2025-2026 NJ Dare Devils

Tentative Schedule: 2025-2026 Dare Devils (to be updated on a regular basis)

*10/11/25 - 10/12/25: Saturday & Sunday - Frankenfest Tournament - Codey Arena. Details will be updated here.

*10/18/25 - Saturday, 9am-10:30am - Practice - Codey Arena 

*10/25/25 - Saturday, 9am-10:30am - Practice - Codey Arena

*11/1/25 - Saturday, 9am-10:30am - Practice - Codey Arena

*11/8/25 - Saturday, 9am-10:30am - Practice - Codey Arena

*11/7/25 - 11/9/25: Friday, Saturday & Sunday - USA Hockey Special Classic - Ice Vault, Wayne, NJ. Details to follow. USA Special Hockey Classic Website.  Each player must be registered with USA Hockey to participate.

*11/15/25 - Saturday - NO PRACTICE this weekend

*11/22/25 - Saturday, 9am-10:30am - Practice - Codey Arena

*11/29/25 - Saturday - NO PRACTICE this weekend - Happy Thanksgiving!

*12/1/25 - Monday, 7pm - Group Night at the Prudential Center to see the Devils take on the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Dare Devils will play between the 1st and 2nd periods and there will be a group photo on the ice following the game. Register via this link.

*12/6/25 - Saturday, 9am-10:30am - Practice - Codey Arena

*12/7/25 - Sunday, 10am-11:30am - Away Game @ Philadelphia Freeze - Tarken Ice Rink

*12/20/25 - Saturday, 9am-10:30am - Practice - Codey Arena - Holiday Party immediately following practice in the Party Area of Codey Arena

*12/27/25 - Saturday, 9am-10:30am - Practice - Codey Arena - Holiday Break practice - details to follow

*1/3/26 - Saturday, 9am-10:30am - Practice - Codey Arena - Holiday Break practice - details to follow

*1/4/26 - Sunday, 7:50am-9:20am - Away Game @ Brick Stars - Howell Ice Arena

*1/10/26 - Saturday, 9am-10:30am - Practice - Codey Arena

*1/17/26 - Saturday - NO PRACTICE this weekend

*1/18/26 - Sunday, 10am-11:30am - Away Game @ Philadelphia Freeze - Tarken Ice Rink

*1/24/26 - Saturday, 9am-10:30am - Practice - Codey Arena

*1/30/26 - 2/1/26: Friday, Saturday & Sunday - Ocean City Maryland Beach Bash - Carousel Resort. Details to follow.

*1/31/26 - Saturday, 9am-10:30am - Practice - Codey Arena

*2/7/26 - Saturday, 9am-10:30am - Practice - Codey Arena

*2/14/26 - Saturday - NO PRACTICE this weekend - Enjoy your Valentine(s)!

*2/21/26 - Saturday, 9am-10:30am - Practice - Codey Arena

*2/21/26 - 2/22/26: Saturday & Sunday - Rochester Tournament - Tim Hortons Ice Plex. Details to follow.

*2/28/26 - Saturday, 9am-10:30am - Practice - Codey Arena

Practice Summary - 10/4/25

The Dare Devils players all seemed to have extra focus at practice today. The coaching staff couldn't figure it out at first but then Captain Ryan Griffin yelled, "Skate hard! Frankenfest is next weekend!" Then it all made sense - everyone had an extra pep in their step knowing the premier ASHA showcase is one week away. Who knew Captain Ryan was a poet? Find out more in his updated Captain's Corner post! Well done, Cap!

Coach Myles deviated a bit from his typical conditioning sessions during the power skating drills. While he still had the players skating hard, he dialed down the intensity knowing the team has several games to play next week. He did however let the players know they are expected to skate the length of the ice in approximately six seconds. Maybe he will put that to the test during our next practice session (Saturday, 10/18).

