HOLMDEL – In the world of high school sports, strong programs have high expectations. This is true of numerous teams especially in the competitive Shore Conference. As the ice hockey season winds down and tournaments begin, many teams are building on previous successes. The Saint John Vianney ice hockey team is a perfect example of this formula.
Head coach Mick Messemer has been coaching at SJV for ten years, taking over the head coaching position six years ago. “We have a great group of kids who are willing to sacrifice for the team and the school,” said Messemer. “They are proud to represent SJV.
“My coaching staff and I are demanding of the players. We expect them to respect the game, respect each other, respect their opponents and respect the officials,” he continued. “We also want them to do the best they can day in and day out, on the ice and in the classroom.”
Messemer feels the players have bought into the program. “Life is about competition and we put a lot of competition in practice which comes out in the games,” he explained. This seems to be true, as SJV's record is 9-6-2, with all six losses against teams ranked in the top 20 in the state.
“We might not have the best record but we don’t shy away from competition,” said Messemer. “We made a lot of adjustments at the beginning of the season. I wish we could have gotten it done against some of the teams ahead of us (in the state rankings).”
SJV is ranked 11th in the state, second in the Shore Conference and seeded first in the Dowd Cup.
In addition to the Shore Conference, SJV plays in the Egan Conference, a parochial school conference. Because of this, SJV is exposed to many opponents its Shore Conference opponents do not play. SJV also challenges itself by scheduling many teams outside the Shore and Egan conferences. “We play a tough, competitive schedule including a lot of teams away from the Shore,” said Messemer. “With the strength of our schedule, we cannot take many games off.”
Christian Brothers Academy is SJV’s toughest opponent according to Messemer. “When we played them they were number one in the state,” he added. CBA is presently ranked second in the state.
SJV is a fairly balanced team when it comes to offense and defense. The team’s strength is its speed and the fact that they put the puck in net according to Messemer. “We focus on all three facets of the game – offense, defense and goaltending,” he explained. “When we click on all cylinders, we put the puck in the net.”
Senior captain Dom Troisi is one of SJV’s top offensive players. He is among the state leaders in goals with 23. “He’s a great kid. He has speed, focus and leadership qualities,” said Messemer.
Junior captain AJ Micalizzi is SJV's top defenseman. “He is 6’ 3 with a big body,” said Messemer. “He keeps opponents outside (the defensive zone) and gets the puck to the net ”
Senior Jeff Ricci is another strong offensive contributor. He leads the team in assists with 19 and is second on the team with 14 goals.
SJV rotates goalies with junior Sal Benvenuto getting a majority of the playing time.
Expectations are high as SJV plays in the Dowd Cup Tournament. “We want to win as much hardware as possible,” said Messemer. “We came up short in the finals of the Egan Cup after winning it the last two seasons. We want to make up for not winning the Egan Cup by winning the Shore Conference (Dowd Cup) and then the state tournament.”
As SJV continues to play for the Dowd Cup, Messemer feels they need to continue to start off on the right foot and stay focused. “We need to get all three facets clicking at the same time when it matters,” he said. “The playoffs are a second season. It is one and done so we need to be focused.”
This did not seem to be a major concern, as they defeated Manalapan in the first round of the Dowd Cup, 4-1. SJV had a strong third period scoring three goals to lock up the victory. Menditto led all scorers with two goals. SJ LeComte and Troisi also scored. Rich Kulaszewski led all players with two assists. Goalie Benvenuto stopped 21 of Manalapan’s 22 shots on goal.
Their next game is against the fourth seed Middletown North on Feb. 18. SJV played Middletown North earlier in the season, winning a close game, 3-2.
SJV has experienced numerous successes in recent years. They won two straight Handchen Cups, one Dowd Cup and two Egan Cups. Messemer feels the program has a bright future. “We’ve had a lot of success. We want to continue to offer kids in the school the best chance to play at the highest level,” he said.
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