Immaculate Heart was on hiatus after the 2019-20 season, but made a triumphant return to the women's national ice hockey team last winter.
The team won the first Cohen Cup with a record of 16 wins and 3 losses, advancing to the state semifinals.
Last season's success prompted promotion to the Librera division, although a repeat on paper is not impossible. Things got even more uncertain when star forward Riley Stocker and standout defenseman Sofia DeFalco transferred to prep schools.
Suddenly, Immaculate Heart was missing two of its better pieces and facing the best team New Jersey has to offer. Stocker finished with 67 points, tying fellow freshman Claire Schanfrau with 39 goals. Meanwhile, DeFalco had nine goals and 16 assists from the blue line.
Head coach Jochen Reimer and the rest of the staff have worked hard for them.
“This is a tough loss if you want to take the next step,” he said. “The freshmen stepped up right away, especially Delaney Kozin, our freshman goalie. She had a really strong freshman year. Overall, she basically picked up where she left off last year, although there were some tough losses.” We were able to restart from there and I think the girls had a really good season.”
Despite all the preseason doubts, Reimer was able to successfully fit several rookies into the right roles, allowing them and the rest of the team to take another step forward.
Immaculate Heart advances to girls hockey state finals for first time in program history, Reimer named NJ.com's 2023-24 Coach of the Year Award Because of that.
But it wasn't easy at first.
The Blue Eagles trailed 2-4 early on, giving up an average of just under five points per game.
Reimer made changes that helped stabilize the ship for the remainder of the voyage. After the first few games, he moved one of his more experienced players, Carla Tobin, back to the blue line and replaced a back comprised primarily of underclassmen, including two freshmen, Gianna Butt and Abigail Garafalo. Strengthened the end.
“We started playing the same way we did last year,” Reimer explained. “We quickly realized that against better competition, like a high-flying offense, that might not be the best way to go.”
After a 7-5 loss to Oak Knoll on Jan. 23, Immaculate Heart averaged just 4.8 goals against, no lower than that in the Librera Division.
In the final nine games of the season, that average was nearly cut in half to 2.8, paving the way for the team to reach the state finals.
Leading the way was Schanfrau, who led the team with 17 goals. Julia Foglia joined in the second half of the season and scored six goals in eight games for the team. Gabriela Shadek also contributed with seven goals and 16 points.
“Just like kids, they evolve and develop certain things on the ice,” Reimer said. “They took the next step in the locker room. They are leaders and it shows on the ice. You can throw Gabby Capano (4 goals, 11 points) in there and they really need that leadership. He took on the role and carried it out.”
There are only a few more steps this program can take at this time.
When the puck drops on the 2024-25 season, the Blue Eagles will have a significant portion of this year's cast returning and will have a shot at both the Librera Cup and state title.
Brian Bobal can be contacted at: bbobal@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @Brian Bobal.
The NJ High School Sports newsletter is currently in the mailbox five days a week. Sign up now!
Follow us on social: Facebook | Instagram | X (old Twitter))
