mail Mike Gurnis at michaelgurnis@gmail.com
Morris-Sussex Hockey Report 