Winter Sports Previews: Madison High School Ice Hockey

In his first three years as the head coach of the Madison High School ice hockey team, Dave Hansen had made the Dodgers a consistent middle-of-the-standings team. In his fourth season, Hansen had to do a little work to convince his players that they could do more.

"We lost to Westfield 7-1 in a scrimmage before last season," Hansen said. "I heard parents say, 'we'll be lucky if we got four wins.' I said we'd make the (cup) playoffs and states."

As it turns out, the Dodgers had plenty of reasons to believe in their coach - by the end of the 2008-09 season, Madison completed its best season in recent memory. The Dodgers won 13 games - their most this decade - as well as the Haas Division of the Morris County Secondary Schools Ice Hockey League; they were five minutes away from winning the Haas Cup, and they reached the state playoffs for the first time since 2006.

Hansen returns nine of his 11 varsity players from last season, and an influx of eight new faces should give the Dodgers increased depth and stamina as they challenge for another division title, this year in the combined Haas/Charette Division. According to Hansen, another berth in the NJSIAA tournament is the team's focus this year.

"The boys started to understand our system last year, how to play within the system," Hansen said. "Our younger kids are coming in trying to build on last year, and hopefully they'll help us be better this year."

Among the nine returning players are several standout talents, all with loads of experience.

Brett Perry, the senior center and captain, was the MVP of the Haas Cup tournament. Senior Charlie Olendorp, a Division I college lacrosse prospect, is a strong, tall defenseman with an excellent shot from the point, according to Hansen. Two other seniors, forward/defenseman Bobby Yutcko and forward Greg Maxwell, will bring discipline and toughness to the Madison lineup.

"Bobby's a strong player," Hansen said. "He loves to use his body and play physical, and the kids respond well when he's on the ice."

Lou Cecala, who scored a hat-trick in Madison's season opener Wednesday against Roxbury, is also expected to contribute to the offense. Meanwhile, goalie Korbin Hoelck, who shut out three opponents last season, returns for his senior year, his third as a starter.

Among the new faces, Hansen singled out freshman forward Erik Hendersson as a player to watch.

"He's fast, and he's experienced," Hansen said. "He's been playing youth and junior hockey for years. You wouldn't be able to tell by looking at him play that he's a freshman."

If nothing else, having 17 skaters, rather than 11, should allow the Dodgers to avoid the sort of exhaustion that may have cost them in last year's Haas Cup final, a 5-3 loss to Montville. The Dodgers led, 3-1, going into the third period, but were caught in a pair of 5-on-3 situations to allow the Mustangs to tie the game. Montville scored two more goals in the final five minutes to lift the trophy.

"We like to play every period as three five-minute periods, and that last five-minute period is when goals are scored," Hansen said. "The kids usually get tired then. But with 17 skaters, our first five minutes will be stronger because we can throw out two or three lines. And that will keep our legs fresh for the last five minutes."

Madison should contend in the Haas/Charette Division, according to Hansen, but will face stiff tests from Roxbury (who was in the larger-school Halvorsen Division last season), Montville and Park Regional.

This season will be full of new challenges, as the Dodgers found out earlier this week, when they fell to Roxbury, 6-3, in the season opener. In that game, Roxbury took advantage of Madison penalties and mistakes to score four power-play goals.

Despite the loss, the Dodgers were competitive when it was 5-on-5, and Hansen was not discouraged, calling it a "good loss to learn from." The schedule doesn't get much easier, with Madison meeting Montville in a Haas Cup final rematch this Wednesday at Mennen Arena.

Madison's other opponents in the Haas/Charette Division include Morris Catholic, Morris Hills, Mount Olive, Parsippany, Parsippany Hills and West Morris. The Dodgers will face stiff non-conference tests with games against Westfield (Jan. 14) and Summit (Feb. 12).