by Boscohockey | Jan 22, 2018
Article Courtesy of Darren Cooper, northjersey.com: https://www.northjersey.com/story/sports/columnists/darren-cooper/2018/01/03/high-school-ice-hockey-cooper-ironmen-revel-opportunity-play-citi-field-don-bosco/1002306001/
NEW YORK – The signature sounds of planes flying overhead was constant. So was the sound of the goal horn.
Don Bosco scored early and often Wednesday evening at Citi Field, downing the Hun School, 8-1, on the same ice that hosted the NHL’s Winter Classic between the Sabres and Rangers on New Year’s Day.
Over the years, the final score will surely be forgotten, but what will linger was the opportunity that the Ironmen had to play in one of the more unique settings in all of sports.
“This is one of the best experiences I have ever had in my life,” said Don Bosco junior Tyler Sedlak, who had a hat trick. “It was awesome.”
“I just thought the atmosphere was pretty cool,” agreed Ironmen sophomore Robby Greenleaf. “The ice, walking out the tunnel with the fans behind you. It was a good experience.”
Dean Toskos and Jack Foye, sons of the Ironmen head coach and assistant coach, respectively, led the Ironmen out onto the ice just after 4:30 p.m. with the sun still peeking through the clouds.
During pregame warm-ups, even one of the referees called what looked to be his son on to the ice for a quick picture.
How did the Ironmen get to play at the home of the Mets? Four years ago, Don Bosco had the chance to play at Yankee Stadium when part of the NHL’s “Stadium Series” was staged there. The Ironmen tied CBA. When Greg Toskos, the Ironmen head coach, found out about this year’s Winter Classic being at Citi Field, he began to make some phone calls to see about whether the ice would be available.
Before the game, Toskos downplayed his role, but it was obvious this was something he wanted to do for his team and school. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
“This is something different,” said Toskos. “This doesn’t come around every year. We didn’t plan this. This may not come around for 10 more years, who knows what the NHL will do? But if it does, we will put our name in the hat and love to do it again. This is pretty cool stuff.”
After some pregame introductions, the puck was dropped, and Don Bosco scored on its initial rush. It only took 14 seconds.
That just opened the floodgates, as the Ironmen demonstrated precision passing at close range and bombarded the Raiders net. It was 3-0 after the first period, 6-0 after two.
Toskos said every player got a chance in the game and was clearly pleased with how his team performed.
“We had some beautiful goals,” said Toskos. “Some of the goals were tic-tac-toe goals. Sedlak has a Division I release, the way he shoots the puck. And it’s nice to see some of the other guys get on the scoresheet too. That helps everyone get into the flow of the game.”
Don Bosco senior defenseman George Weiner was the talk of the locker room, because after his first goal, he mimicked hitting a home run out of the ball park with his stick, looking up into the stands.
“He got a little creative with that one,” said Toskos with a smile.
“That was pretty funny,” said Sedlak. “He said he would do that before the game. He scored and did what he said.”
The Hun School was unable to match the Ironmen’s firepower and depth, but the Raiders shouldn’t feel bad. Don Bosco has been the dominant force in North Jersey ice hockey for quite some time.
Toskos stopped short of calling this his best team, but did say at this point in the season, well, it’s hard to find many faults.
“Clearly, we have a lot [of talent],” said Toskos. “The core of this team has been together since they were mites, and they have been playing together for what, 12, 13 years? This is a culmination of all that time playing together. And it’s not just Sedlak and [Mickey] Burns, it’s Campo [John Campomenosi] and [TJ] Schweighardt and Weiner and [Graham] Garlasco, all of them playing together. It’s cool to see.”
Near the end of the game, Toskos was still pointing out good efforts made by his back-ups. They were talking about how much they wanted a snow day from school Thursday.
Before the game, Toskos had made a point of telling the kids to soak it all in, the stadium, the ice…the airplanes. The time was going to fly.
by Boscohockey | Dec 27, 2017
Article courtesy of Greg Tartaglia (Northjersey.com): http://www.northjersey.com/story/sports/high-school/hockey/2017/12/22/don-bosco-defeats-hockey-rival-stay-unbeaten/977709001/
WAYNE – Even when shorthanded, the Don Bosco hockey team seems not to be at too great a disadvantage.
The Ironmen scored two shorthanded goals on the same Bergen Catholic power play Friday at Ice Vault. The tallies came just 1:02 apart in the third period of a 7-2 win over the Crusaders on Rivalry Night.
On the surface, it appeared to be a rare feat.
“Not for this team,” Don Bosco coach Greg Toskos said. “We actually had three shorthanded goals against CBA on Monday.”
The victory at Christian Brothers Academy gave the Ironmen (9-0-1) a season sweep over their NJIHL Gordon Conference American Division opponent. Throw in a win at Delbarton – the school that defeated Don Bosco in last winter’s Non-Public state final – and a road sweep of Massachusetts powers Catholic Memorial and Boston College High, and their unbeaten record seems that much more impressive.
“As a team, everyone’s jelling really quickly, and you can’t ask for more than that,” said Tyler Sedlak, who had two goals and two assists versus Bergen Catholic (1-5-1).
“Everybody loves each other in the locker room, nobody has any grudges against each other, and every day – practice, game, no matter what – everybody gives it their all.”
The theme of brotherhood runs deep at Don Bosco.
