The West Orange High School (WOHS) hockey team suffered a 4-17 record last season, and they look to change that this year.

“We will try to improve on our team defense,” said head coach Edward Scafidi. “We want to get our goals against lowered.”

“What we’re doing differently this year is working more on backchecking and having better defense,” said sophomore goalkeeper Ella Tranquada. “Some of our freshmen and new players are helping this out tremendously.”

“We’re going for at least a .500 season, and we’re looking to build a fanbase and a momentum of enthusiasm for the team,” says new assistant coach and WOHS physics teacher, Michael DeAngelis. “Our main focus is to improve the functionality of the students’ skating skills and to build a new culture here at WOHS, and to focus on our improvement.”

The team practices 2-4 times a week at South Mountain Arena, and also have dryland practice known as “conditioning.”

“We’re still trying to get a cultural change in skills, with a lot of beginners and novices,” continued DeAngelis. “[But] we have very strong student athletes that are eager to learn. There’s a lot of hard work going into the season.”

“We already won our first game of the season Friday, and everyone is so much better,” said teammate Trevor Levine. “Our three best players [Davey Campbell, Charles Aborisade, and Matt Esquerre] lead the way but the other players have played a lot during the offseason.”