Practice commenced with the typical learn-to-skate session, followed by power skating, and concluded with passing, shooting and stick-handling drills. Matty Brighton appeared to be in mid-season form, Ryan Kientz was steady as always, and Ryan Scorsune put on a shooting clinic, ringing several shots off the inside of the post into the back of the net. Junior Coaches Trevor Kopkik and Colin Smith put in excellent work today, showing some of our learn-to-skate players the finer points of hockey. Thank you, Colin and Trevor - your contributions mean a lot to our team!

Frankenfest Info:

Our Annual Frankenfest tournament is almost here - we have an action packed schedule for next Saturday, October 11th & Sunday, October 12th. The game schedules can be found under the Frankenfest tab. Locker room assignments are also on the schedule. Please note that these are subject to change over the course of the weekend. We recommend keeping an eye on our welcome desk for any changes related to locker room assignments.

All Dare Devils players must be registered and RSVP'd as attending Frankenfest to participate in the tournament. Every player is welcome to attend the tournament (regardless of skating ability) and will be assigned to a Dare Devils team based on their skill level. Team assignments have been communicated to the players/families via email (they are also listed on the Frankenfest tab.) It is imperative that players only skate during the games to which they are assigned. We will have coaches available to skate with learn-to-skate players during the games, if necessary. Junior coaches are encouraged to attend, as your schedule permits, as we can use your help throughout the weekend.

We will once again be holding our Costume Party at the Turtle Back Zoo on Saturday, October 11th. The festivities will kick off around 5:30pm. There will be dinner, trick or treating, a DJ and dancing, access to the carousel/special exhibits and much more! We can't wait to see everyone having a good time in their costumes! All players/families, coaches and junior coaches are encouraged to attend - even if you aren't skating during the weekend.

A special thank you goes out to Allison Silverstein, Ms.Grace, Antonia Worley and Patty Hung for heading up the party planning and tricky tray. Thanks to everyone else who has agreed to help out. However, we still need volunteers to assist with check-in, the hospitality room, party setup, candy donations and tricky tray donations. If you have the availability, please let us know if you can assist by completing the following form: Volunteer sign-up form.

Practice Summary - 9/27/25

After an encouraging performance against the powerhouse Brick Stars last weekend, it would be understandable if Coach Myles took it easy on the Dare Devils during this morning's practice. However, Coach Myles had other ideas for the squad. Knowing that Frankenfest, the premier ASHA tournament, is two weeks away, the main focus of today's practice was conditioning.

As per usual, practice started with the learn-to-skate session. Joel Gooblar, Daniel Weissman, Aiden Hung, Victoria Garay and Jordan Rosen all continued their marked improvement and will soon find themselves with the necessary skating skills to participate in the full practice. Following the lead of Coach Eric, our resident learn-to-skate whisperer, several Junior Coaches really went above and beyond to ensure that our new skaters had proper support today. Junior Coaches Evan Auclair, Carmine Bogert, Alex Strauss and Chase Olszewski really stepped up in making today a successful practice.

Next up was power skating and Coach Myles made sure that all of the skaters were gasping for air with all of the endurance work. The Dare Devils are poised to be the hardest working team in ASHA this season. After the power skating, Coach Myles split the squad into two groups to work on stick-handling, board play, passing, shooting and net races. In addition, Coach Myles homed in on the mental aspects of the game by talking the players through the proper way to take on a defender when they find themselves in a one-on-one situation. Coach Myles preached, "use your speed and the boards to your advantage. Don't try to barrel through the defender." Sage advice, Coach Myles. Captain Ryan Griffin (Updated Captains Corner Blog post can be found here) led the way but valiant efforts were also put in by Kory Wadleigh, Reese Citro, Will Milazzo, Charlie Alterman, TJ Howard, Kevin Plunkett, Nick Ritter, Danny Giger, Vincent Racamato, Jake Simon, Owen Silverstein and Micayla Shields.

