This week, the Wayne Knights Hockey team played in the Passaic County Tournament. The Knights entered the tournament with 7 losses, 2 ties and 4 wins. Coming into their first game with grit and tenacity, the boys dominated Lakeland, 4-2.

Turning up the heat, the Knights scored two goals in the first period, both by sophomore Joey Capizzano. The first goal was assisted by Brian Szastak and Brady Driesse. The second was assisted by Brandon Kindler and Alex Scheuplein.

Following a dry, scoreless second period, Lakeland capitalized, scoring their first goal three minutes in.

The first goal of the third period was scored by the Knights freshman, Braden O’Loughin, with assists from Brady Driesse and Joey Capizzano.

The fourth and final goal was completed by Wayne Valley Senior, Alex Scheuplein with assists from Braden O’Loughin and Joey Capizzano. The game ended with the Knights having a two point lead.

Winning this game allowed the boys to progress into the final round of the Passaic County Tournament. In this final game, the boys played against Passaic Tech, a private school in Wayne. Two weeks ago on 1/6, the teams played each other and Wayne won.

“One goal our team has set for the rest of the season is to make it to states,” said Freshman Brady Driesse.

Collectively, the boys are working harder everyday to make their way to states. In the process though, they fell short.

The Knights were looking forward to winning the tournament and bringing home the championship. Unfortunately, this did not happen. The Wayne Knights lost to the Passaic Tech bulldogs 2-3.

Scoring the first goal of the game seventeen seconds in, was Joseph Kwienciski of Passaic Tech. He was assisted by Mason Kratz and scored this goal on a power play.

A power play occurs when a player on the opposing team has a penalty and is taken off the ice for a period of time. This team then loses that player and can’t bring another player on the ice until the penalty time is over. Thus, giving the other team a great advantage as they have an additional player.