A year ago, the Hopewell Valley/Montgomery Co-op made a strong run in the state tournament and one of the younger players on that team, Jack Riewe, is doing everything he can to keep the Co-op among the best.
Riewe, now a junior, has been a key component to HVM’s success since his freshman season and each year his stats have always increased.
He had 10 goals and nine assists entering Monday’s game against the Lawrence/Hightstown/Ewing Co-op and went over the 100-point plateau in a Dec. 28 win over River Dell. He has 43 career goals and 59 assists.
“Jack is a special player,’’ said HVM’s longtime coach Jeff Radice. “He truly puts the team’s success over his own personal accomplishments and trusts that the game of hockey will reward him for playing the right way. He is a leader for this team on and off the ice.’’
HVM is 5-4-1 and a lot of the credit goes to junior goalie Emma Seamon.
Following in the footsteps of All-Trentonian Goalie Blake Etchernacht, Seamon has come up big for the Co-op with 219 saves.
“Emma is a true gamer,’’ said Radice. “When she sees a challenge she runs towards it, never away from it. Her play has not surprised me at all and I expect her to continue to excel as the season progresses.’’
HVM was looking pretty sharp, having won four of five, then it ran into Colonia (4-2) and dropped a tough 2-1 decision.
“The Colonia game was our worst effort of the season thus far,’’ lamented Radice. “We were out hustled and Colonia just simply wanted it more for 45 full minutes. We need to bounce back strong with important conference games this upcoming week.’’
HVM also faces Paul VI/Camden Catholic and the Hamilton Twp. team from the Valley Division this week. PVI/CC is 8-1 and HVM has won two of the last three meetings by one goal.
Robbinsville/Allentown Rolling
It seems every game there’s a different player stepping up for the Robbinsville/Allentown Co-op and recently it’s been James Morino.
Morino, a senior forward, has seven goals and five assists in the Co-op’s last five games and has eight goals and 11 assists on the season.
“James has undergone the natural progression that hard working players take,’’ said coach Dan Bergan. “He has grown in skills and confidence in each of his four years and 2025-26 is just the logical conclusion for the step by step build of his game. He is also a great teammate.’’
Robbinsville/Allentown (8-2) had won six straight before Ridge (5-5) took them in overtime, 4-3.
The Co-op is unbeaten in regulation as both losses have come in overtime.
“We let the Ridge game get away from us,’’ said Bergan. “It was ours to take and we let it slip away. It’s part of the journey. It has forced us to practice 4-on-4 and will pay off down the road.’’
R/A has one of the most talented players in the area in Jake Lachance and after a stellar season in 2024-25 with 45 goals and 39 assists, he’s seeing a lot of defensive attention.
“Jake is drawing more attention but to no avail for the most part,’’ stated Bergan. “You have to see him every day to appreciate his ability to maneuver in space to get a shot off. It’s a special skill.’’
The special player has been just as impressive in 2025-26 with 15 goals and 16 assists.
Lachance, who is also a scratch golfer, has 74 career goals and 69 career assists for 143 points.
Tough Start for the Irish
Mike McVey, the Notre Dame coach, might have to have a few words with whomever drafted the season-opening schedule for the Irish.
This might be the youngest ND team in quite a few years and it’s taken a few games to get things pointed in the right direction as it opened the season winless at 0-6.
That the Irish faced the best in the Colonial Division in Robbinsville/Allentown, Hopewell Valley/Montgomery and Princeton was tough enough, but add St. Joe’s (Metuchen), CVC Valley Division leader Paul VI and the Gordon Conference’s St. Peter’s Prep and it was just too much.
“Having to face the best of the CVC and a couple of Gordon teams in the first six games is a tall order,’’ said McVey. “The team has been very supportive and we have been very competitive the first period or two in most games.’’
The Irish lineup is dotted with freshmen and when things have gotten out of hand McVey is making sure the younger players get the experience that will bode the team well in the coming months.
“We are looking to build on that experience in the new year and with some games we should be competitive,’’ said McVey.
The Irish have the Hamiton Tri-op, Seton Hall Prep and St. John Vianney this week.
Campbell Records Hat Trick for Tigers
Liam Campbell recorded his first career hat trick in Princeton’s win over Newton. Campbell is the son of Mercer County Tournament winning coach Tim Campbell, who guided the Tigers to the 2010-11 MCT title and the final in 2011-12.
Freshman Oliver Li notched a hat trick in the first game he registered a point for the Tigers and sophomore Baptiste Demurge has two hat tricks on the season. Abe Arshan, who had four goals earlier this season, had only four all winter last year and he has 10 already this season.