b'Winsteadagrees: Its good to have mul-tiplelevelsinasportfreshmen, junior var-sity and varsityto be more competitive. We just need more student interest.Therearehockey playersinthedistrict. We need them to show upandplay,Macri says. We have to raise CUSTOM DENTURES awareness.Whenno-bodyknowsyoure IMPLANTS playing, the talent pool Oliver Penalber, a junior at Columbia High School,is out there and youre FULL MOUTH RESTORATION started playing hockey his freshman year. notgettingthem. COSMETIC DENTISTRY Theres a real opportu-Still, he says the biggest challengenity for kids to be on this team.they continue to face is interest from potentialplayers,especiallyinthe 23 Old Short Hills Road face of competition from local club West Orange, New Jersey teams.Highschoolhockeyisup 973-736-4432 against club hockey, and they tout it as the fast lane to college exposure, deegandental.com Macri says. But he says the school teams bring something extra: When you play for your high school, youre playingforyourcommunityand your classmates. Its so much more than just the jersey. He says theres a lot of untapped potential. The more kids that know wehavehockey,thebetter,says Macri. We want to grow it so we have a JV program and we can de-velop players over four years. HedThe team plays most of its games at love to see more kids tying on skatesthe Richard J. Codey Arena in West INNOVATION and falling in love with hockey. Orange.STARTS HERE Macrialsowantstogrowthe localfanbasefortheteamaspart ofhockeytakingitsrightfulplace among the big school sports. Wed Come learn about our love to see more fans, he says, not-career-empowering graduate ing that people can find game info programs, scholarships onNJ.comandviatheNutley-and Seton Halls supportive Columbia Hockey Club Facebook community. page. The energy from the fans be-gets energy on the ice. Even when we dont win, its great to have fans out. GRADUATE Penalberconcurs.Wejustneed OPEN HOUSE people from our school to come to SATURDAY the games. It would up the morale, I ,FEBRUARY 22 think, for everybody. REGISTER 10 a . m . Brian Glaser is a dedicated fan of all Players watch the game and staythings New Jersey who lives in Maple-ready to change on and off the ice. wood with his wife, son and cat.14/ matters magazine / winter 2025'