Vol. 56 Issue 9 Saint Joseph Regional High School, Montvale, NJ Thursday, Febuary 14, 2019

The GuardianGreen Knights Attend March for Life in DC

ASPA 1st-Place High School Newspaper 2016, 2017, 2018

Connor Tsikitas ‘19A handful of Green Knights has the privilege to travel to our nation’s capital with Mr. LoGiudice this month for the 46th annual March for Life. This march has taken place every year, with its participants having high hopes to one day march and chant the Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision to legalize abortion away. This group included three members of the SJR Respect Life Club, namely Presi-dent Connor Tsikitas ‘19, Vice President Alexander Maleski ‘19, and Gavin Hughes ‘20, as well as Victor Tomaszewski ‘19, Ryan Collins ‘20, and our director of Campus Ministry Mr. LoGiudice.

The group met with members of the St. Elizabeth parish in Wyckoff, NJ, at 6 AM for Mass, a quick breakfast, and a hop onto the bus that would take about five hours to reach DC. Once they arrived, the Green Knights were greeted by a crowd to witness the Vice President of the United States, Michael Pence, giving a speech on recent events and efforts to reduce abortion access throughout the country. President Donald Trump also had a (video) announcement, in which he said that he would veto any bill that reached his desk that would infringe upon anyone’s right to live, especially unborn children.

Other key speakers included Senator Steve Daines (R-MT); Congressman Dan Lipinski (D-IL); Congressman Chris Smith (R-NJ); State Representa-tive Katrina Jackson (D-LA); Ben Sha-piro, editor-in-chief of The Daily Wire; Abby Johnson, founder of And Then There Were None; Dr. Alveda King, Director of Civil Rights for the Unborn with Priests for Life; Dr. Kathi Aultman, fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists; Ally Cavazos, President of Princeton Pro-Life; Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knights of Co-lumbus; and Archbishop Joseph Nau-mann, Chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Pro-life Activities Committee. All speakers had inspirational and informative speeches with regard to pro-life governmental en-deavors, providing the rally participants with the motivation to not only march for life, but also to continue to promote

change with regard to the state of freedom of abortion in the United States and inform others of the dangers of and truth behind abortion.

In the mid-afternoon, the estimated 100,000 participants from around the country, most of whom were members of the “pro-life generation”, took to the streets of Washington, DC, to do what they came to do: march. The crowd began by the National Museum of American History, near the Washington Monument, and traveled to the United States Supreme Court building many blocks away. Various groups led chants and prayers to promote the protection of unborn children throughout the march, in hopes that abortion will come to an end in the US sooner rather than later.

Overall, the Green Knights who attended the march had an eye-opening experience during the day. Seeing the likes of the Vice President himself speak, as well as joining Ameri-cans from across the country in the march itself, was a truly humbling experience. The overall feel of the day can be summed up by Ryan Collins ‘20. “It was a great experience that I will remember for the rest of my life. I’m so happy I was able to take part in such an important event. We got to hear some amazing speakers and I learned a lot from it.”

Gavin Hughes ‘20, Connor Tsikitas ‘19, Mr. Joe LoGiudice, Ryan Collins ‘20, Victor Tomaszewski ‘19 and Alex Maleski ‘19 in front of the Supreme Court Building.

2 The Guardian, Thursday, Febuary 14th, 2019

Opinion

Please email Letters to the Editor to sjrguardian@sjrnj.org

Remembering MLK

Editors-in-Chief: Luke Berninger, Rory Finn, Kieran WoodsManaging Editor: Matthew MazzeiEditorial Page Editor: Gavin HughesSports Editors: Anthony Kassis, Niko MokanosEntertainment Editor: Quinn BurnsPhotography Editors: Christian Glass, Aaron JarmuschStaff Writers: Patrick Buckley, Carlos Buelvas, Ryan Collins, Jake Epstein, Deron Lama, Alex Malfa, Sebastian McChesney, James Gilhooley, Aidan McGovern, Dean Tobin, Connor Tsikitas, Aidan Woods, Jake YoffeeModerator: Mr. FitzSimons, Mr. Vreeland

