Ridgewood High School, located at 627 East Ridgewood Avenue, Ridgewood, Bergen County, New Jersey, has a rich history of athletic achievement. While the school is known for its success in various sports, including tennis, lacrosse, cross country, and track, its ice hockey program has also produced notable athletes and moments.
Ridgewood High School
Early Years and Team Composition
Despite Ridgewood High School not having a formal hockey program, its students have actively participated in ice hockey through club teams. The Leyden Eagles Club team, composed primarily of underclassmen, stands out as one of the youngest teams in its league. This team includes athletes from Elmwood Park, East Leyden, West Leyden, and Ridgewood.
There are four Ridgewood students on the Leyden Eagles hockey club team. Despite being a young team with only 22 players on the Varsity team and no JV team, the Leyden Eagles compete against much larger programs with multiple Varsity and JV teams.
According to an unnamed member of the Leyden Eagles, everyone gets along really well, like brothers. He also mentioned that most of them had played together since they were little. This is why this is so cool; everyone started off together and went on to play travel hockey, and now they are back together for high school.
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Notable Achievements and Players
The Ridgewood High School Athletic Hall Of Fame proudly welcomed Peter McGinley to the 2022 induction class for his accomplishments in boy’s ice hockey. He is the first inductee for this sport at RHS. Peter, a class of 2012 graduate, was a standout for the two-time Gold Cup Champion Maroons, during which time the team enjoyed a remarkable 40-10-5 record.
Peter left behind numerous season and career records upon his departure from the program. He played a total of 102 games, recording 79 goals and 78 assists for a total of 157 points, averaging 1.54 points a game. His 79 career goals and 157 career points stand today as program records, and his 78 career assists are second.
During his senior campaign, the center skater totaled 39 goals and 72 points, season highs that still rank first today. These statistics support the recognition of Peter’s unselfish play. Peter had the gift of seeing plays develop before they would happen, and his ice presence and vision were incredible.
Peter McGinley: A Profile of Excellence
At 5’ 8” and 160 lbs., Peter made up for size with knowledge, skill, and love of the game. Adept at both finishing and feeding his teammates, his knowledge of where to be on the ice without the puck led to his uncanny ability to get lost, enabling him to get free of opponents' defenses to effectively add to the Maroons' offensive capabilities.
Peter was selected to play for the Mid-Atlantic squad based on his stellar performance for the North Jersey Avalanche team where he scored 25 goals and 23 assists. After another successful season with Ridgewood High School, Peter continued his education and hockey career post graduate at Avon Old Farm Prep School.
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At Avon, Peter was led by legendary coach John Gardner. Coach Gardner commented on how difficult it is to play as a 5th year walk on player. Peter began to earn the coaches trust with each shift he skated. As he learned and became confident employing Coach Gardner’s system, he began logging many minuets as a penalty killer.
Peter continued his education and hockey career at Providence College where his team competed in the American College Hockey Association Division 2 (ACHA II). At Providence, Peter competed in 75 total games at center while tallying 17 goals and 26 assists in his four years of collegiate competition.
Coaching Insights: Mike Lucchesi
Joseph Keane sat down with varsity ice hockey coach Mike Lucchesi for an early-season interview.
Mike Lucchesi has been coaching Hockey at RHS for eight seasons. He spent four seasons coaching JV and three as an assistant on the varsity level. In practice, Coach Lucchesi focuses on effort and hustle, stressing tempo and recreating game intensity. The goal is to train players to perform at "game speed."
Although the team may be young by some standards, it has a nice mix of experience and youth. With this team, it is going to be important how well and fast they begin to work as a team. Creating chemistry between the lines and linemates will help this team succeed. Also, with the young team it will be important as to how each player recognizes and embraces their role on this team.
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Coach Lucchesi expected Lakeland to be the top of the class of the division, with Clifton and DePaul Catholic being tough. West Milford may surprise some people in the Passaic Division.
The Maroons are hoping to qualify for their league playoffs and state playoffs. However, their real focus is trying to improve each and every game! This team has a lot of potential a large room for development and growth so really the sky's the limit.
Recent Games and Team Dynamics
The Maroons are coming off of a losing season. New head coach Joe Michalski was presented with a 7-3 win. The Maroons evened their division slate at 1-1 as they head into a busy week of action.
Ridgewood freshman David Putnins came up big when he had to. Potter opened the scoring at the 6:11 mark with an unassisted goal. Brad Vollkommer fed Graham for the score. Ryan (4 saves, 1 goal allowed). 3:34 to go in the middle stanza. A.J. shot that beat Trudell (19 saves) before he could react. 10:16 left, and it essentially shut off any chance of a late comeback.
"I felt we did some good things on the ice and we worked hard. They are special players, and we want to try and use them. Once in a while, we try to get them out on another line.
The Leyden Eagles are gearing up to make school history again this year. During the 2017-2018 season, they made it to the Elite 8 and the team that defeated them went on to win the state title. The Eagles had three players chosen to play in the All-star game on Saturday, January 5, 2019.