Finishing off their first week of the season, after an even record with a win and a loss, the Tenafly High School Hockey team is hoping for a better season than last year.
On Friday, December 5, the Tenafly Hockey team opened its highly anticipated season, going up against River Dell High School. After a grueling 45 minutes of play, the Tigers came out with their first loss of the season. The final score was 7-3, with goals coming from Charlie Simon (’27), Troy Knause (’26), and Evan Moy (’27). Starting off the season 0-1 is never a good sign, but luckily the Tigers were able to flip the script and win their second game of the season, against Paramus Catholic. Tenafly had a shutout win, scoring four goals all coming from Knause.
“After the first game, we realized that our defense and goaltending were going to be the main issue for the season,” Knause said. “Moving forward, we focused on bottling up the middle of the ice and preventing shots that would come from dangerous areas. We also focused on playing a more complete game, and keeping the puck in the offensive zone.”
The Tigers ended last season with an even record of 11 wins and 11 losses. They reached the semifinal round of the Big North Silver Cup, losing to the eventual champions of the tournament, West Milford. Later in the season, the Tigers were a first-round exit in the State Tournament, losing to fourth seed West Essex. It’s safe to say that the Tigers had an average year, and weren’t able to make a deep run in the State Tournament; but this year’s team is hungry to bring back some silverware to Tenafly.
“We are looking to have an amazing season,” Simon said. “I believe that this team has the capability to make a very deep run in the State and Big North tournament. I think that some people are going to overlook us this year, but we are going to surprise a lot of them.”
Just two seasons ago, the Tigers were competing for a state championship, being recognized as one of the state’s best. Captains Ben Kushman (’26), and Troy Knause hope to bring that firepower to the team once again.
“One thing I noticed that has changed in the past two years is that we used to be more of a family,” Knause said. “One of our main focuses this season is spending time together. The more we bond with one another off the ice, the more chemistry this team will have.”
The Tigers’ next game is on Monday, December 15, against West Windsor-Plainsboro South, whom they have beaten three times out of their last five head-to-head games.
