The North Jersey Avalanche shomer Shabbat program was started in the fall of 2016. The program has since expanded to include three teams, comprised of children ages eight to 14, who now have an opportunity to play competitive travel hockey with a Shabbat-friendly schedule. The teams play out of the Ice House in Hackensack, which has been a strong supporter and enabler of the program. The Ice House appointed one of their coaching stars, Robert Jaworski, as the head coach of the Squirt team for the current season.

The team is made up of 15 boys born in 2008 and 2009, attending seven different Jewish day schools in New York and New Jersey; Moriah, RYNJ, Solomon Schechter of Bergen County, Solomon Schechter of Manhattan, Heschel, Ramaz and Ashar. The diversity has created a very positive culture both on and off the ice with teammates expanding their circle of friends. Over the course of the summer, the team decided to enter the Philadelphia Fall Classic as a launching pad to their upcoming season. The tournament organizers were asked to avoid scheduling games during the Sabbath, a request which was graciously accommodated. The schedule included three regular games, a playoff game and a potential championship game. The competition included teams from New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

The first game took place Friday morning against Team Philly at the Oaks Center Ice Arena. The team was excited to kick off the tournament and did so with an overwhelming 9-1 victory. Game two’s opponent was the Jersey Colts and the Avalanche again flew out of the gates which resulted in a dominant 8-0 win. With two of the three games in the books, the Avalanche went into Shabbat with a lot of confidence and looking forward to their matchup Saturday night against the Long Island Rebels.

Shabbat kicked off with Friday night minyan and Divrei Torah. Davening was followed by a delicious Shabbat meal, catered by the House of Kosher in Philadelphia. Shabbat day began with a minyan which included a Torah that traveled with the team. As Shabbat ended, the focus was on getting prepared for the third game at 7:15 p.m.

The Avalanche made it just in time for the face-off and took on a very talented Long Island Rebels team. The Avs were off to a sluggish start after an afternoon filled with knee hockey tournaments and multiple games of freeze tag. After being down 1-0 early on, the Avalanche responded with two unanswered goals and a hard fought 2-1 victory. That secured a 3-0 record and the #1 seed in the playoffs.

Despite a 5:45 a.m. wake-up call on Sunday morning, the team was excited to play in a 7:00 a.m. playoff game against the Montclair Blues. After taking a 4-0 lead after the first period, the team ended up winning 6-1 and advancing to the finals later that day.

With five hours to spare, the team decided to incorporate some American history into the weekend. They made the trip to Philadelphia to tour Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell. With all that pent up energy, the next stop was climbing the Rocky steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. One race after another featured a parent versus his child. It was then back to Ice Line Quad Rinks Arena for the championship game at 2:15p.m.

The team was anxious entering the championship game. Coach Jaworski had some calming words and the team left the locker room with the Rocky theme song booming in the background. The finals featured a matchup against the undefeated Bedford Bears. The Avalanche opened up the scoring with two minutes left in the first period. An early second period goal by the Bears tied the game at 1-1. The Avalanche responded with four unanswered goals to secure the championship with a dominant 5-1 victory. As a result, the team went undefeated (5-0). The medal ceremony was filled with smiling faces and a celebratory team picture with the championship banner.

The offensive effort was led by Noam Bar-Chama and Gabriel Kahn, which resulted in a division leading thirty goals for the Avalanche team. The defensive effort was led by David Feintuch and goaltender Jared Helwani which allowed only five goals throughout the tournament. The team now looks forward to an exciting season and two additional tournaments in Delaware and Boston.

As important as sports are to the fabric of the team, we are constantly reminded of the delicate balance between being observant and competing at a high level. We remain mindful of who we are and the community we represent.

As a result of the tragedy in Pittsburgh, the team will be raising money for the Jewish community of Pittsburgh. The decision was made to collectively donate $18 for every goal scored in the upcoming 18 league games. All money raised will be donated to the Jewish Federation of Greater Pittsburgh (https://jewishpgh.org). For anyone interested in joining this effort, please email [email protected].

We look onward, yet remember those who lost their lives during prayer, on a Shabbat morning across the state.

By JLNJ Sportsdesk

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