Montclair High School Ice Hockey Hits Its Stride in 23-24 Season

The Montclair High School ice hockey team made major strides this season as they returned to the state playoffs for the first time in four seasons.

While the Mounties season this past winter did not live up to the 2019-20 season, Montclair can take solace in getting back to the state playoffs. In 19-20, the Mounties reached the state finals.

“We came a long way from last year,” said Montclair head coach Connor Smith whose team went from eight wins in 2022-23 to 14-7-3 this season. 

Smith pointed to some of the top games this season including ties with rivals, in the Montclair Cup against Montclair Kimberley (1-1, Jan. 26) and Verona/Glen Ridge (2-2, Jan. 17). These go along with a 1-0 victory over Glen Rock in the first round of the Public North state playoffs. 

“Our two big rivalry games (MKA and Verona/Glen Ridge) were both ties, but they were in front of big crowds. Those games helped build some excitement for the up-and-coming high school hockey players of Montclair,” said Smith.

Memorable Wins

In the victory over Glen Ridge in the state tournament, it was the combination of the Mounties top seniors, Sam Rotella and Sam Korenbaum. The pair sent the Mounties to the next round of the state tournament where Montclair fell 4-1 at Chatham.

Rotella scored the lone goal in the contest. Korenbaum made 44 saves to preserve the state victory over Glen Rock. The victory in the state tournament was the rubber match against the Panthers as they won two-out-the-three contests.

“I have the utmost respect for their coach Dean Portis. They’re always the hardest team to prep for,” said Smith about facing Glen Rock. “The fact that the preparation paid off motivated us to want to do that for every…