The Bridgewater Raritan High School ice hockey team wrapped up a memorable season with a devastating overtime loss against Monroe High School on Thursday, February 27.

Despite sophomore Alexander (Sasha) Abolenskiy’s attempted comeback, scoring two goals to tie Monroe with two minutes left in the third period, the Panthers fell short in overtime, losing 3-2.

Bridgewater-Raritan delivered an outstanding season, with a 22-4 record and becoming Skyland Conference champion for the first time in over a decade. They the year off with a 6-0 victory against rival Hunterdon Central Regional High School. Following one loss against the Pingry School, the team went on a 17-game winning streak, the longest in  New Jersey this winter.

Justin Madison, making his varsity hockey debut as a freshman goaltender, had a save percentage of .904% and a total of 602 saves, becoming a vital part of the Panthers roster.

Sasha Abolenskiy, Bridgewater-Raritan’s top point scorer, finished the season with 30 goals and 39 assists, reaching a total of 100 career points. He was one of the stars of the season, highlighted by the final game. A few days following the end of the season, Sasha reflected on the season as a whole.

“We were very upset about our loss to Monroe, especially knowing this was our seniors’ final go around. As much as we hang our heads, we should credit ourselves with what was Bridgewater-Raritan High School’s best ice hockey season in quite some time,” he said.

Going into the 25-26 season, Sasha spoke about the team’s goals.

“We look to do what we did last year, we will be missing our best personnel from last season, so it will be more of a challenge getting to where we were last year,” he said.

The Panthers now need to say goodbye to some of their most valuable players from over the years.

Captain Sean Fagan hung up his skates for the final time as Bridgewater captain, closing the chapter of his high school hockey career along with seven other seniors.

Fagan, who has a career total of 109 points, assistant captain Dylan Churpakovich, and other key players like forwards Dmytro Murentes and Nicholas Wisniewski are those that the Panthers will miss the most. The list goes on, with Defensemen Tair Gafialtullin and Matias Dorey, as well as fellow seniors Shawn Yuhasz, David Yi, Benjamin Meyer and Lucas Rohman.

Bridgewater-Raritan honors all of these players, on a huge season.

Although the outcome was not the one the team had hoped for, so many accomplishments were made, making this season and team unforgettable.