Sports
Rising Star Kinkella To Take Bigger Role for Ridgewood Hockey
The sophomore came up with some of the season's biggest goals and looks to do so for the next two years.
Unfortunately for the Ridgewood ice hockey team there will be no games at the Prudential Center for them in March after its season was derailed by a 6-1 loss to Hillsborough in the second round of the state tournament.
But beneath the heartache is an emerging star the team will have for a few more years–sophomore forward Zach Kinkella, who tallied 16 goals and 18 assists on the season.
Two of the biggest goals on the 2010-11 season came in the Big North Gold Cup on February 25 at the Ice Vault in Wayne, both of which came off Kinkella's stick.
During the regular season, Ridgewood battled tooth and nail with Tenafly to a pair of ties. The third rubber match would determine the cup hoister.
Both teams could share the title if the game ended in a tie after regulation and an overtime period, but Kinkella would have none of it. Not only did he score the game-tying goal but also the winning goal, icing Tenafly for a 5-4 victory and the first Big North Gold Cup title.
Kinkella thrived on the line with Kevin Entwistle and Peter McGinley this season. After McGinley went down with an injury in the Cup playoffs against Dumont, Kinkella and Entwistle still thrived with a myriad of replacements for McGinley.
The Maroons sophomore helped propel the Maroons to a 19-4-3 record.
Despite the gaudy record Kinkella and the team had mixed feelings about the season.
"We were expecting more, but we still had a great season," added Kinkella about the state playoff run.
The 5-foot-9-inch and 150-pound sophomore felt that his best played game came in the semi-finals of the Big North Gold Cup on Feb. 22, a 6-2 victory over Fair Lawn. In that contest Kinkella had a goal and an assist.
"That is a hard one to say, but I would think it would be the Fair Lawn game in the semi-finals," said Kinkella. "It was a fast paced game and I felt good playing in it."
But the semi-final victory would just be the appetizer for Kinkella and Ridgewood.
In the victory over Tenafly for the Gold title and both teams getting excellent chances, Kinkella put in a rebound of an open net to the right of Tenafly goalie Jon Winawer to finally end the deadlock with 3:48 left in overtime.
"I just knew that I had to throw it on net," said an excited and exhausted Kinkella after that game. "It is such a great feeling."
Coming from his freshman season into his sophomore year, Ridgewood head coach Michael Luchessi said that Kinkella has improved in several areas.
"I think he does not do one thing great,” said Luchessi, clearly thrilled to have Kinkella for two more seasons. “He does a lot of things well. He's a sound and smart hockey player. Offensively he has good instincts.”
Kinkella was gracious, noting that his play was helped not only this season but during his freshman season from his linemates.
"I just think we had a lot of chemistry between the three of us for the last two seasons," he remarked.
The 2010-11 season looks to be just the tip of the iceberg on Kinkella's potential as he heads toward his junior season that gets going only in nine months. During the offseason the sophomore knows what he will have more pressure on him next season to put the puck in the net.
