BAYVILLE – Go back a year ago, and you’ll find a Central Regional team that struggled out of the gate, going winless in their first nine games before finishing with a 5-12-3 record.
Fast forward to today. The Golden Eagles soared out of the gate, starting the season 7-0-1, and will now enter the state tournament with 13 wins.
The turnaround was quick, and after starting five freshmen last season, the fruits of their labor and effort to learn the system are starting to be rewarded.
“We had a better second half of the year because they settled in and realized that high school hockey is a much different game,” said Central Regional head coach Joe Pelliccio. “They started executing what we asked of them, and their confidence started to grow from last year.”
On ice success starts with the efforts of upperclassmen looking to make their final ride a memorable one, and Central has a pair of seniors in Danny Klutkowski and Anthony Mastriano who each take charge of their respective units.
With Klutkowski (47 points) leading the way in scoring and Mastriano anchoring a defensive unit keen on shutting down opposing offenses, Central has been able to develop younger players and allow them to start carving out their roles for the future.
Klutkowski’s speed and ability to get the puck to the net earned him a team-leading 24 goals, as well as being named the Shore Conference B South Most Valuable Player.
Junior Trevor Coltenback (41 points) and sophomore Joey Klutkowski (39 points) supplemented a top line that spread the wealth and made them a dangerous unit for any team prepared to try and suppress them.
Mark Anthony Competello and Domenick Competello are a pair of sophomores who will slide up and compliment the production left by Klutkowski’s graduation. Dom Wiatrowski will also provide some scoring after putting up 16 points as a freshman.
Mastriano will depart as well, but the defensive core will be left in good hands with Brady Steller back after missing a large portion of his junior season with an injury.
Sophomore Will Maguire (11 points) and freshman Alex Krish (seven points) have been able to provide some secondary scoring while gaining more experience as well.
With a young defense in front of him, junior netminder Nicholas Bilinski has supplied timely saves on a nightly basis and was named the first-team goalie in the Shore Conference B South. On the year, Bilinski has three shutouts, and has allowed only one goal on four other occasions.
The Golden Eagles got a potential glimpse of the future in freshman goalie Mason Gancy, who has filled in nicely near the end of the season, making 45 saves in a 3-0 loss to top-seeded Rumson-Fair Haven in the opening round of the Shore Conference Handchen Cup.
“These guys have success at the JV and club levels, and winning begets winning,” Pelliccio said. “These guys are bringing that success to this level.”
Central Regional has registered significant wins over division rivals Toms River South-East, Red Bank Regional and Brick Township this season. A 4-3 win over Brick Township on Jan.13 gave the program its first Shore Conference divisional championship.
“All those teams are building too, and we had a lot of close games that could have gone either way,” Pelliccio said. “We played strong games against some quality opponents.”
While the on ice talent and workload reigns in the spotlight, Central Regional is also keen on building a winning culture off the ice. Pelliccio and his staff are eager to develop their players into better hockey players, but they’re also eager to make them better people, too.
“Our number one priority is to have these kids leave here as men: being accountable, mature and caring,” Pelliccio said. “Whether we win, lose or draw every game, if any of our players leave the program as jerks, then we failed our job.”
When you walk through the doors at Central Regional, the hockey program only asks for one thing; that you want to be there.
“We are a single public school, and if you’re here then you should want to be here,” Pelliccio said. “While you can, you may not be on any radars, so it’s about having these kids develop as strong teammates and human beings.”
Whether it be a Christmas skate for special needs kids, the Challenger Winter Classic hosted by the Brick Stars Hockey Club, or making a senior with cerebral palsy score a hat trick on Senior Night, you can expect Central’s maroon and gold uniforms to be among those involved.
“We are fortunate enough to have some great kids that want to do these kinds of things, as well as some great families,” Pelliccio said. “They’ve produced some great children and we are hoping to continue to add to that and enjoy every moment of it.”
Central Regional is built for the future, but there is still the present. The Eagles will await their seeding in the NJSIAA Public B state tournament before this group embarks on one final run.
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