The WMC ice hockey season is well underway. At this point, the reigning Hass Cup champions are 2-1-1. A key member of that title winning team is senior goalkeeper, Phil Togno. Togno has been in net for the Wolfpack since his freshman year and this year finds himself as one of the team’s three captains. 

Over the last four years, he has recorded 1,245 saves. In his first season he stopped 263 shots. Sophomore year, despite the team being winless all season, he had 399 saves. The Wolfpack’s historic Haas Cup championship season he had 485 saves. And although early in the season, his numbers thus far are on track with the last three years.

Togno began his career when was six years old. He stated “It’s something my family has always done. I grew up knowing I was going to play hockey.” Ice hockey has continued to be something that his family does and now they do it together. Teams are often compared to being like a family and for Togno that has its own meaning. His father is the head coach of the program and his younger brother is a standout forward for the Wolfpack. For Togno, getting to play with his brother and for his dad is “a pretty great feeling. I wouldn’t want to do it with anybody else. I’ve been playing with them for most of my life and it feels great that at the very end of my playing I get to play with them still.” 

Togno was in goal for the Wolfpack last year when they won the Haas Cup. The boys took down Mount Olive-Hopatcong-Hackettstown (MOHOHA) 2-1 to win the program’s third crown and first since 2011. In that game, he recorded 26 saves. Winning the Cup meant a lot more than just getting a trophy for Togno, “It finally showed how our hard work paid off,” He continued “We were able to do something a lot of people didn’t think we would be able to.”  Togno feels that having won the Cup last season “gives us more competition. Teams come out expecting something from us this year. It will be tough to do it again but that is our goal.” 

His favorite part being on the WMC ice hockey team is the people and the team environment. He shared that they are always able to have fun and keep things light. His favorite memory from WMC ice hockey comes from the Haas Cup victory: “After we won the Haas Cup we went and celebrated as a team which was super fun and then going to school the next day.” 

So far this season, Togno has recorded 98 saves with an 87% save percentage. The expectation for the team this year is to “try and repeat the Haas Cup and if we can we would also like to go further than that and make a deep run in the state playoffs.” He feels that with the guys on the team this year those things are very much possible for the Wolfpack.

*Statistics have changed between writing and publication*