There were times when the Pingree girls hockey team wondered if first-year head coach Rich Fuchs was crazy.
After starting the season with a two-man defensive duo, Fuchs decided to reduce the number of blueliners to three. It will be up to Mae Lange, Kyra DeCroix and Rory Ackerman to anchor the back end in front of Kate Nicolai.
It was a courageous decision, considering that the Librera division is the toughest in the state, with no days off.
The move was at times a headache for the players, but the group needed to find a way to remain competitive after losing in the 2023 state finals and immediately losing several key pieces to graduation. was there.
Maybe this was the way to do it.
“Our system was basically set up to allow 3D to survive the game,” Fuchs said. “In practice, I worked on my conditioning a little bit to make sure I could use my legs, especially in the third period.”
There were no early results. Pingree won one of his first five matches, but gradually things started to improve. He allowed 25 goals in the first five games, but in the next five games the team conceded only nine goals.
Losing in overtime to Oak Knoll in the Librera Cup quarterfinals was the team's sixth loss out of eight games, and although the losses had piled up, there was a feeling within the company that things would still get better.
“We just couldn't seem to put the puck in the net and get it on the scoreboard,” Fuchs said. “We just stayed with it. We didn't have to do too much. We just focused on some of the details and creating good habits on the ice. They practiced every day. I came and continued working.”
The attacking line scored a total of 16 goals during this period, but the belief remained intact thanks to the leadership of veterans such as Charlotte Dimar and Mae Lange.
And finally, the results arrived.
As the state tournament began and Pingree made history by the end of the tournament, Dimar ended his career on a tear.
She scored nine goals and helped Pingry win four tournament games and win the program's first state championship. This group is NJ.com 2023-24 Team of the Year Award as a result.
“We were so proud of how they overcame their doubts and difficulties and really came together,” Fuchs said. “When you go into the playoffs as a No. 5 seed at 5-9-1, you don't get a lot of recognition. For them, they start to question themselves, they start to doubt each other, they start to question us as coaches. It’s easy to start embracing and things like that.”
Diemar's late-season performances included scoring both goals in the team's 2-1 final win over Immaculate Heart and scoring Alexis Grasfer's overtime game-winning goal in the semifinals against Morristown Beard. This included getting his first assist in the game and adding two more goals in the quarterfinals. He helped Pingree get down Oak Knoll for the first time on his fourth attempt of the season.
It was the first time in its history that Pingree had defeated Morristown Beard.
“It was so much fun to participate and help the girls understand that we don’t necessarily have to have all the Tier 1, Tier 2 travel-related kids,” Fuchs said. “You need a team that wants to do things together, trust the system, trust each other and hopefully good things will happen.”
There are only a handful of travel players on this roster, and Diemar, who led the team with 26 goals and 34 points and joined the club with 100 career points in the process, is not among them.
Like Grassfur, she was an integral part of the historic season. Her goal against Morristown vs. Beard was her 21st of the season, breaking her career high.
As the Prudential Center's final horn sounded and Pingree was massaging the slot in front of Nikkolai's wrinkles, Lange stepped aside and bent forward after using up all the energy he had in the tank to help her. and was leaning on his cane. The team held a one-goal lead with 23 minutes remaining.
“You could say she was an anchor,” Fuchs said. “But when you have all three of them between her, Keira and Rory, it's hard to point to just one… All we asked them to do is play with the Tier 1 travel hockey kids. Playing against some of these players who are actually keeping just the three of us was really about playing more than “us in the game.'' ”
Nikolai's goal was truly a masterpiece.
The senior entered the state tournament by allowing one goal or less in three of his first 14 games. She made 33 saves in the state finals and allowed just three points on 97 shots in four games throughout the state tournament.
Doubters have nothing to say at this point.
This group was the epitome of a team. Each player played their role perfectly in the most important moments.
Now, the team will aim to stay on top of the mountain when the puck drops again in December.
“There were individual contributions, individuals pulling together to do what they had to do, but as a group, I couldn't be more proud of what they did there and how they got through it.” I can't imagine it,” Fuchs said. “They're going to live with it forever.”
Brian Bobal can be contacted at: bbobal@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @Brian Bobal.
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