Geese Chasers Go Perfect as Delaware Valley Opens Through the Storm at Inman

EDISON, NJ — While a wild tropical storm battered the region outside, the 2026-27 PIHA Minor season rolled on uninterrupted inside Inman Sports Complex on Saturday as the Delaware Valley Division opened its regular season with a 12-game slate.

All six Delaware Valley teams played four games, and by the end of the night one team had separated itself from the field. The South Jersey Geese Chasers finished a perfect 4-0, outscoring their opponents 16-3 while receiving outstanding goaltending throughout the day.

Freedom HC also made an impressive debut, winning its first three games before falling in the nightcap to finish 3-1. New Jersey Assault split its opening four games at 2-2, while the Champion Trash Pandas, Unify New Jersey Wolfpack and Champion Trojan Pandas each finished 1-3.

Just as importantly, despite the tropical storm impacting both New Jersey and Long Island throughout the day, the entire Inman schedule was completed without interruption.

Game-by-Game Recap

New Jersey Assault 2, Champion Trojan Pandas 1

The Delaware Valley season opened with a tight defensive battle. Vinny Comito gave New Jersey Assault a 1-0 lead in the first half before the Trojan Pandas tied the game on a second-half goal from Mike Stein. The deadlock didn't last. Victor Masino scored later in the period to restore the Assault lead, and New Jersey held on for the 2-1 victory. Chris Notley stopped 13 of 14 shots for the win, while Trojan Pandas goaltender Eric Stohrer turned aside 15 of 17.

Champion Trash Pandas 3, Unify New Jersey Wolfpack 1

The Trash Pandas struck first behind a goal from Tyler Sanborn, but Unify answered early in the second half when George Hinds tied the game. Champion responded with the game's decisive stretch. Steve Bernhardt scored shorthanded to put the Trash Pandas back in front before Ryan Scott added the insurance goal. Bernhardt finished with a goal and an assist in the 3-1 victory.

South Jersey Geese Chasers 3, Champion Trojan Pandas 0

South Jersey gave an early indication of what was to come with a complete performance against the Trojan Pandas. Derek Tarpine and Mark Constantine scored in the opening half, and Kyle Young added a late second-half goal. The story at the other end was David Stenzel, who stopped all 18 shots he faced to record the first shutout of the Delaware Valley season.

Freedom HC 3, Champion Trash Pandas 2

Freedom HC earned its first PIHA victory in a tightly contested game against the Trash Pandas. Champion opened the scoring through Kevin Morello, but Freedom responded with goals from Nick Desantis and Pat Foy to take a 2-1 lead into halftime. Bobby Freiling extended the advantage early in the second before Cam Satkowski brought Champion back within one. Goaltender Pat Coll stopped 20 of 22 shots as Freedom protected the 3-2 lead.

South Jersey Geese Chasers 3, New Jersey Assault 1

The Geese Chasers continued their strong start against New Jersey Assault. Kyle Young provided the only goal of the first half before Rob Schuman and Mark Constantine extended South Jersey's lead to 3-0 in the second. Chris Krukowski spoiled the shutout late, but Matt Lemma stopped 15 of 16 shots to give South Jersey its second win.

Freedom HC 3, Unify New Jersey Wolfpack 2

Freedom improved to 2-0 in another one-goal game. The clubs traded four first-half goals, with Pat Foy scoring for Freedom and George Hinds and Michael Bickerton answering for Unify.

One of the more unusual statistical notes of the day came in this game: the official sheet credits Freedom goaltender Justin Brennan with the game's opening goal. Brennan also stopped 20 of 22 shots in goal. With the score tied 2-2 after the first half, Nick Desantis scored the only goal of the second to give Freedom the 3-2 victory.

South Jersey Geese Chasers 3, Champion Trash Pandas 2

South Jersey's third game turned into its closest test of the afternoon. Mark Constantine and Rob Schuman helped the Geese Chasers build the lead, and Matt Laganella made it 3-0 early in the second half.

Champion refused to go away. Kevin Morello scored twice to cut the deficit to one, but the Geese Chasers protected the advantage over the final minutes. David Stenzel made nine saves as South Jersey improved to 3-0.

Unify New Jersey Wolfpack 4, Champion Trojan Pandas 2

The Wolfpack picked up their first victory behind a big performance from George Hinds. After the Trojan Pandas opened the scoring, Hinds answered with two first-half goals to send Unify into the break ahead 2-1.

Michael Tardio extended the lead in the second before Mike Stein's power-play goal brought Champion back within one. Mickey Voitle supplied the insurance goal late, while Hinds finished with two goals and an assist. Bart Cambria made 19 saves for Unify.

Freedom HC 5, New Jersey Assault 3

Freedom's third straight win required a second-half comeback. Colin Burgess opened the scoring for Freedom, but Victor Masino scored twice to give New Jersey Assault a 2-1 halftime advantage.

Freedom took control after the break. John Seravalli scored twice, while Connor Dennis and Nick Desantis also found the net during a four-goal second half. Masino completed his hat trick late, but the comeback was already complete. Pat Coll was excellent again, stopping 26 of 29 shots as Freedom moved to 3-0.

South Jersey Geese Chasers 7, Unify New Jersey Wolfpack 0

South Jersey saved its most dominant performance for its final game.

The Geese Chasers scored three times in the opening half and four more in the second, with Mark Constantine and Matt Laganella each scoring twice. Kyle Young finished with a goal and three assists, while Rob Schuman contributed a goal and an assist.

Goaltender Matt Lemma stopped all 10 shots he faced, giving South Jersey its second shutout of the event and completing a perfect 4-0 opening day.

