RFH hockey completes season with 15 wins Team was much improved from a year ago BY DOUG McKENZIE Correspondent The Rumson-Fair Haven ice hockey team was a bit of an unknown entity entering this season, despite returning quite a bit of talent from an 11-11- 1 team the previous winter. However, head coach Jerry St. Cyr fully expected his team to emerge as one of the better teams in the newly formed Shore Conference Hockey League, based on his belief in the Bulldogs' ability to play tough defensive hockey. Well, the coach knew what he was talking about, as RFH exceeded the expectations of most people with a strong 15-7-2 campaign, which included a trip to the finals of the Shore B Tournament and a spot in the NJSIAAPublic B Tournament. While Rumson-Fair Haven didn't earn any hardware this winter, they certainly proved to be one of the more improved teams in the state, just as their coach had predicted. "We did far better than was expected of us, so I'm proud of the players for the way they performed this year," St. Cyr said. "I'm just disappointed for the seniors that we were unable to win the Shore B title like they wanted." They came close, givingManasquan all it could handle in the final before dropping a 4-2 contest, which included a late empty net goal for the Warriors. RFH was not as fortunate in the state tournament, dropping a first-round match-up against West Windsor North, however, St. Cyr praised his team's season nonetheless. "When we started out the season, I expected us to finish the regular season 16- 5, which was a lot better than most people thought we'd do," he said. "It turned outwewere 14-5-2, sowe came pretty close to my goal. I think a lot of the players on the teamfelt (the 16-5mark)was doable, while some othersmight not have in the beginning. They certainly did during the course of the season though." The Bulldogs got stronger as the season progressed, as the team began to embrace the defensive mindset St. Cyr preached from day one. "Our strength without question was that we were able to establish a strong defensive unit," the coach said. "And I'm not just talking about a good goalie (Will Hewitt) and good defensemen. I'm talking about the forwards as well. I think we had five shutouts, and a very low goals-against average, and that doesn't happen unless the forwards help out with back checking. We were cautious and prudent in playing to our strengths this year." Just because RFH played defensively didn't mean their offense suffered. "A good defense leads to a good offense," St. Cyr said. "We outshot just about every team we played this year, with the exception of Red Bank Catholic and St. John Vianney." However, they weren't always good, high-percentage shots, which is the one area where the coach said his team struggled at times this year. "I think we struggled with the quality of our shots sometimes," he said. "It's one thing to get over 35 shots every game like we did, but if you're only scoring four goals, that's not a very good percentage. I think at times we weren't patient enough, and once the goals weren't coming, the kids pressed a little bit.At timeswe justweren't as patient as we should have been." Looking ahead to next season, the Bulldogs will certainly have a different look, as RFH graduates seven players, including the starting goalie, the top scorer, three solid defensemen and a winger who St. Cyr said "really improved over the course of the season." "The good news is that we might be fortunate to have 2-3 good goalies, which is definitely a good thing," the coach added. "We also have about five good forwards (two lines) that are going to help a lot." Among the top players coming back for RFH are forwardsMike Buonopane, Chris Smith, Quinn McKean, Blair Potter and Nick Pederson, while the defense will be led by Kevin Sharkey and the coach's son, Christopher St. Cyr, as well as goalie Vince Padulla. "I think we have a good group coming back, led by two very good forward lines," the coach said. "We're just going to have to be smart with where we put our defensemen into play." If the Bulldogs can rekindle the type of defensive focus they exhibited this season, you can expect RFH to right back in the thick of things next winter.