The Lakeland ice hockey program gets its early-season motivation from the outside.
Every preseason, or at least it seems, the Lancers feel they’re overlooked when the rankings are released in late November.
Usually, it then takes a signature victory that puts Lakeland on the radar and gives them the recognition they feel they deserve.
This season, that relevant win was a 1-0 shutout of Indian Hills last week in just their fourth game of the campaign. The Dec. 13 victory marked the fifth straight year that the Lancers have defeated a state-ranked team to start the season.
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“Normally, we don’t have expectations from the outside in the early going,” said coach Nick Crouch, who is in his seventh season at Lakeland. “We play with somewhat of a chip on our shoulder. It motivates us, especially early on. These early-season wins are confidence boosters and helps set the tone for the rest of the year.”
Lakeland (5-0-2) is off to another fast start this season and is unbeaten through their first seven games. They played to a 1-1 tie against Northern Highlands (Dec. 7) and a 3-3 draw against Morris Knolls in the opening round of the Ice Vault Holiday Classic on Thursday.
A big part of their success has been its defense, led by first-year starting goaltender Ben Kopacki and junior Shane Strabinger. Kopacki has stopped 122-of-128 shots on goal and has three shutouts.
“Ben has really stepped up in his first full year as a starter,” Crouch said. “He’s waited his turn and has learned a lot in the last two years playing behind Luke Joyce. He’s playing like a veteran.
“We expect Shane to have an expanded role this year after significant playing time as a sophomore.”
The Lancers earned their fifth win of the season on Friday with a convincing 5-1 victory over rival West Milford-Pequannock (3-3-1) in regular-season action at the Ice Vault Arena in Wayne. Five different Lancers scored goals as Lakeland jumped out to a 3-0 first period lead.
Hunter Quinn and Joey Cole scored and had an assist and Scott Martin, Matt Coiley and Charlie Wogisch also had goals. Ryan Ulhorn, Joey Wogisch and Brenden Davison had assists.
Returning to the Lancers lineup this season are senior captains Bobby Wogisch, Kevin Sidow and Coiley as well as junior forwards Joey Cole and Scott Martin. So far Cole leads the team in scoring with 8 points (5 goals, 3 assists), followed by junior Hunter Quinn with 7 points (3 goals, 4 assists) and Martin (4 goals, 1 assist) and Coiley (3 goals, 2 assists) with five points apiece.
“I’ve known a lot of these kids since they were in grade school. They’ve played for the Junior Lancers program and some have had older brothers that played for me at Lakeland,” said Crouch, who is 104-44-10 at Lakeland. “They all understand the culture and how we do things around here. Our program has become a cohesive team and made up of kids who want to stay home and play for Lakeland in front of their friends and family. You don’t see that much anymore from a public school program.”
The Lancers other victories this season include Wayne Hills (4-1), Ramapo (3-0) and Wall (3-0).
Crouch reached a career milestone in the season-opening win over Wayne Hills on Nov. 29 when he won his 100th game at Lakeland.
“It’s always a good thing when we can beat Wayne. It was a great way to start off the season,” Crouch said.
Last season Lakeland finished with a 19-5-1 record and captured its fifth Passaic County Tournament title when they defeated Wayne, 6-3 in the championship game. It marked the fifth straight year the Lancers reached the county final.
In the NJSIAA playoffs, Lakeland reached the quarterfinal round for the third time in four years.
Lakeland hits the ice on Friday night against Montclair when the Ice Vault Holiday Classic resumes action and wraps up the tournament next Monday night against Summit.
“I want to see our team get tough and battle adversity as the season progresses,” Crouch said. “We need to keep our emotions in check and grow every game. We will compete and hopefully be playing our best hockey later in the season.”
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