RED BANK -- New Jersey's first snow storm arrived as expected Monday and the inclement weather forced cancellations of numerous sporting events across the Shore. But for one planned game, the flurries of winter provided the missing ingredient for an unforgettable experience.
Perched on a hill at Navesink Country Club, the Shore hosted its own winter classic as Rumson-Fair Haven faced off against the Red Bank Catholic co-op in the Bulldogs' annual outdoor hockey game. But the fortunate draw of this year's weather was the cherry on top for the scenic game.
"This was the coolest out of all the years I've done this," Rumson-Fair Haven coach Eric Zullo said. "You're usually dealing with sun, a mix of hot and cold. As the sun goes down, it gets colder. But today, it was just consistent throughout. A little bit of snow flurries, the ice was really good. Obviously they did a great getting it ready beforehand... It was the perfect day here. And so after the snow, it made for a beautiful scene."
Of course, the beautiful scene was further elevated by what happened on the ice for the host team. Wearing specialized commemorative uniforms, Rumson-Fair Haven put together a game to remember with three dominant periods of hockey and cruised to a 9-1 victory.
"When it started snowing this morning, I thought it'd be canceled," sophomore Brody Riva said. "It didn't snow too much though - exactly the perfect amount. So I got to play in this beautiful weather. It was a great experience."
Riva made the most of the opportunity, exploding for five goals to set the pace for the lopsided victory. It was a stunning display of offensive acumen for the defenseman, who entered the game with only one goal while flashing his ability to generate offense with 10 assists.
"It kind of depends on the night," Riva said. "I haven't been scoring too much early on this season, but I think it's finally starting to click. And this was a great one."
It was the perfect way to open 2025 for the Bulldogs, who similarly to last season have rounded into form through the first month and appear to be hitting stride as they reach the pivotal middle section of the regular season.
Despite losing last year's Shore player of the year in Nik Doumas, this year's squad once again appears primed for a run at the league title with several legacy players leading the way. Junior forward Jacen Doumas has emerged as the team's leading scorer alongside Rivas, whose older brother Jack was central to last year's playoff run.
"We love the family bonds. We just had our alumni game, so that was super cool to see all those older brothers come back," Zullo said. "When they're in eight grade or seventh grade, they see the systems. They see the way we run the program. And I think that gets them excited to play for us, but it also gets them ready to play for us. They see that we're tight, they know it's not a loose kind of program. So when they get here, they know they're expected to fill bigger shoes and expectations."
Although there were growing pains in December, it's beginning to look that those skates are being filled as Rumson has hopes of taking the Handchen Cup amidst a Shore Conference that has been defined by incredible parity so far this winter. They'll face a huge litmus test towards that goal on Tuesday, as the Bulldogs will face back-to-back reigning champ St. John Vianney.
"We knew this was going to be a process. We knew this was the year where there might be a little bump in the road and we've seen that," Zullo said. "We came out flat against Cranford. We played good against Hunterdon Central. The game before that, we probably only played 30 out of those 45 minutes. And today we finally showed up. This is the best game we've played, complete from start to finish. So can we do that next game? Can we do that tomorrow? The goal is now, can we carry that 24 hours later on tired legs against another good Shore Conference team and do it again. And that's what you're going to need to win in playoffs."
Bulldogs put on offensive clinic in 9-1 win
Like the snow that blanketed most of the state, the scoring came suddenly and swiftly for Rumson-Fair Haven after a relatively modest start.
The Bulldogs struck suddenly just three minutes into the game as Riva drilled the first of his numerous goals with 11:44 left in the opening period. But the game settled into an evenly-matched battle through the first 15 minutes and then some. The Red Bank Catholic co-op (with Donovan Catholic and St. Rose) overcame a penalty midway through the first to kill the Rumson power play, but a second special teams opportunity less than two minutes later would prove to be more devastating as Riva capitalized with another score to give Rumson a 2-0 lead with 2:18 left in the period.
But the closing minute of the first, and opening minute of the second, provided an opportunity for Red Bank Catholic as they had a power play of their own. Although they couldn't breakthrough with a score on that sequence, they capitalized moments later as Robby Stanislaro found Mikey Gemellaro for a goal. Rumson's early advantage was suddenly only a mere 2-1 with 12:16 left in the second, but it wouldn't take long for the mirage of competitiveness to clear.
Rumson responded with a prolific scoring outburst. Riva swiftly got his hat track just over a minute later, scoring off the rebound. He added another goal just 50 seconds later to reassert the Bulldog advantage and give the team a 4-1 lead. But it was still only just the beginning of the five-goal period as Cole Hogan tapped in a goal and Jacen Doumas had his own scoring explosion with two goals in less than 20 seconds. In the blink of an eye, the Bulldogs suddenly held a 7-1 lead and the final result was no longer in question.
With two more goals in the third by Riva and Grayson Goldin, Rumson cruised to the 9-1 victory while maintaining impressively stout defense.
What's next for Red Bank Catholic and Rumson-Fair Haven
The loss drops Red Bank Catholic to 3-5 on the season. But despite the disappointing showing on Monday, it's been a resurgent season for the team as the co-op transitioned from the purview of St. Rose to RBC this year. All of the Caseys' losses have come against quality foes, but the team was certainly hoping to bounce back after a disappointing 9-1 loss to CBA to close out 2024.
The challenges will keep coming for RBC as the Caseys will face Middletown North on Wednesday and the Toms River co-op on Friday to close out the week.
For Rumson, the victory puts the team back over .500 at 5-4 with a big matchup against St. John Vianney looming on Tuesday. This year's learning curve has been promising even compared to last winter when the team opened the season 0-4 and didn't reach 4-4 until midway into January. In addition to SJV, they'll face a strong non-conference opponent to close out the week when they travel up north to face Passaic Tech on Friday.