New Jersey high school hockey

Ice Hockey is a popular and growing sport in the state of New Jersey. 122 high schools field varsity teams, with new teams entering every year. 118 teams are members of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA).

Divisions

Hockey is one of the few sports in the state with "rolling divisions." The divisions change every year depending on the performance of the teams, and new teams entering. The divisions are divided by geography and skill level. In the state's biggest league, the New Jersey Ice Hockey League, the conferences are North and Central (the south was eliminated due to the Shore Conference) and each conference has three divisions: Red, White and Blue, with Red being the highest skill level and Blue being the lowest. Usually only the division champion moves up and only the last-place finisher is relegated. The main flaw with the system is that it is based on a teams performance in the previous year. In the NJIHL, there is an elite conference, known as the Gordon Conference. This is made up of nine teams accepted to be consistently among the best in the state. Beginning in the 2005-06 season, all Gordon Conference teams were private schools. All teams in this division qualify for the state playoffs regardless of their record.

Morris County teams compete in three different divisions: Mennen, Halvorsen and Haas with Mennen being the highest and Haas being the lowest. Most Morris County teams play at Mennen Arena in Morris Township. The Colonial Valley Conference (CVC) incorporates teams from Mercer County. Many Bergen County teams play in the North Bergen Interscholastic Athletic League (NBIAL), the second division from other sports to be used in hockey, after the CVC.

The Current Divisions of the NJIHL are:

Gordon Conference: Delbarton, St. Peter's Prep, Christian Brothers Academy, Seton Hall Prep, Bergen Catholic, Pope John, Don Bosco Prep, St. Augustine Prep, Bishop Eustace.

Northern Red: Paramus Catholic, St. Joseph Montvale, Ridgewood, Tenafly, Vernon, Clifton, Glen Rock

Northern White: Bayonne, West Milford, Paramus, Nutley, Lakeland, Wayne Valley, Sparta, Montclair

Northern Blue: High Point, Dumont, Hudson Catholic, DePaul Catholic, Passaic Valley, Hackensack, Newton, Hackettstown, River Dell

Central Red: Ridge, Bridgewater-Raritan, Montgomery, St. Joseph Metuchen, Verona, West Essex, Montclair-Kimberley Academy, Hillsborough, Gloucester Catholic

Central White: Old Bridge, Dayton, A.L. Johnson, Paul VI, Watchung Hills, Westfield, Summit, Cranford, Hunterdon Central,

Central Blue: Edison, J.P. Stevens, Bernards, Governor Livingston, Livingston, West Orange, Millburn, St. Joseph Hammonton, Scotch Plains-Fanwood, South Brunswick

The Current Divisions in the MCSSIHL are:Mennen Division: Randolph, Morris Knolls, Chatham, Morristown-Beard, Kinnelon, Pingry

Halvorsen Division: Roxbury, Mendham, Mountain Lakes, Pequannock, Jefferson Township, Morristown

Haas/Charette Division: Park Regional, West Morris Central, Montville, Morris Hills, Madison, Mount Olive, Parsippany Hills, Parsippany

The Current Divisions in the CVC are:Colonial: Notre Dame, Hopewell Valley, Steinert, Princeton

Valley: West Windsor-Plainsboro North, West Windsor-Plainsboro South, Ewing, Lawrence

Patriot: Hamilton, Robbinsville, Nottingham, Hightstown

The NBIAL consists of 10 teams in one division:These 10 Teams are: Northern Highlands, Fair Lawn, Ramapo, Mahwah, Indian Hills, Ramsey, Pascack Valley, Wayne Hills, Old Tappan, Demarest.

The Shore Conference consists of 18 teams from Ocean County and Monmouth County.Shore A North: Middletown North, Middletown South, Red Bank Catholic, St. John Vianney, Wall

Shore A South: Brick Memorial, Brick Township, Monsignor Donovan, Toms River North, Toms River East

Shore B North: Red Bank Regional, Rumson-Fair Haven, St. Rose, Manasquan

Shore B South: Toms River South, Jackson Memorial, Point Pleasant, Southern Regional

tate tournament

To qualify for the state playoff tournament teams must have a .500 record at a date set by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA), usually the second Saturday in February. Teams within four games of .500 may petition for at-large selection to the tournament. As stated above, all members of the Gordon Conference earn automatic entry. Since 1995, the NJSIAA has sponsored two tournaments, one for private schools and one for public schools. Reportedly the public tournament will be split into two tournaments based on school size starting in 2007-2008. From 1995-2004, the tournament winners met for the overall state championship. In 2007 St. Augustine Prep finished 23-0-0 the first team to have a "perfect" season.

