Saint Joseph Regional High School 1989

The School


SJR is a private, Roman Catholic, boys, college preparatory school on a 33 acre campus in suburban Montvale, New Jersey. St. Joseph was founded in 1962 by the Brothers of Saint Francis Xavier (the Xaverian Brothers). It is owned and operated by the Archdiocese of Newark. The school motto is Vir Fidelis, or "The Faithful Man".

The Players


Led all year by the State's most dominating offensive player, Ken Blum was the weapon of choice when it came to scoring goals for SJR. As the First Team All-State center and the state’s leading scorer with 109 points, Ken was flanked by junior sniper, Phil Eboli (66 pts) and senior grinder and leader, Craig Gottschall (55 pts). This line was virtually unstoppable and the team could counter punch opponents with two more lines of depth, scoring and consistency with several key players like junior forward John Lively and senior forwards, Dave Infantino and Chris Frosk. Other significant contributors to the SJR machine were hard-nosed hustlers like junior forward, Dave Justini and sophomore Bob Guth. Though boasting the state’s most potent offense in 1989, first and foremost The Green Knights were built around a philosophy of stifling defense and excellent goaltending.

Senior net minder, Brad Pearson was as consistent a big game goalie as any in the league, boasting a 1.70 GA, seven shutouts and a 91.6% save percentage. The gritty SJR blue line, with its “stay at home” mentality, was also capable of adding offense of its own. Anchored by the All State senior, Francois Marquis (35 pts), who also ran the power play for SJR and paired with junior standout Ken Dusebout, was the first line of defense for the Green Knights. Hard hitting senior Scott Williams (33 pts) led the second line of defense, as he was paired with another junior standout, Tim Allen, which gave SJR perhaps its most well rounded roster in the school’s long history of hockey pedigree.

The Season


Losing the State Finals in 1988, the expectations were set high for the Green Knights in 1989. SJR was determined to get back to the show and win it all and they came out hungry from the gate, winning 15 of their first 16 games. As the season progressed, SJR had the unique opportunity of travelling to Switzerland during the Winter break for a week to play four games against European counterparts. The American squad went 4-0 and the trip was an amazing experience that bonded the group further and solidified the team’s confidence of being able to skate with any other team. Upon arrival back in the States, SJR picked up where they left off, continuing their success by finishing the regular season with a (24-2-1) record and winning the NJIHL “A” Conference title.

The Post-Season


SJR would navigate their way through the State Tournament again and would eventually meet their long-time foes once again, the Montclair Mounties. This semi-final game offered hockey fans a glimpse of what was to come as SJR, down 3-1, came back to tie the game and send it to sudden death overtime. That’s when John Lively poked the puck loose at center ice and rang the post on a breakaway. A moment later, Lively’s linemate Dave Infantino grabbed the rebound and scored the game winning goal in one of the most dramatic overtime games in the history of the tournament to advance SJR back to another NJSIAA State Final game.

It was the prelude to The Game of the Year… the #1 and #2 ranked teams all season long that had virtually dominated High School hockey in New Jersey in 1989, would finally lace up the skates and clash on the ice against each other for one of the most anticipated State Final games in the tournament’s history. This was the greatest game never played

The Roster