The Guardian Staff

This Monday schools across the country had a day of absence due to the celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day is a federal holiday celebrated on the third Monday of January which is right around the time of King’s birthday January 15th. MLK was the leader of the civil rights movement that transpired in America from 1954 till his death in 1968. Dr. King was one of if not the most important civil rights activists in the desegregation of schools, the workplace, and public accom-modations throughout the American South. His work with the black population during the time shaped the standard of racial equality we know today.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is best known for his “I Have a Dream” speech during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in August of 1963 which eventually enabled the ratification of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. His list of accomplishments far exceeds this speech. Accomplishments including the Nobel Peace Prize of 1964, the Montgomery bus boycott that lasted for 381 days, and leading the Selma to Montgomery marches which prohibited the government from preventing black suffrage in the South. Along with these accolades Dr. King was arrested and jailed 29 times while also being stabbed in 1958.

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness: Only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that” This quote from MLK may be more important in today’s polit-ical world than it was fifty years ago. Our country is more divided today than it has ever been but not because of racial segregation but because of intellectual segregation. With

both sides of the political parties demeaning alternatives ways of think on issues the wall between Right Wing and Left Wing ideology has never been taller. Politicians on both sides favor this hatred between two parties because the more polar Americans are the easier it is to control them and to win votes on their behalf. We should all consider MLK’s message and accept all forms of thinking despite partisan affiliation.

Dr. King’s march from Selma, AL to the state’s capital Montgomery in March 1965 was significant in that it inspired all men and women across the country despite race or religion to come to a small town called Selma in south central Alabama. The protest was used to raise the awareness of President Johnson about the voting strug-gles that blacks had in the South. At the time only 2% of blacks eligible to vote in Alabama were allowed to vote. President Johnson wouldn’t pass any bills that would accommodate blacks in the South despite his close rela-tionship with Martin Luther King Jr. The more Johnson procrastinated legislation, the more innocent Ameri-

cans (white and black) were getting beaten and sometimes killed by Selma policemen and Alabama state troopers. Johnson and King’s conflict can represent the conflict that President Trump has faced with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. All though this may be a lofty claim, the government shutdown become a standoff between President Trump and Demo-cratic Congressmen and women. Trump’s proposal of $5.7 billion for the border wall was met with moral accusations and slanderous comments from Speaker of the House Nan-cy Pelosi and Democrats like Adam Schiff and Kamala Har-ris. This standoff has many similarities to the problem that President Lyndon B. Johnson faced with the voting rights in the South. The more he waited the more African-Americans were segregated and intimidated.

The more Trump’s waits to build the wall, the more illegal immigrants have a better chance of entering our country.

Gavin Hughes ‘20

The Guardian, Thursday, Febuary 14th, 2019 3

FeatureAirPods vs. Beats

Jake Epstein ‘20phone’s electronics (volume control, and pause button). The buds themselves are comfortable and fit snug in your ear and unlike the Airpods one size fits all design, the Beats X come with four interchangeable silicon tips for customizable comfort. Overall, I feel that the wire on the BeatsX takes away from the feel of a truly wireless device. I found that the wire often curled behind my neck and in most circumstanc-es just got in the way. When trying to work out in them I couldn’t help but notice the wire clanking on my back with every step. But performance wise, the BeatsX holds up in my books.

There are not many performance differences between the earbuds, and that is due Apple’s W1 chip, which is used in both devices and takes bluetooth listening to the next level. It allows for a longer battery life in both the Airpods and the BeatsX and it increases the range of listening to 150 feet, a number unheard of in the bluetooth world.

If you’re looking for a pair of earphones to be used in things such as physical activities, making phone calls, or simple travel, I would choose Apple’s Airpods. One key feature about the Airpods is that they are truly wireless earbuds unlike the BeatsX. They may take a little more out of the pocket but in my opinion the Airpods are the best way to go with wireless earphones.

