When it comes to perennial powerhouses for student-athlete hockey players, Delbarton Hockey stands at the top. With a storied history of 14 State Championships, the Delbarton squad is guided by New Jersey Ice Hockey Hall of Fame Coach Bruce Shatel. Despite their legacy of success and a dominant 79-17-4 record over the past four seasons, the Green Wave faced a six-year championship drought—until March 10th of this year.
Led by captains Jack Ross and Jack Gerne, the Delbarton Green Wave entered the NJ State Championship game undefeated in New Jersey, riding an 11-game winning streak. Some of their toughest battles throughout the season came against CBA, including two overtime thrillers—both won by Egor Andreev, with his second game-winner clinching the Gordon Cup for Delbarton.
After taking care of business against Notre Dame, rivals Seton Hall Prep, and St. Joe’s (Montville) to open the state tournament, Delbarton was set for a rematch with its toughest adversary—Christian Brothers Academy of Lincroft. Beating a team ranked in the national top 40 once is tough. Doing it four times? That takes a different level of skill.
As students piled into the Prudential Center for the highly anticipated matchup, the puck dropped, and the game began.
The first period saw strong performances from both goaltenders, each denying quality shot attempts to keep the game tied at 0.
In the second period, Jack Gerne struck first for Delbarton, finding the back of the net off a perfect Egor Andreev’ assist. Delbarton’s 1-0 lead didn’t last long, as CBA capitalized on a George Cote rebound to tie the game at 1.
Shortly after, Sean O’Gwen blasted a shot for a 2-1 lead. Despite limited playing time during the regular season, the sophomore has had a memorable postseason, tallying three goals and five points.
Delbarton extended its lead toward the end of the second period when Dante Rodriguez broke through with an assist from Ayden Puppe. Entering the final period, the Green Wave began to think about the trophy they had been chasing for years, but they still had one more period to execute.
As CBA grew desperate, Delbarton’s goal-tender, George Cote stepped up, shutting down every attack and turning defense into Delbarton counter-attacks. As time wound down, Dante Rodriguez sealed the deal with his second goal of the afternoon—an empty netter—to make the score 4-1.
Captain Jack Ross delivered the final blow soon after on a power play, leading Delbarton to a commanding 5-1 victory.
After the win, Coach Shatel told Jersey Sports Zone that getting the job done on the final day isn’t easy—it takes dedication and a special team. Now, the Non-Public A NJ Championship trophy is heading back to Mendham Road.