As a reminder to the Dare Devils families, Frankenfest will be here in two weeks and we still need volunteers to assist with check-in, the hospitality room, party setup, candy donations and tricky tray donations. If you have the availability, please let us know if you can assist by completing the following form: Sign-up Genius Link

Group Night to See the Devils vs. Columbus on Monday, 12/1 at 7pm

Group night is scheduled for Monday, December 1st (the Devils are hosting the Columbus Blue Jackets). This year the Devils hooked us up and all seats will be in the lower level (Sections 10, 11, 13, 14 and 15). All player and junior coach tickets will be covered by the Dare Devils. All other attendee (including senior coaches) tickets are $60 each. Please register for this event via the website indicating the number of tickets needed. Payments can be made via the website, the team Venmo account or by check. The cutoff for orders is November 10th. Please reach out to Coach Brendon (brendon.passikoff@gmail.com) with any questions.

Register via this link.

Game Summary - @ Brick Stars - 9/21/25

For the first time in years, the Dare Devils opened their game schedule in September with a tilt against our fierce rivals, the Brick Stars, at the Howell Ice Arena. Similar to the NHLPA, the Dare Devils players fought for a shorter training camp in their most recent collective bargaining negotiation with management. As such, this season's game schedule started off earlier than usual. Not only was the game early in the season, today's contest was also early in the morning, with an official puck drop of 7:50am.

Fortunately for the players, the Howell Ice Arena is the coldest rink in New Jersey and the arctic blast they felt when stepping on the ice was the wake up call they needed. The game started off as a defensive battle with both teams trading chances throughout the opening minutes. The Dare Devils went up by two goals after Shea Passikoff and Jimmy McTernan both buried unassisted breakaways as the first period concluded. The talented Stars squad clawed back into the game and found themselves up by a score of 3 to 2 with two minutes remaining in the third period. In the final shift of the game, Shea Passikoff completed his hat-trick by converting two goals to put the Dare Devils up by one. Just when victory seemed inevitable, the Stars tied the game up at 4 with seconds remaining in the contest.

The game went to a shootout and Madison Mitchell, Andrew Piccirillo, Connor Hung, Sean Glassett and Samantha Ciemiecki all converted their penalty shots. Unfortunately for the Dare Devils, the Stars players also converted all of their shootout opportunities and the game ended in a draw.

In addition to the players getting on the score sheet, strong defensive efforts were put in by James Cooney, Liam Smith, Ayden Duran, Tony He and Aaron Quintana. Owen Silverstein, Patrick Hung and Micayla Shields all played strong all-around games and each had several opportunities to score but were stymied by the uber-talented Stars goalie.

A special thank you goes out to Coach Alex and the Brick Stars for hosting us today. We greatly appreciate the sportsmanship and hospitality you displayed by keeping this an evenly matched game despite the fact we were playing without a netminder . We also thank you for treating us to donuts and coffee after the game. We can't wait to see you at the USA Hockey Classic in November!

As a reminder to the Dare Devils families, Frankenfest will be here in a few weeks and we still need volunteers to assist with check-in, the hospitality room, party setup, candy donations and tricky tray donations. If you have the availability, please let us know if you can assist by completing the following form: Signup Genius link.

Practice Summary - 9/20/25

The Dare Devils season is starting to get into full swing. Today was another excellent practice and it went a long way in preparing the players for tomorrow morning's game in Brick (7:50am at Howell Ice Rink) and the upcoming Frankenfest Tournament (10/11 and 10/12 at Codey).

We once again had great representation from the players, coaches, and junior coaches. Practice started with the typical learn-to-skate session and from there Coach Myles worked the players hard to get them ready for the upcoming games. Today's focus was on endurance drills and skills training but the players still seemed to have a lot of fun, despite all of the hard work. The standouts at practice today were Ayden Duran, Matty Brighton, Charlie Alterman, Joel Gooblar, Victoria Garay, Jonah Barnes and Tony He; all of whom demonstrated extra focus and determination in completing the drills.