To Beats or not to Beats, that is the question. In today’s day and age, consumers are surrounded by the newest craze in the tech industry, which is currently Wireless Earphones. Since the release of the Airpods and the Beats X Wireless, pretty much everywhere you go, you can see people going about their day with these devices hanging out of their ears, which leaves wired-users wondering what the craze is all about. Should you ditch your bulky headphones for a more cost efficient, travel savvy alternative, or will it all just be a bust in the long run? This decision is left to personal pref-erence, but overall these wireless devices are proving to be a nice surrogate to the previous wired technology we all have used. To be honest, I think you should make the switch.

The leader of Wireless Earphone industry is none oth-er than the tech kingpin Apple. Even after their biggest shortfall on the market in the past six years, which began with their “failed” launch of the iPhone XR, the company is dominating the wireless industry. Their most popular products of 2019, according to Best Buy, are their Airpods and Beats X Wireless earbuds, and they are taking the tech industry by storm. Now, when faced with the choice of getting the Beats X Wireless or Apple’s Airpods, many are left wondering where to turn. But fear not, this tough choice can simplified when looking at what sets these devices apart from each other.

Apple’s airpods are in my eyes one of the best products to hit the tech market. They take away the hassle of using wires and their simplistic design is like eye candy to tech lovers. Its W1 chip (which is also used in the BeatsX) gives unique features that are only available to Airpods, like pairing to an iOS device within seconds. Pairing Airpods to an Apple device has never been easier since the dawn of the new chip. Sim-ply open your case within range and they will automatically pair with the owner’s iP-hone in around three seconds. The sound quality of the device is incomparable and from personal use, I can say that Airpods are one of the best devices on the wireless market.

Though marketed as wireless, the BeatsX are Apple’s take on classic neckband-style earbuds. The device is held together by a thin wire, with mix of hard plastic and rubber that covers the two buds of the device. The buds of the device are equally weighted around your neck, one contains the battery and the other holds the ear-

4 The Guardian, Thursday, Febuary 14th, 2019

Feature

Aidan Woods ‘22Curtains Close on Bright Star

Joe’s stage look very professional and feeling very prepared.

Thomasina Hyland is in charge of getting all of the actors’ costumes together which is a lot easier said than done. Thomasina was responsible for getting together over 190 costumes including 33 costumes total for the three Alices’

Hillary Barnett is another huge reason that the theater pro-gram runs so amazingly. Hillary helps the actors by sending emails to the actors to make sure that they get to all of the rehearsals and helps create the book and to put the journal ads together.

Along with the experience from Sciotto the band that Saint Joe’s was able to bring in was amazing. Five of the nine people that played in the band were the people that played the music on Broadway. The group was also accompanied by Richard Todd Adams as the conductor, and Edward F. Ginter on the piano. Lastly, none of this would have been able to happen without the producer, John Asselta, who makes the whole theater program run so smoothly.

Bright Star is a musical that is written and composed by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell. The story takes place in North Carolina during the 1940’s with flashbacks going back to the 1920’s. The musical is very thoughtful and there is a very big surprise at the end that the audience would be able to have figured out if they paid close attention to detail in the show.

It was a big surprise when Saint Joe’s announced that they were going to do the show Bright Star. It is unlike any of the shows that Saint Joe’s has ever done. The music is bluegrass and and the lyrics are very deep and meaningful to the show.

The show centers around Alice Murphy who is played by three different girls Sarah Becker IHA 20’, Kassi McMillan 19’, and Christina Priestner PHHS 22’, and her relationship with a young soldier named Billy Cane, who aspires to be a writer. Billy is played by Luke Berninger 19’, Brendan Moran 21’, and Marc Rivera 20’.

Alice finds her true love when she finds Jimmy Ray played by Patrick Buckley 19’ and Zach Mackiewicz 20’. Jimmy Ray falls right back in love with Alice and that is what the story is based around in the 1920’s, and in the 1940’s the story is based around Billy and he finds his love in Margo Crawford played by Chloe Hodnett Riverdell 21’ and Kylie Mcvey Ridgewood 21’.

