By Lisa Zola-DeLibero
Going to one school all day and playing a sport for another in the afternoon might sound taxing, but Ewing High School senior Justin Leese, sophomores Sam Garcia and Travis “Diesel” Pelke; and freshman Billy Cobb say it’s really not so bad.
The four attend Ewing but play ice hockey for Lawrence High School, as Ewing doesn’t have a team.
“The hardest part was making sure they had a ride to the games and practice each week,” head coach John Ritchie said. “The rest was easy.”
Left-winger Leese, who drives the Ewing boys to and from practices and games, said that playing for three years with Lawrence means he practically knew half the team already.
“The experience is great,” he said. “Even though we are from two different schools, we come together as a team and put that behind us. They welcome us at Lawrence, and make us feel as though we go to the school. The team formed a special bond with each other, and we are like a family. They really make us feel like a Lawrence Cardinal.”
Cobb, a defenseman on the team, feels that the situation was a little awkward at first, but as the season progressed, he started to feel more comfortable.
“The special part about playing for Lawrence is getting to make new friends from another school,” said Cobb. “Also, making the varsity team my freshman year” has been special.
Although a lot of Ewing students don’t attend many of the games, students who attend the school know about the arrangement, and they support them in spirit.
“When I walk down the halls at school and people see my jacket, they’ll ask when our next game is, and wish us luck,” says netminder Pelke, whose brother Kyle was a defenseman on the Ewing ice hockey team from ’05 to ‘08. “The students here respect that we play for another school.”
Pelke, the team’s sole goaltender who says his favorite goalies are Jonathan Quick and Marty Brodeur, felt a little nervous at first about playing for the Cardinals. But he feels that a couple of kids on the team helped him out, and made him more comfortable.
“We get along really well because we are all together a lot,” said Pelke. “We joke around a lot, have fun and work hard at practice, and we play as a team. Coach Ritchie is very supportive or all of us, and really gets us amped up before the games.”
At a football game between Ewing and Lawrence, Pelke, wore his Cardinal’s Varsity hockey jacket, but sat with the Ewing fans.
“I was in a win-win situation, because the hockey combines both schools for me,” says Pelke. “Whatever team won, I rooted for.”
The Lawrence Cardinal players are very accepting of these across-town players being on the team. Sophomore Brian Reznikov says that the Ewing players are a great addition to the squad. “They’re cool.”
Senior Cory Zrieko says, “The guys really help out our team.”
Assistant coach John Patterson is very happy about having these players on the team. “They are a great group of guys,” Says Patterson, “Having them on the team is huge. Diesel (Pelke) is our backbone, but they have all contributed.”
The season has had its ups and downs, but overall, there have been many more positives than negatives.
“Putting a team together is like trying to put a puzzle together, and not always having the pieces you think you may need, “ said Ritchie. “Only four or five players on our team play club hockey for teams like the Jags 16AA, the Flames 18AA, Chiefs Bantam A and Princeton A. But all of our guys work hard, and they are improving.”
The puzzle may not be solved completely for the Lawrence Cardinals, but the team did solve a puzzling question as to where the Ewing players will play a sport they love.
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