By Rich Chrampanis
WAYNE – If there weren’t a pandemic maybe CBA would have postponed its highly anticipated showdown with Don Bosco Prep Sunday night when snow began falling in Monmouth County. But the Colts knew there are no guarantees in a shortened season where teams are regularly shutting down due to COVID-19, so they made the slippery journey to the Ice Vault in Wayne for a much anticipated showdown of New Jersey’s top-ranked hockey teams.
The Colts battled back from a 3-1 deficit and a key injury to score a 3-3 tie against the Ironmen in a game that lived up to the hype. Don Bosco was certainly thinking revenge after losing to CBA four times in 2019-20, including the Gordon Cup final and the Non-Public state championship at the Prudential Center in Newark.
The Ironmen struck first when Ryan Fine, a sophomore who’s already committed to Boston University, took a long pass and beat John Donohoe on a breakaway to get Don Bosco on the board. The Colts responded a minute later as freshman Christian Chouha continued to dazzle in his high school debut with a fantastic wrist shot from the right circle; Chouha has four goals and seven points in his first five games.
But the Ironmen would control the rest of the first period. After Drew Fortescue scored in front to make it 2-1 Don Bosco, the Ironmen thought they had a 3-1 lead late in the first period when Brendan Flaherty collided with Colts goalie John Donohoe. The puck went in the net but the goal was waved off. Donohoe, the reigning New Jersey high school hockey player of the year, finished the final moments of the first period but did not return for the last 30 minutes. The Colts threw junior Joe Cartigiano into the fire, replacing Donohoe. After giving up a power play goal to Sal Guzzo, Cartigiano settled in and came up with 15 saves in a high pressure spot.
CBA trailed Don Bosco 1-0 at the end of two periods last year in the state finals and came on to score four unanswered goals to win a state championship. The veteran Colts had to have that in the back of their minds trailing by two goals and came out with a vengeance in the final period. Zach Wagnon scored just 25 seconds in to make it a 3-2 game and give CBA new life. With 3:58 to go, captain Colin Grable poked in Pat Reilly’s shot from the point to draw the Colts even and earn a hard-fought draw.
The game capped off a full week of action for CBA that started with a 4-1 win at St. Augustine followed by a 3-1 victory again Gloucester Catholic a day later. In 2021 the Colts are mixing their traditional Gordon Conference schedule with Shore Conference foes. CBA has games with Delbarton and Bergen Catholic on the horizon which will be the best tests to knock the Colts (4-0-1) from the ranks of the unbeaten.
While there is no state playoff this year, the Gordon Cup will still be contested and hockey fans across the state would love to see a rematch of CBA and Don Bosco Prep for what will be the unofficial state championship on ice in 2021.
Gojdycz Named Coach of the Year by NFHS
CBA head hockey coach Andy Gojdyz was named the New Jersey High School Hockey Coach of the Year for the 2019-20 season by the National Federation of High Schools. Gojdycz was nominated by the NJSIAA. Honorees are selected based upon their coaching performance, lifetime community involvement and philosophy of coaching.
The 1996 Christian Brothers alum led the Colts to a 20-4-3 record, winning the Gordon Cup and the Non-Public state championship. He’s familiar with the CBA hockey’s championship pedigree, winning three state titles as a player during the Colts dominant run in the mid 1990s.
The article originally appeared in the February 4 – 10, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