There is a big surprise at the end of Act 1 when the may-or played by Quinn Burns 21’ and Ben Hajek 21’ take Alice’s baby and throw it off of a train. That was a big surprise in the show and kept the audience ready and excited for Act 2.

The beginning of Act 2 started talking about the there is still hope for Alice, and the “Sun in Gonna Shine Again.” This was a very appropriate way for the act to start con-sidering she just got her baby taken away from her.

The final act of the show is just amazing. Jimmy Ray, Alice, Billy, and Margo are on stage and Alice announc-es that she found out who her baby boy was, and that she had been working with him the whole time. Her baby boy that was taken away was Billy, which was very surprising, and then Jimmy Ray proposes to Alice and Billy proposes to Margo and that concluded the show.

The show was absolutely incredible all around. The di-rector and choreographer was Eric Sciotto and this was his first winter musical directing at Saint Joe’s after pre-viously working on broadway. He was able to bring his broadway experience and make what was on the Saint

Jake Yoffee ‘19

The Guardian, Thursday, Febuary 14th, 2019 5

News Student Assessment on Quarterlies

Studying for multiple exams on the same day can be very stressful. In some cases, students not only had to study for their quarterly exams, but other marking period tests and quizzes at the same time. Teachers do not want to fall behind in their curriculum. Therefore some teachers assigned a normal test during quar-terlies week which affected a number of students. “Having to study for quarterlies while at the same time keeping up with regular classes was exceptionally difficult,” said Kevin Kharkov ‘19. An exact schedule of each test is a way where we can all benefit from.

The first marking period quarterlies were unfortu-nately placed at one of the most stressful times for high school seniors. The early action deadline around the start of November was the same week as the first go-round of the exams. “The transition to quarterlies this year has been tough, especially for the seniors in the first quarter. The early action deadline for college being in the same week as the exams was extremely stressful. Trying to get all of that organized along with multiple essays due and big tests to study for creates a really overwhelming situation,” said Ryan Tuttle ‘19

Another issue that came up with the exams is that students did not get an adequate enough time or preparation in a couple cases. There were rare cases that students were told a couple days before their exam about the subject matter. Midterms and finals were a really big deal in terms of the preparation for it. This is not to say that quarterlies aren’t a big deal, but there is definitely a decrease in preparation for the new exams. In previous years, classes would spend a couple days reviewing material in class. Since the quarterlies are taken during the school day and not alloted for during a specific week, the preparation time decreased. Exam re-views do take place, but not for the duration and detail that they need to be.

So what are ways we as a school can facilitate and decrease the difficulty of these quarterlies? A calendar or schedule with the exact dates that each exam falls on needs to be created. Teachers should also be held accountable when they do not give their exam on the day they are supposed to. A more extensive review for the quarterlies should be put into place to help out the students. Finally, spacing them out would be extremely beneficial.

Quarterlies might seem worse than they are because it a new scheme for all of us, but we need to be exploring ways to take stress of not only students, but teachers as well. Hopefully these frustration can be understood and turned into a positive outcome for the next exams to come.

The SJR administration put an end to midterms and final exams at the end of the 2018 school year, and began a quar-terly system for the first time this school year. Quarterlies are exams or different assignments that take place at the end of each marking period. They are worth 20% for each mark-ing period, which is a pretty significant amount.

The process of quarterlies is new to everyone, but a lot of students are unhappy by the way they things are going. It is unclear if quarterlies are worrying students because they are new or just difficult, but most believe quarterlies are over-whelming.

Almost nothing runs smoothly the first time it happens, but the students that are frustrated with quarterlies want their feedback to be heard. The overall problem with the assessments is that there were some inconsistencies. Senior Thomas Walsh said, “Quarterlies were very overwhelming because the teachers were not all on the same page. For example, I had two quarterly exams, a quarterly essay, and a regular marking period quiz all in the same day.” After the first quarterly, the administration created a rule that tried to split up half the subjects into two separate weeks. Some feel that this tweak was a tremendous improvement, although some teachers failed to do that.

