2017 Boys Ice Hockey Team

2017 Boys Ice Hockey Team

The 2016-17 Boys Ice Hockey Team had the most successful ice hockey season in Glen Rock High School history. It reached the All Groups, Bergen County final, captured the school’s first Group, State Championship and was named North Jersey’s Team of the Year.

After a decade-plus campaign by Glen Rock’s parents, Glen Rock High School finally agreed to have a varsity ice hockey team beginning in the 2001-02 school year, provided those parents agreed to fund the costs of the program, including the cost of practicing and playing at the Ice House of New Jersey in Hackensack.

At the start, Glen Rock was one of 68 high schools in the New Jersey Interscholastic Hockey League with the state’s schools divided by strength of program, not by the size of the student body, and by geographical location. Thus, Glen Rock was placed in the lowest league of the Northern Conference. However, over the next several years, with Sergio Fernandez as the team’s Head Coach, Glen Rock successfully earned promotion to the most competitive league.

By the 2011-12 season, Glen Rock began competing in the Group B, State Tournament. It reached the State Semifinal at the end of that season and at the end of the following season, the State Quarterfinal at the end of the 2013-14 season, the State Semifinal at the end of the 2014-15 season and then the State Championship Final at the end of the 2015-16 season (in Coach Fernandez’s tenth and final season as Head Coach). At the end of each of those seasons, Glen Rock was ranked in the Top 5 of all North Jersey Ice Hockey teams.

The 2016-17 Team capped that string of success with the most successful ice hockey season in Glen Rock High School history.

Led by new Head Coach Anthony Yelovich, the team won the Big North Gold league title, reached the Bergen County Tournament Final, and then won the school’s first Group, State Championship, defeating Wall High School by a score of 8-1. It ended being ranked #2 of all North Jersey Ice Hockey teams. Its final record was 22-3-4 with its only losses being to: Lakeland (in an early season game), to Bergen Catholic – a school that Glen Rock subsequently defeated in a rematch – and to Don Bosco in the Bergen County Championship final. In addition to that emphatic victory over Bergen Catholic, it also had a mid-season 5-2 victory over Ridge High School, the ultimate Group A, State Champion.

At the end of the season, The Record declared that the 2016-17 team was North Jersey’s Team of the Year.

The 2016-17 team was led by senior forward Jake Kinney, who led all North Jersey players with 59 points (29 goals and 30 assists), and was named North Jersey Player of the Year and received Second Team, All-State; First Team, Public B, All-State; First Team, All-North Jersey; and First Team, All-County honors. Senior Leo Pawlika (At Large) received Third Team, All-State; First Team, All-North Jersey; and First Team, All-County honors. Senior Peter Cassidy (Forward) received Second Team, All-North Jersey and First Team, All-County honors. Junior John LaMacchia (Defense) and Sophomore Ryan McAuley (Goalie) received Second Team, All-County honors, and Junior Matthew Maselli (Forward) and Senior Colin Morrow (Defense) received Third Team, All-County honors. Head Coach Yelovich was named New Jersey Coach of the Year (by NJ.com and The Star-Ledger).

Glen Rock High School has continued to have successful Ice Hockey teams but none that have attained the success of the 2016-17 team. In 2020, thanks to that team’s triumphant season, NJ.com selected Glen Rock’s Ice Hockey program as the 2010-19 Public School Program of Bergen County.

Head Coach – Anthony Yelovitch

Assistant Coaches : Frank DelTufo – Dillon Driver – Sergio Fernanadez – Zane Kalemba