We would also like to highlight the dedication of our coaching staff. Many of the coaches and volunteers have children on the team, so it is natural for us to put in the effort to make the Dare Devils a successful program (not to minimize the energy spent by the parent volunteers). We also have several senior coaches with siblings on the team (Head Coach Myles Mitchell, Jordan Benoff and Ray Law) and their commitment to the team is extremely admirable as they put in countless hours organizing practices and strategizing for games. In addition, we have several hero junior coaches, senior coaches and volunteers that do not have any family connection to the team. They volunteer their time and efforts out of the kindness of their hearts to enhance the lives of our kids. This includes the vast majority of the junior coaches, team photographer Frank Ingram, Eric Zlotnik, Steve Toledo, Billy Rafferty and Kristen Lattarelli.  Please take the time to acknowledge their efforts the next time you see them.

Theresa Mosca once again provided coffee for the parents during practice today. Thank you, Theresa!

Frankenfest will be here in a few weeks and we still need volunteers to assist with check-in, the hospitality room, party setup, candy donations and tricky tray donations. If you have the availability, please let us know if you can assist by completing the following form: Signup genius link

Practice Summary - 9/13/25

Inquiring minds recently asked our mangers/assistant coaches (Bernard and Brendon) about the last time they cried. As if they were step-brothers, and without hesitation, both simultaneously replied, "at practice on Saturday, September 6th!" 

What a difference a week makes. Coach Myles sensed our desperation and brought in reinforcements for the 2nd Dare Devils practice of the season. This mornings coach to player ratio was as good as its ever been and it led to a well-organized, productive, fun and hard-working practice. 

Led by Coaches Myles, Eric, Jordan, Erin, Steve Toledo, Doug, Terence, Ray, Brendon, Bernard, John Smith (shout out to our part-time beat writer John for joining the coaching ranks) and a gaggle of parent/junior coaches, practice commenced with a learn-to-skate session where all our players were getting hands on instruction. Next up was power skating for the advanced players and Myles made sure that everyone on the team broke a sweat. We have our 1st game of the season next weekend and Myles used everything in his coaching repertoire to ensure the players are properly building up their conditioning.

After working the players to near exhaustion, Coach Myles next had the team work on skating, passing and shooting drills. Superstar goaltender Matty Brighton looked to be in mid-season form as he flashed his glove and pads on multiple occasions to stymie the frustrated Dare Devils skaters. In addition to Matty's strong performance, Will Milazzo, Liam Smith and Bahad Worley all put in solid efforts today.

This morning was really a team effort. In addition to the work put in by the players and coaching staff, Alfonso Mosca's mom, Theresa, took it upon herself to bring a box of joe to practice and it was a big hit. Thank you, Theresa! What a great opportunity to get the families together to discuss the upcoming season!

Captain Ryan Griffin once again provided his thoughts on today’s practice with an updated Captain’s Corner post. It can be found here.

Practice Summary (9/6/25) - 1st Practice of the Season

Welcome back Dare Devils players, coaches, photographer and families! Today marked the opening day of the 2025-2026 season. It was great to see a lot of familiar faces and meet a couple of new players who joined our organization for the upcoming season.

The day started great as Coach Myles spent hours yesterday cleaning out the equipment closet, leaving Coach Terence and Ms. Grace a (relatively) easy job in getting the players suited up in appropriate fitting gear. However, things went downhill from there when we learned that Coach Myles would not be able to make it to practice this morning. Your esteemed managers and assistant coaches did the best they could but they were clearly out of their element in trying to run the practice. Sensing that the adults didn't know what they were doing, Captain Ryan Griffin stepped up, as he always does, and took the reigns of leading the practice (with the help of some of the junior coaches). 