6 The Guardian, Thursday, Febuary 14th, 2019

Bright Star

Counter-clockwise from top (All pictures L-R):

Patrick Buckley ‘19 singing the emotional “Heartbreaker” scene;

Luke Berninger ‘19 preparing for the voyage to Asheville;

Zach Mackiewicz ‘20 leans in for the kiss with Alice (Chris-tina Priestner PHHS ‘22);

Ensemble members gaze in awe as Billy and Margot fall in love;

All photos by Joannie Troast

The Guardian, Thursday, Febuary 14th, 2019 7

Bright Star

Clockwise from top (All pictures L-R):

The plot comes together as all realizations are made and pasts are restored;

Quinn Burns ‘21 reminiscing of the past the night he found young Billy;

Brendan Moran ‘21 jumps for joy when realizing his story would be published;

Members of the ensemeble have another round with Lucy, Darrell and Billy.

All photos by Joannie Troast

8 The Guardian, Thursday, Febuary 14th, 2019

SportsWrestling Continues to Succeed

and Padilla ‘22 (145) and Stapleton ‘20 (160) both won by decision. Cetta ‘21 (138), Sgambellone ‘20 (152), Davis ‘19 (182), Toranzo ‘21 (220), and Friday ‘21 (285) all won their matches by pinfall. Bierdumpfel ‘20 (120) won his match 3-1 in sudden victory overtime, and Alvarez ‘19 (132) won his match by technical fall 20-4.

The prestigious Escape the Rock Tournament in Council Rock, PA was next on the Green Knights’ bucket list. Joe Manno ‘22 (106), Bierdumpfel ‘20 (120), Alvarez ‘19 (126), Cetta ‘21 (132), Sgambellone ‘20 (145), Sanjuan ‘20 (152), Stapleton ‘20 (160), Farinaro ‘21 (170), Schlett ‘21 (182), Davis ‘19 (195), Toranzo ‘21 (220), and Sidle ‘21 (285) all participated in the tournament. Joe Manno ‘22 and Alvarez ‘19 won their matches straight through quarterfinals the first day, and by the end of the second day, Alvarez ‘19 won 1st Place, Joe Manno ‘22 won 2nd, Sgambellone ‘20 won 4th, and Bierdumpfel ‘20 and Farinaro ‘21 won 8th.

Moving forward, the SJR Wrestling team is working towards dual meets such as those against Bergen Catholic and Don Bosco Prep, as well as post-season tournaments in the not-so-distant future. The Green Knights seek to impress their remaining opponents, and to put on a show as a team in the District, Region, and State Tournaments in February and March.

For high school wrestlers in and beyond the state of New Jersey, January is a crucial month. This 31-day period holds most of the duals and tournaments in the season, and wrestlers’ performances in these bouts can determine their seeding in post-season tournaments, which can make or break their shot at an individual or team title or rank. The Green Knights wrestlers took this month seriously and walked on and off the mat with their head held high every match, looking forward to their next stop on their road to post-season tournaments.

SJR began the month with a 53-21 win over River Dell High School. Joe Manno ‘22 (113), Alvarez ‘19 (132), Cetta ‘21 (138), Sgambellone ‘20 (152), Schlett ‘21 (195), and Toran-zo ‘21 (220) all won their respective matches with exciting pins. Bierdumpfel ‘20 (126) won his match with a technical fall 16-0, Stapleton ‘20 (160) had a huge 8-1 decision vic-tory, and Sidle ‘21 (285) won a close match with a decision 3-2. Padilla ‘22 (145) and Davis ‘19 (182) also had hard-fought matches on the mat that night.

