At full strength, Nutley ice hockey head coach David Macri sees a team with the talent to compete night in and night out in the always-competitive NJIIHL Kelly Division.
Like so many other teams however, Nutley has often been at far less than complete due injuries and availability.
Even so, Nutley, which is in a tri-op with Bloomfield and Columbia, is 3-2 on the young season after defeating Lakeland, 6-3, on Sunday night.
“We’ve got a handful of guys with experience and skill and when we have all of those guys, we’re a competitive team,” said Macri. “When we don’t have those guys, we’ve got inexperience and youth that is finding its way through the varsity landscape.
“When we are firing on all cylinders, we’re in the race, we’re in the game. We’re a completely different team.”
The biggest reason is senior center Christian Sherman, one of the premier players in the entire NJIIHL.
In three games this season, Sherman has an astonishing nine goals and nine assists. When Sherman, who has 165 career points, has been on the ice, Nutley is 3-0.
“He’s all-around, by far, our best player. He’s one of the best players in our whole conference, let alone our division,” Macri said of Sherman, who also plays high-level club hockey. “That’s not always the best position to be in since it’s a lot of pressure to come in, a lot of pressure to make games. It’s tough but he handles it. He does a good balancing act and he handles everything.”
Joining Sherman on the top line are two talented offensive players in their own right in senior captain Angelo “AJ” Albanese (seven goals, seven assists) and sophomore Abel Grimaldi (three goals, six assists).
“Christian will draw players to him. They have to cover him, otherwise he’s going to score and then he can dish to AJ or he can dish to Abel,” said Macri. “AJ’s got a very good shot. AJ can put the puck in the net from just about anywhere. He and Christian just work so well together.”
When Sherman has been unavailable, promising freshman Will Danton has moved up to the wing with Grimaldi shifting to center. Seniors Dominic Searls and Reese McGowan play along with Danton on the second line.
The third and four lines are still largely up in the air with several players seeking to fill the defensive-centric roles. Freshmen Ryan Flores and Liam Garland and junior John Paul Poplawski have shown potential in the role.
William Jacquin, Holly Leto, Shayna Baldwin, Zohara Attar, Ethan Marguiles, Jack Hafif, Ethan Legra and Brody Fetherman are all vying for time at forward as well.
On defense, juniors Ryan Coon (three goals, two assists) and Trevor Romonowski (one goal, two assists) have been developed into a very solid top pairing for Nutley.
“They’re our twin towers. They’re both big, strong, solid defensemen,” Macri said. “Trevor brings a little more mobility to the game and Ryan brings a little bit more physicality to the game. The two of them are rock solid for us.”
Junior Matt Gennings is an experienced defenseman and freshman Lucas Castillo has shown that he has a very bright future on the blueline. Freshman Brian Madsen, sophomore Christian Deluca and senior Daniel Kopcha are also vying for ice time.
Senior Aiden Rosamilia returns at goalie and brings two-plus years of starting experience. Rosamilia had one of the finest performances of his career on Sunday, making 44 saves in the 6-3 win over Lakeland.
“Aiden has just stepped up his game even further,” said Macri. No matter how good or how bad things are going on the ice, he has the ability to stay focused and he’s always smiling and having fun playing the game.”
Junior Alex Madsen is the top backup in goal with freshman Sammy Martin and sophomore Sam Koehler providing added depth.
Nutley looks to avenge an early-season loss to Scotch Plains-Fanwood on Tuesday before beginning the Essex Holiday Tournament on Thursday against Madison. Nutley also plays Mendham on Saturday and Watchung Hills on Sunday as part of the tournament.
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Jason Bernstein | Observer Sports Writer
Jason Bernstein joined The Observer as its sports writer in March 2022, following the retirement of Jim Hague. He has a wealth of sports-writing experience, including for NJ Advance Media (nj.com, The Jersey Journal, The Star-Ledger.)