El Capitan led the players through power skating drills, split the team into two groups for skating, passing and shooting workouts, and finished practice off with a spirited scrimmage. All of the players worked extremely hard today in the drills and in the game. Some of the players getting on the scoresheet were Will Trampota, Captain Ryan Griffin, Reese Citro, Shea Passikoff, Vicent Racamato, Patrick Law, James McTernan, Alfonso Mosca and Kory Wadleigh. Strong efforts were also put in by Jake Simon, Andrew Piccirillo, Andrew Katz, Bahad Worley, Joel Gooblar and newcomer Kieran O'Malley.

The highlight of the day occurred after all of the players stepped off the ice. The team celebrated veteran superstar Andrew Katz's birthday in the party room with cupcakes, snacks and drinks. It was a great opportunity for the players, coaches and families to get together and build comradery to start the season. Thank you Katz family for organizing this awesome party and happy birthday Andrew!

Frank was on hand to document practice. Frank's gallery of photos can be found here. Thank you, Frank!

In addition to doing such a tremendous job in running practice, Captain Ryan Griffin also took the time to update his Captain's Corner Blog highlighting today's events. Cap's blog post can be found here. Thank you, Cap!

We are looking forward to another successful season! Thank you players, coaches and families for your continued involvement with the Dare Devils!

2025 Bruce Giger Memorial Golf Outing

The 14th Annual Bruce Giger Memorial Golf Outing took place on Monday, June 23, 2025 at the Knoll Country Club in Boonton, NJ. Despite the 100 degree heat, the event was a rousing success and will allow the team to have a successful 2025-2026 season. A special thank you goes out to our sponsors, volunteers, golfers, dinner attendees, and to Andy Piccirillo and Joe Notare for running such a first rate event.

Congratulations goes out to superstar Kory Wadleigh, the 2025 recipient of the Jeffrey Hoens Memorial Scholarship. Kory is one of the senior leaders on the Dare Devils and it was heartwarming to see his dedication to the team be recognized with this prestigious award. Additionally, a heartfelt thank you goes out to Tom Hoens and the Hoens Family for their continued generosity and support towards the Dare Devils.

Frank and crew once again graciously offered their photography services and the gallery can be found in the links below.

2025 Golf Foursomes

2025 Misc Photos

2025 Cocktail Party

2025 Dinner and Awards

2025 Sponsors/Signs

End of Year Party Summary - 5/10/25

The Dare Devils held their end-of-season party on Saturday, May 10, 2025. Max The Dog was tired of fielding complaints about the 2024 year-end party, held in the party room at Codey Arena, so management made an executive decision to hold an "off-site" party. 

Part-time beat writer, John Smith, stepped up and volunteered to plan this year's party, tapping into the event planning skills of his wife (Denise Smith) and daughter (Sabrina Smith). The Smith's could not have planned a better party - the team was treated to bowling, arcade games, pizza, burgers, chicken fingers, tots, NJDD cake, etc. at the top-notch Bowlero Bowling Alley in Belleville, NJ.

The main purpose of the party was to bring the players, coaches, families and supporters together to celebrate another great season. We had over 100 attendees and everyone seemed to have a great time bowling and catching up with friends. Similar to their skills on the ice, Captain Ryan Griffin and superstars, Will Trampota, Reese Citro and Will Milazzo, led the way and showed the rest of the team how to knock the pins down.

While it was sad to conclude another season, it was great to see everyone having such a great time. In addition to the Smith's contributions, a debt of gratitude goes out to Frank and his team of photographers for capturing the events of the day. Frank's gallery of photos can be found here. Thank you Frank and friends, and thank you Smith family! Your contributions are greatly appreciated!

Now that the party is over, it's time for the families to start pounding the pavement and selling raffle tickets, sponsorships, program ads, golf foursomes and/or volunteering in connection with the 14th Annual Bruce Giger Golf Outing on Monday, June 23, 2025.  This is our major fundraising endeavor and the contributions allow our team to continue to be one of the premier programs in special hockey. Thank you for your efforts!