Next came the Sam Cali Battle for the Belt Tournament in West Orange, NJ, to which 9 SJR Wrestlers traveled: Mar-cus Rivera ‘22 (120), Sammy Alvarez ‘19 (132), Roberto Padilla ‘22 (138), Devin Stapleton ‘20 (152), Jack Farinaro ‘21 (170), Scott Schlett ‘21 (182), Kevin Davis ‘19 (195), Michael Toranzo ‘21 (220), and Erich Sidle ‘21 (285). After a long weekend of wrestling their hearts out, Jack Farinaro ‘21 (170) won 4th Place, and Sammy Alvarez ‘19 (132) and Michael Toranzo ‘21 (220) won 6th Place.

Days after the Sam Cali tournament, the Green Knights had a heartbreaking loss at the hands of DePaul Catholic, 36-30. The team started off well; Joe Manno ‘22 (113) and Bier-dumpfel ‘20 (120) had impressive wins, Alvarez ‘19 (132) had a great victory, Cetta ‘21 (138) dominated ending with a pin, but soon enough the Spartans caught up to the Green Knights. Even with an impressive pin by Toranzo ‘21 (220), and an exciting victory by Schlett ‘21 (195), SJR couldn’t seal the deal against DePaul. This, of course, did not take away from the hard work put in by anyone who lost a match that night, and it only motivated the team to fight their hearts out in future matches.

Days after their loss, SJR wrestlers clobbered Ridgewood 50-18. Bierdumpfel ‘20 (126), Alvarez ‘19 (132), Schlett ‘21 (182), and Friday ‘21 (220) all had pins; and Padilla ‘22 (145) and Sanjuan ‘20 (152) both won by major decision. Sheahan ‘20 (285) also had a strong fight before getting pinned towards the end of the first period of his match.

The Green Knights then went on to beat Paramus Catholic 48-24. Joe Manno ‘22 (113) 17-6 won by major decision,

Connor Tsikitas ‘19

The Guardian, Thursday, Febuary 14th, 2019 9

SportsBowling Thriving

After the holiday break, the Green Knights came back and defeated DePaul by a score of 7-0. Junior Ross Foothorap led the way with his best series of the year. He bowled a 196 in game one, 208 in game two and then he finished strong with a 206. The star junior stepped up big in a big league match for the team. On January 16th, Athletic Director Damion Logan took over as coach for the day as Coach Nick Delahanty was unable to attend. The Green Knights defeated Eastside 5-2 and allowed Mr. Logan to pick up his first win as a varsity bowling coach.

On Saturday, January 19th, the team competed in the Bergen County Tournament.They showed a lot of heart but fell just short of qualifying for the next round of matches. Senior Alex Malfa and Junior Ross Foothorap led the way as they bowled games of 218 (Malfa) 210 and 209 (Foothorap). They went into the tournament to try to get into a good rhythm for the end of the season run to win the Big North but they outdid their expectations and barely missed the cutoff.

It was a great showing for the Green Knights and they left with a lot of confidence despite missing out on the

next round. The team’s confidence was at an all time high heading into their two big matches against Don Bosco and Bergen Catholic.

In the Bosco match, the team was without junior Ross Foothorap but the rest of the team stepped up in a big way and picked up a big league win by a score of 4-3. This past tuesday, the Green Knights took on Bergen Catholic in what was a pivotal match for the league standings. The team fought but fell just short in all three games and lost by a score of 7-0. Although it is a very tough loss to deal with, the Green Knights will look to finish the season strong next week as they will face Paramus Catholic and Depaul Catho-lic in their final two matches of the year.

First year head coach Nick Delahanty has picked up right where Coach Salvano left off, “My first year as the head coach of the program has been awesome. It’s been a pleasure to work alongside my bowlers, and I’m truly impressed with how much we’ve improved since day one,” said coach Nick. He is excited to see where he can take this program for years to come.

Winter Track does Well in Field EventsThe Green Knights raced at the armory in New York City for the first time on Wednesday, January 23 at the Bergen County Relay Championship. Three different relay teams would race; a shot put relay, a pole-vault relay, and a sprint medley.

