Last year, the Pascack Valley hockey team clinched a berth in the state tournament, and that is one of coach Ken DelSanto’s main goals for this year.

“I definitely think a berth in both the county and state tournaments is an achievable goal,” DelSanto said.

To make that goal easier, the Indians have to win games, and through their first five games, they’re 3-2-0 and have been playing well.

The season opened with a win for PV, beating Paramus 4-2, with Trent Shanley scoring the game winner with 1:46 left in the game.

 “Going into that first game, I wasn’t going to leave without a win,” said the junior forward.

That same type of mentality was shared by players and fans alike, as both were excited to start the season.

Both the forwards and defense have played well, despite the overwhelming youth on defense.

The Indians have had no trouble scoring, something which is the result of “doing a good job executing our opportunities,” said sophomore AJ Helfenbein, who helped the cause in PV’s 6-3 rout of Old Tappan.

Going into the season, youth was a glaring focus for the Indians, especially on defense. But it hasn’t been much cause for concern.

“The young guys are playing well,” said senior forward Avery Zaretsky.

One standout in particular among the young guys was freshman forward Aidan Tuffy, who was off to a great start and saw a good deal of playing time, until he suffered a concussion which sidelined him for two weeks. He’s slated to return this Friday when the Indians take on the Highlanders again, hoping for a better result. 

It has also been a very strong performance in net by sophomore goalie Stephen Brennan, who has shown tremendous poise and true veteran qualities. He is getting off to a good start as he starts his second straight season in net for the Indians, after winning the job last year as a freshman.

Meanwhile, the team is “moving in the right direction,” said DelSanto of PV’s early season play. He emphasized that he was not overly worried about the results against powerhouse teams like Glen Rock who they lost by a score of 11-1, and more worried about them doing the little things correctly and learning from some of the big losses.