The Edison Township ice hockey team managed only one victory over the last two seasons.
In the first two games of the 2019-2020 season, the co-op team, which consists of players from Edison High School, Metuchen High School and John P. Stevens High School, has reversed its fortunes .
The squad is off to a 2-0 start this season.
Edison Township has scored a combined 13 goals through its first two games this year, earning a 7-3 season-opening victory over The Frisch School and then defeating Kearny High School, 6-1, in its home opener on Dec. 5 at ProSkate Ice Arena in South Brunswick.
“After only winning one game last year, it’s a great feeling to start oFf 2-0,” said Edison Township ice hockey coach Vincent Mondano. “Everyone on the team is working hard and working together and it’s paying off.”
Leading the charge in the early goings for Edison Township is junior forward Jake DeVito, who has improved his game a lot from last year in the eyes of Mondano.
DeVito scored two goals in the team’s season opener and then recorded a hat trick in the victory against Kearny, giving the junior five goals in the first two contests of the season.
“I worked hard in the offseason to help myself become a better overall player,” DeVito said. “Our team is moving the puck well in the zone and setting each other up for more opportunities on net, which we didn’t do a lot last year. We work together as a team. It’s looking good.”
DeVito also has three assists on the season so far.
It’s been a total team effort for Edison Township with players up and down the roster helping the team get off to a great start.
Nine players have scored at least one goal during the first two games this season for the team.
Seniors Christian Osma and Anthony Sansano each have contributed to the team’s success to start the year, both scoring a goal and dishing out two assists. Fellow classmates Jackson Schnarre and Ian Emanuele have both scored a goal and handed out an assist.
Juniors Nick Sarka and Paul Sarka both had a goal and an assist against Kearny. Sophomore Vincent Ciampi scored a goal against Kearny and had an assist in the season opener.
Junior James Tutalo has also found the net one time this year for Edison Township.
“Our hard work in practice is paying off in the games,” Mondano said. “We’ve talked about moving the puck more and we’ve done that. We’re getting more shots on net, which we didn’t do last year.”
Senior goaltender Christian Cortez has played excellent in net for Edison Township. Cortez has racked up 42 saves, while allowing only four goals.
Edison Township will look to build off its great start in its next two games, both of which will be against Greater Middlesex Conference foe South Brunswick at ProSkate Ice Arena. First one will be on Dec. 6 and the second meeting being on Dec. 11.
After having little success the past two years, Mondano is thrilled to see the team get the results they’ve worked so hard to earn in the first two games of the season.
“I think our team is on the rise,” Mondano said. “Our goal this year is to make the state playoffs and this is a great start to get there.”
Follow Steven Bassin on Twitter @SBassin_Sports
