In the five years that Pascack Valley hockey coach Ken DelSanto has been at the helm, never has one of his teams failed to qualify for one of either the state or county tournaments. However, that all could change.

A team that showed a lot of promise and poise early in the season seems to has lost its way recently, dropping from 4-2-1 to 4-8-2 with the team’s most recent loss, 6-1, to Watchung Hills on Monday night.

This means the team would essentially have to win three in a row, and maintain that .500 play, or win out the rest of the season to qualify for the state tournament.

When asked “What happened?” DelSanto paused for a moment before saying, “I can’t really answer that.”

While he couldn’t pinpoint exactly happened, he did have a few ideas.

“We have not been doing our job in the defensive zone and maybe the fact that we have three freshman defensemen is starting to show,” DelSanto said. “The effort is still high, we’re just not executing properly.”

DelSanto has seen the recent losing spell take its tolls on the players.

“Frustration starts to build when you don’t win and fingers start pointing,” he said. “I have major issues with a lack of accountability and those fingers pointing anywhere but in the mirror.”

Sophomore forward AJ Helfenbein also noticed a similar frustration starting to build.

“We know we have the potential to win games and we try to focus on improving for the future, rather than dwelling on the past games,” he said.

The Indians have about ten games left in their season, so they are in a “win now, desperation type of mentality” according to DelSanto.

The key to winning down the road and regaining form?

“It starts with breaking everything down. Game by game, period by period, shift by shift,” he said. “Playing, good, fundamental hockey is crucial, and when teams play good fundamental hockey, they win games.”

DelSanto acknowledged the Indians tendency for giving up goals. PV has been outscored by opponents 71-38 this season, including three games scoring just one goal.

With the recent skid, there could be some line shake ups including moving defenseman Keith Doherty to forward and potentially Luke Ciocca to defense, where he played last year. It could be determined game-by-game or possibly even by a mid-game change.

Senior center Matt Truglio has been one of the bright spots this season, scoring six goals in his last four games. 

Sophomore forward AJ Helfenbein, who usually plays on the second line, suffered an injury, but DelSanto doesn’t envision it sidelining him for a significant amount of time.