Last season, the squad honored a player of the game for each contest with a helmet covered in “TK” stickers – honoring the late Army Maj. Thomas Kennedy, a former Don Bosco player who was killed in the line of duty in Afghanistan in 2012.
This winter, the postgame talisman being passed around is “Artie,” a red and gold field artillery baseball cap. It was sent to the Ironmen by Lt. Colonel John Nawoichyk, a longtime friend of Kennedy’s.
Friday, the hat went to Sedlak, one of a pair of four-point scorers along with Vermont-bound center Mickey Burns (shorthanded goal, three assists).
On a night when Don Bosco wore its “TK” camouflage jerseys, the team also dressed an extra, honorary player: 5-year-old Kai from Washington, D.C., whose father, Tyrone Woods, was a former Navy SEAL that died in the 2012 Benghazi attack.
“I know Kai had a blast, but I think it was even more fun for us to have him around,” Burns said. “He toured our school on Thursday, came to practice that night, and everyone here loved him.”
The youngster got to see the Ironmen score four times on special teams, including power-play tallies from Tsubasa Konishi and John Campomenosi. Net-minder Max Schwarz made 17 saves and was credited with an assist on Sedlak’s shorthanded goal.
The Bergen-Bosco clash will be the only one this season, since the Crusaders have moved down to the Gordon Conference National Division. They played virtually all of their American crossover games early on and notched their win and tie against division foes Gloucester Catholic and St. Peter’s Prep, respectively.
Chris Branch finished with 41 saves for Bergen Catholic, while Will Prinz and Tommy Kleinman supplied the goals.
by Boscohockey | Dec 27, 2017
The Don Bosco Prep Varsity hockey team will be facing off against the Hun School at CitiField on Wednesday, January 3rd as part of the Winter Classic Series, which includes the NHL’s primetime game on January 1st with the New York Rangers taking on the Buffalo Sabres. Puck drop is scheduled for the Ironmen at 4:30pm.
The Ironmen are set to face off against the Hun School at CitiField
by Boscohockey | Dec 6, 2017
The 2017-2018 Don Bosco Prep Ice Hockey team has enjoyed a nice start to their season, going 4-0-1 in their first 5 games of the young season, with an impressive 28 goals for and only 8 goals against.
The Ironmen started the season with a pair to back-to-back 6-1 victories against Pope John and Gloucester Catholic, respectively.
The Ironmen then traveled to Newark to take on the Pirates of Seton Hall Prep at the Prudential Center on November 29th. It was the goalies, however, who stole the spoils for any player hoping to score on the big stage, as the teams ended the game in a scoreless tie.
The sticks woke up once again for Don Bosco in the next game however, putting away Gordon Conference rival CBA 4-1 two nights later.
The aforementioned newly awakened sticks then exploded for 11 goals in a wild game vs. St. Augustine, who received a total of 8pts (2g, 6a) from their senior captain, Mickey Burns. Tyler Sedlak and Tsubasa Konishi each recorded three goals and three assists for Boys in Maroon and White.
Next up, the Ironmen hit the road to take on the Green Wave of Delbarton in a crucial Gordon Conference and Non-Public matchup at Aspen Ice Arena on December 12th at 4:45pm.
by Boscohockey | Dec 6, 2017
It were the goalies who stole the show on the big stage as the Ironmen and Seton Hall Prep Pirates fought their way to a scoreless deadlock after 45 minutes of play at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, home of the New Jersey Devils.
“It was a pretty good hockey game out there,” Bosco coach Greg Toskos said. “I thought Seton Hall came out pretty hard. We knew they were going to be a good hockey team, a much improved hockey team. We controlled a good portion of the play there. The last eight or nine minutes, we were really pressing to get that goal. Their goaltender made some really good saves and he played outstanding.
“But overall, it was a well-fought Gordon Conference game in a fantastic venue.”
The Ionmen hope to find themselves returning to the Prudential Center in the early spring, not to attend a Devil’s game, but for a shot at the state title on March 5th.
“It was a real special night,” Toskos said. “I think the kids really enjoyed it. They enjoyed everything from warming up and kicking the ball around, doing the soccer thing, to having fun. We dressed in the visitor’s locker room here which was awesome. Look, the Devils won three Stanley Cups, none of them were here but it’s still a really special place.”
Tristian Reese during the game at the Pru Center
by Boscohockey | Dec 6, 2017
The Ironmen Go Global as many alumni of the program have started or continued their professional hockey careers during the 2017-2018 season.
Rj Burns in a recent game.
RJ Burns ’11, former Captain of the Ironmen before competing at SUNY Geneseo for 3 years, is currently playing for Söderhamn/Ljusne in the Swedish Division II League. He is enjoying a good start to his season with 7 points in his first 13 games.
Craig Wyszomirski, former Bosco blue line anchor, has recently begun what will be his second full year of professional hockey with Manchester Monarchs of the ECHL, who are affiliates of the Los Angeles Kings. Wyz joined the squad to finish out their season after completing his collegiate career at Merrimack College in the 2015-2016. During the 2016-2017, Wyz and his teammates enjoyed a deep run in the Kelly Cup playoffs, before being knocked out in 6 games during the 3rd round. He was also called up for 3 games to the Ontario Reign, the AHL affiliate.
Chris (Chuck) Carroll ’13, a graduate of Drexel University and former member of the ACHA DI team, is currently lacing up for the Ulm/Neu-Ulm Devils in the Landesliga Bayern.