tate championship history

State Championship Finals 1976-Brick 3, Chatham Township 2 (OT) 1977-Brick 3, Livingston 2 1978-West Essex 5, Livingston 3 1979-Brick 2, Seton Hall Prep 1 1980-Livingston 1, Brick 0 (OT) 1981-Montclair 6, Brick 5 1982-Livingston 4, Montclair 2 1983-CBA 3, Seton Hall Prep 0 1984-St. Joseph (Met.) 7, Brick 6 1985-St. Joseph (Met.) 4, Brick 2 1986-Brick 2, Delbarton 1 1987-Montclair 4, Delbarton 2 1988-Montclair 2, St. Joseph (Met.) 1 1989-Delbarton, St. Joseph (Met.) 1990-Brick 2, Montclair 1 1991-St. Joseph (Met.) 3, Delbarton 2 (OT) 1992-Delbarton 3, St. Joseph (Met.) 2 (OT) 1993-Toms River North 6, Delbarton 2 1994-CBA 6, Don Bosco Prep 1 1995-CBA 4, Montclair 1 1996-CBA 5, Brick 0 1997-Brick 4, Seton Hall Prep 0 1998-Seton Hall Prep 3, Brick 2 1999-Seton Hall Prep 3, Brick 1 2000-Hudson Catholic 4, Bayonne 2 2001-Bergen Catholic 8, Clifton 1 2002-Delbarton 1, Brick 0 2003-Bergen Catholic 6, Randolph 4 2004-Seton Hall Prep 8, West Essex 0

Public finals

1995-Montclair 3, Chatham 2 (OT) 1996-Brick Township 5, Chatham 4 1997-Brick Township 2, Brick Memorial 1 (OT) 1998-Brick Township 2, Montclair 1 1999-Brick Township 5, Randolph 1 2000-Bayonne 6, Summit 3 2001-Clifton 2, Bayonne 1 2002-Brick Township 5, Randolph 1 2003-Randolph 7, Brick Memorial 0 2004-West Essex 2, Ridge 1 2005-Morris Knolls 4, Randolph 1 2006-Randolph 2, Montgomery 1 (OT) 2007-Randolph 5, Bridgewater-Raritan 4 (OT) 2008-Ridge 5, Watchung Hills 0 (Public A) 2008-Kinnelon 5, Jefferson 1 (Public B)

Parochial finals

1995-CBA 5, Delbarton 0 1996-CBA 4, Seton Hall Prep 3 1997-Seton Hall Prep 4, Delbarton 2 1998-Seton Hall Prep 3, Delbarton 1 1999-Seton Hall Prep 1, Delbarton 0 (OT) 2000-Hudson Catholic 2, Seton Hall Prep 1 2001-Bergen Catholic 3, Christian Brothers 2 2002-Delbarton 2, Seton Hall Prep 1 2003-Bergen Catholic 2, Seton Hall Prep 1 2004-Seton Hall Prep 3, St. Peter's Prep 1 2005-CBA 2, Delbarton 1 (OT) 2006-Delbarton 3, Seton Hall Prep 1 2007-St. Augustine Prep 3, St. Peter's Prep 1 2008-Delbarton 5, St. Augustine Prep 1

Individual honors

New Jersey Devils Player of the Year

1993-Paul Giblin (Junior), Bergen Catholic 1994-Greg Toskos (Senior), Don Bosco Prep 1995-Mats Carseberg (Junior), Lawrenceville 1996-Dustin DePalma (Senior), CBA 1997-Harry Schwefel (Senior), Lawrenceville 1998-Zach Hatcher (Senior), Seton Hall Prep 1999-Brandon Doria (Senior), Seton Hall Prep 2000-Joe Aliseo (Junior), Hudson Catholic 2001-Matt Radoslovich (Senior), Bergen Catholic 2002-Jason Van Clief (Junior), Brick 2003-Anthony Randazzo (Senior), Bergen Catholic 2004-Terry Robinson (Senior), Seton Hall Prep 2005-Ned Crotty (Senior), Delbarton 2006-Mike Cacciotti (Senior), Seton Hall Prep 2007-Kevin Healey (Senior), St. Augustine Prep Career Scoring Leaders

Scoring champions

Notable alumni

*Jim Dowd
*George Parros
*James Van Riemsdyk