New Jersey Assault 5, Champion Trash Pandas 4

One of the best games of the event featured multiple momentum swings.

Champion jumped ahead behind goals from Kevin Stagen, Sean Rogers and Ryan Scott, but New Jersey kept answering. The Assault scored twice while shorthanded during the first half, including one from Victor Masino, and the teams went to the break tied 3-3.

Jimmy Dean restored the Trash Pandas lead in the second before Joe Cabarello tied the game at four. With just 49 seconds remaining, Masino scored his second goal of the game to give New Jersey the dramatic 5-4 victory. Masino finished with two goals and an assist.

Champion Trojan Pandas 6, Freedom HC 2

Freedom entered the final game looking for a perfect 4-0 afternoon, but the Trojan Pandas put together their best offensive performance of the event.

The centerpiece was Greg Sbarra, who was involved in nearly everything Champion generated. Sbarra scored twice in the opening half while assisting goals by Andrew Dreher and Nick Primavera, helping the Trojan Pandas build a 4-1 lead.

Dreher scored again in the second before Sbarra completed his hat trick with 23 seconds remaining. Sbarra finished the game with an outstanding three goals and three assists for six points, while Eric Stohrer stopped 17 of 19 shots in the 6-2 victory.

Individual Standouts

Kyle Young — South Jersey Geese Chasers

Young was at the center of South Jersey's perfect afternoon, finishing the four-game event with three goals and five assists for eight points. His biggest outing came in the 7-0 finale against Unify, when he recorded a goal and three assists. He also scored in each of the Geese Chasers' first two games and added an assist against the Trash Pandas.

Victor Masino — New Jersey Assault

Masino provided New Jersey Assault with offense throughout the event, totaling six goals and one assist. He scored the eventual game-winner in the opener, recorded a hat trick against Freedom HC and then scored twice — including the late game-winner — in the 5-4 victory over the Trash Pandas.

Mark Constantine — South Jersey Geese Chasers

Constantine was another major piece of South Jersey's 4-0 performance, accumulating five goals and two assists for seven points. He recorded points in all four games and scored twice in the 7-0 victory that completed the undefeated day.

Greg Sbarra — Champion Trojan Pandas

Sbarra's final game alone was enough to earn him a place among the day's standouts. The Trojan Pandas defenseman erupted for a six-point performance with three goals and three assists, factoring into all six Champion goals in the 6-2 win over previously undefeated Freedom HC.

George Hinds — Unify New Jersey Wolfpack

Hinds consistently drove the Wolfpack offense. He scored in each of Unify's first three games and finished the day with four goals and an assist, highlighted by two goals and an assist in the 4-2 victory over the Trojan Pandas.

Kevin Morello — Champion Trash Pandas

Morello finished with three goals and two assists, including both Trash Pandas goals in the narrow 3-2 loss to South Jersey. He also scored against Freedom and recorded assists in Champion's victories and close games throughout the afternoon.

South Jersey's Goaltending Tandem

South Jersey's 4-0 record was built on more than offense. David Stenzel and Matt Lemma combined to allow only three goals over four games, and each recorded a shutout.

Stenzel stopped all 18 shots against the Trojan Pandas, while Lemma turned aside all 10 shots against Unify. Lemma also made 15 saves on 16 shots against New Jersey Assault. Together, South Jersey's goaltenders stopped 52 of 55 shots during the event.

Freedom's Goaltending

Freedom also received important work in goal. Pat Coll stopped 20 of 22 shots in the win over the Trash Pandas and followed that with a 26-save performance against New Jersey Assault. Justin Brennan stopped 20 of 22 in Freedom's one-goal victory over Unify while also receiving credit on the official game sheet for the game's opening goal.

Delaware Valley Standings Take Early Shape

After the first four games of the season, South Jersey Geese Chasers sit alone at 4-0, with an impressive 16 goals scored and only three allowed.

Freedom HC follows at 3-1, an impressive beginning for the new organization despite seeing its perfect start ended by the Trojan Pandas in the final game.

New Jersey Assault finished 2-2, including one-goal wins over both Champion teams.

The Champion Trash Pandas, Unify New Jersey Wolfpack and Champion Trojan Pandas all finished 1-3, although each showed the ability to compete throughout the day. Champion's three losses were all by one goal, while the Trojan Pandas finished the afternoon by handing Freedom its only loss.

Four games represent 20 percent of the 20-game regular season, so opening day carries more weight than a traditional early-season tournament. South Jersey has established the early target in the Delaware Valley, but Saturday also showed how little separation may exist throughout much of the rest of the division.

Hockey Rolls On Through the Storm

Like the Northeast crossover taking place simultaneously at Skate Safe America on Long Island, the Inman event was played with a major tropical storm affecting the region.

Travel was difficult. Weather conditions were unpredictable. But once everyone reached Edison, the hockey continued as scheduled.

Twelve games. Six teams. An entire Delaware Valley opening day completed without interruption.

Between the 12 games at Inman and the 24 being played simultaneously on Long Island, Saturday represented one of the busiest opening days on the PIHA Northeast calendar — and the weather was unable to stop it.

Next Up: Colonial Division Opens at Rockville

The Northeast Minor schedule continues Saturday, October 3, when the Colonial Division opens its 2026-27 season at Rockville Sportsplex.

With the Metropolitan, Mid-Atlantic and Delaware Valley divisions now underway, the Colonial teams will become the final Northeast Minor division to begin regular-season play.

For South Jersey, Freedom and the rest of the Delaware Valley, four games are already in the books.

And after an opening day played through a tropical storm, the first chapter of the 2026-27 Delaware Valley Minor season has officially been written.