Aidan Pasic’s overtime goal was the cherry on top of an incredible comeback for Delbarton as they scored three unanswered to take down Don Bosco Prep 3-2 in overtime in the 2026 NJSIAA Non-Public Boys Ice Hockey Championship, winning it back-to-back years. This is the fifteenth state title the school has won in its history.
“I know we’ve never been down this much, you know, you gotta battle back,” Senior Matteo Conte said. The defenseman scored the Green Wave’s second goal to tie the game. “I mean, you gotta find it. Find what’s in you, find what you have.”
This was the perfect ending to a remarkable season put together by the Green Wave. Finishing the year 20-1-3, they put on a clinic all season, outscoring their opponents 98 to 23.
This isn’t the first time the two teams have seen each other this season. Meeting three previous times, Delbarton has won twice, including the Gordon Cup, along with a tie.
Coming out of the gates, the Green Wave looked like the far better team. They were able to get in formations in the offensive zone, made clean passes, and were bodying Ironmen left and right. However, Don Bosco was slowing them down and making it a challenge for their opponent. While broken passes, preventing any rebound chances, and clearing the puck was key, the Ironmen were not comfortable themselves and constantly had to move the puck quickly, which resulted in turnovers.
While Don Bosco was still applying pressure into the second period, Delbarton was more in control and increased their number of scoring chances. Their biggest obstacle was goalie Alex Annunziato, who was making his best Patrick Roy impression in between the pipes. Shot after shot, save after save, the sophomore was letting nothing get past him, even when he faced a 2-on-0 breakaway where he made a lunging glove save.
The Devils’ goal horn was finally sounded late in the second period when a wide-open Aaron Bielen put the puck in the net for the Ironmen with only a second remaining. The sophomore forward was at the right place at the right time when the puck popped out to him while both teams were fighting for it in front of the crease.
Don Bosco took advantage of a power play early in the third period when Jack Foye backhanded it in next to the goal post after a fast break that was broken up. A costly tripping penalty put the Green Wave in a position that has become a rarity: down two scores.
A roughing penalty called on the Ironmen after the green light turned incredibly costly as Delbarton scored less than a minute later. Sean O’Gwen took a shot from the blue line and instantly got his team back in the game.
The Green Wave was yet again successful on the man advantage when Conte scored off a rebound with seven to go. After nearly two periods of zeros on the board, four goals were scored in a span of five minutes.
Things would get crazier towards the end when the Ironmen were called for elbowing with 22 seconds left in regulation. Delbarton could not capitalize in time, and sure enough, the Non-Public State Championship was heading to overtime.
With about nine minutes remaining, a shot was taken, and the rebound fell into the hands of Pasic. He skated across the front of the net, spun around, and ripped one. It went past Annunziato, and that was it. After missing multiple chances to score throughout the game, Pasic succeeded when it mattered the most and sealed the miraculous comeback for his team, winning it all.
“Believing in our team. I know if I wasn’t going to score, someone else is going to do it for me, and these two on my left [O’Gwen and Conte] did it for me.” Pasic said. The captain ends his Delbarton Hockey career with 41 goals and 106 points. “Overtime people won’t forget I scored the game winner, they’re going to forget the other ones, so I got it off, and it worked.”
While Don Bosco may have come up short, the performance by Annunziato cannot go unnoticed. Anybody in the building would agree that the score should’ve been a lot higher in Delbarton’s favor. But it was Annunziato who kept his team alive till the very end. While he faced 17 shots between the third period and overtime, the Ironmen didn’t necessarily give him the help he deserved after only shooting three of their own.
This is a young Delbarton program that is stacked with sophomores who are going nowhere. Head coach Bruce Shatel is looking forward to defending their title and doing it all again next season.
“I haven’t put a lot of thought into that, you know, I think there’s going to be enough pieces in that room returning for us to be competitive, and it’s just going to depend on, you know, how much better we get throughout the course of the year,” Shatel said. Delbarton’s skipper has coached his team to an undefeated record against teams from the Garden State. “But when the time comes Ill really look forward to building another team that is successful.”