The sprint medley would finish third in the non-public division with a time of 4:06. This is a race consisting of two 200 meter legs , a 400 meter leg and an 800 meter leg to finish the race. Anthony Panissidi ‘20 and Dominic Delpon-te ‘20 ran the 200 meter, Peter Schuh ‘22 ran the 400 meter, and Nikiel Daniel ‘22 ran the 800 meter. They were able to secure third place by finishing in front of rival Don Bosco Prep, but losing a close race to both Bergen Catholic and Dwight Englewood.

The shot-put relay would feature young talent in Yann Silva ‘22 and Nic Cevetillo ‘21. They finished third among the non public schools throwing in total of seventy-three feet and five inches. This is a great sign for the future as the younger knights continue to improve.

The pole vault relay secured the county non-public group championship. Sean Moran ‘19 and Luke Berninger ‘19 cleared a total of 18 feet blowing out runner up Bergen Catholic who was only able to clear nine feet.

“This was a great moment for me,” said Sean Moran ‘19, “This is my first county title and I was glad I was able to earn it in my final year competing.”

A very successful meet for the team overall as all teams that participated came in the top three of their groups. They will use this momentum going into the Lou Molino invite February 5th at Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Alex Malfa ‘19

Ryan Collins ‘20

10 The Guardian, Thursday, Febuary 14th, 2019

SportsSJR Hockey’s Road to Glory

Over the past week, the Green Knights Ice Hockey team has been on an adrenaline rush. The boys in green and gold have won some very challenging games, proving that they are very much a force to be reckoned with. The team is now 10-1-2 overall, and hope to keep their winning streak going.

The week started off with a 6-2 win against one of our big-gest rivals at Saint Joe’s, Bergen Catholic. The boys played the consistent game that they have played all year and trust-ed the process that coaches Larry Mahurter, ‘87, and Robert Murdoch have given them to come out of this game victo-rious. The scoresheet featured many of our upperclassmen alongside a goal by Logan May, ‘22, and an assist by Thor Hansen, ‘21. Of the many upperclassmen, the puck made its way to the net off of the sticks of Anthony DeMario, ‘19, Aiden Grieco, ‘19, Ryan Hilliard, ‘19, and Aidan Garabed, ‘20. Ryan Hilliard, also had 2 assists, racking up a total of three points that game. Assists were also seen by Anthony DeMario, Joseph Iannuzzi, ‘20, and Justin Rauch, ‘20.

Not only has the team been putting together a large amount of points, but both goalies Tomas Spero, ‘21, and Jake Serey, ‘20, have been playing like walls for the team. Their save percentages have been one of the largest contributions to

the team. Spero had gotten his first shutout just a few weeks ago in the Egan Cup Conference game against Notre Dame. Accompanied by Serey, who has faced nearly 100 shots in the last week and still found a way to pull out 3 victories, the future of SJR goaltenders looks promising.

Bergen County is home to some of the most competitive teams in New Jersey. In the Bergen County Tournament, held at the Ice Vault in Wayne, NJ, the SJR Hockey team was placed in the 2nd seed, only seconding the best team in the state, Don Bosco Prep. As a result of the recent wins over Mahwah and, the 13th best team in the state, Indian Hills, the boys will be facing DBP in the championship game on Wednesday at 7 p.m.

The road to the championship of the BCT started off with a 4-2 win over Mahwah. James DeVito, ‘20, led the scoresheet with two points, and was joined by one point from players such as Aiden Grieco, Aidan Garabed, Anthony DeMario, Bryan raper, ‘19, Brandon Kirchgessner, ‘19, and Michael Angeletti, ‘21. The semi-final game against Indian Hills ended in a 4-0 win a shutout and a total of 37 saves for Jake Serey. The team was very aggressive, but the boys still man-aged to come out on top after two goals by Justin Rauch, one goal by Thor Hansen, and an assist from Ryan Hilliard, Brandon Kirchgessner, Aiden Grieco, and Aidan Garabed.

Dean Tobin ‘20

Senior leadership has been on display this year from players such as captains Brandon Hudon, Anthony Demario, and Ryan Hilliard.