With fast start and new addition, Chatham hockey appears to be back to championship form
The past two years have been tough for Chatham hockey, but the Cougars have emerged with their strongest start in a decade.
It all began on opening night when the Chatham faced Morristown-Beard, the most decorated hockey program in Morris County with 15 state championships to its name. The Cougars overcame a 4-1 deficit in the second period, scoring the game's final five goals in a 6-4 statement victory.
That trend has continued as Chatham sits at 8-1-1 on the season, already eclipsing the combined 7-18-2 total record for Chatham teams of the previous two seasons.
"We've got a bunch of young sophomores that had the ability to play a lot a year ago and get used to this level and I think that it has helped us in the long run and will help up down the line as well," Chatham coach Brendon Herr said.
The downturn for this storied program began shortly after a loss to Lakeland in the quarterfinals of the Public B state tournament in March 2020. That ended the careers of a strong senior class just before the COVID-19 pandemic began.
A condensed 2020-2021 season preceded a difficult 2021-22 season.
"It took us a while, but we have faith in our coaches and we have been able to put it all together and have it transalte on the ice," senior captain Ryan Burke said.
The biggest change this season has been the addition of sophomore Nikita Konevych. The Ukranian-born 16-year-old is already known in the hockey world for playing for his home country at the Quebec International Pee-Wee Tournament and being selected in the USHL draft last May. He's made an immediate impact in his first year of high school hockey in New Jersey.
"He makes the rest of the team more comfortable on the ice," Burke said. "He's the one getting all of the goals right now, but he's helping us all play a better game overall and when teams are keying on him, it adds weapons for us with other skaters on the ice."
Konevych has a team-high 16 goals this season as an offensive-minded defenseman. His strong puck handling and great hockey IQ were both on display on Wednesday against Morris Kolls/Morris Hills, a state finalist from a season ago. Konevych scored a hat trick in the first period, needing just 11 minutes and 48 seconds to score the first three Chatham goals.
"He's probably one of the better players I have ever played with," Burke said. "He's like having a fourth forward out there while also playing defense."
Late in the third period and with the Golden Eagles storming back to tie the game 4-4, Konevych put the game to bed with his fourth goal of the night, lifting Chatham to an important 5-4 win with Mennen Cup seeding a few weeks away.
"I just felt like I had to score that fourth one," Konevych said.
"If you're gonna get three, you might as well get four," joked senior Ronan Curry.
Now, the Cougars have their sights set on returning to contention in the Mennen Cup conversation. Approaching a difficult stretch of the schedule, Herr knows his team has shown flashes of being a championship contender.
"All year long, the statement has been that if we play like we did tonight, we can compete with anybody," he said. "We just have to play that 60-minute game and there are times where we get off of our game, but I'm just proud that we are moving forward with a more defensive mindset."
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Chatham NJ hockey appears to be back to championship form
