Delbarton Green Wave Hockey 2023-2024 Season Recap
Under almost any standard, an 18-7 season with an appearance in the Gordon Cup Finals is an immense success. For Coach Bruce Shatel and the Delbarton Green Wave, this is the bare minimum expectation. Delbarton’s hockey looked to improve on its school’s impressive winter season as the wrestling team had already defeated St. Joseph’s Regional to win their State Championship.
The Green Wave started their hockey season on track to achieve the same goal, winning eight of their first ten games. Among blowouts against solid teams like Pingry and St. Augustine was an impressive one-goal loss to Don Bosco, who was ranked #1 in NJ at the time. Delbarton continued their dominance into February, defeating two highly ranked teams, Bergen Catholic and St. Augustine, whom they had beaten previously.
Unfortunately, their Gordon Cup Tournament ended when they lost by two goals to #1 Don Bosco. The same can be said about their Non-Public A state tournament, where they exited early after a tough loss to St. Augustine in the semi-finals.
After speaking with Jack Ross, a key forward for the Green Wave, I got more insight into their 2023-24 season. Ross mentioned that his favorite moment of the season was the “trip with the boys at the beginning of the year because it really built a lot of camaraderie between us.” Their team defeated some tough opponents and had the opportunity to prepare well for their crucial in-state games. I also asked Jack what his team did well with this season.
He told me that they had much success “in the Boston tournament at the beginning of the season” and that it set the tone for the year and put them in the right mindset to succeed. Ross mentioned that if he had to pick something his team could work on for next year, it would be “getting bigger, stronger, and faster.”
Overall, the Green Wave had a successful season despite their extremely difficult schedule and should be commended for their success.