After announcing our Hockey Player of the Year as Sam Korenbaum, Daniel and Mason sat down with him to discuss the season and his experiences up to this point. Korenbaum is the starting goalie on the team with over 900 saves in his career in addition to winning our Athlete of the Week award this February. When asked what makes him a good hockey player, Korenbaum responded, “My determination, every day when I'm on the ice or in school, I'm thinking about hockey, I'm thinking about how to get better. I'm watching clips of myself, watching clips of other people, I'm so determined to this sport, and every single day I want to get better at it.” Similarly when asked how he stays so composed and shuts out the noise, he responded, “Before the game and throughout school… I don't talk to anyone, I'm just focusing on the game, how I'm gonna play, the different techniques I'm going to use, and really getting myself mentally prepared… then I will warm up by throwing a ball against a wall get my eyes ready, stretch, I'll listen to some music and then once it is game time, I just lock in on the game, talk with my teammates…sometimes you will see me with my arms up (on the goal post) other times I will be skating around the ice to detach myself from the situation… sometimes being a goalie is really a pressure situation so you’ve got to just relax.”
Korenbaum is known for his incredible record on the team and so we asked him what his proudest accomplishment has been on the team, to which he said, “Even though we underperformed in the playoffs this year, it was winning the Glen Rock game 1-0.” He had 44 shots taken on him that game and saved all 44, a .100 SV%. His complete save percentage ended the year at .939, second in the Kelly Division, as well as second in the division in total saves. He also said his favorite save was against MKA, when, “it was a 2 on 1, the guy made a pass to the center and just flicked it top corner and I was coming over I just noticed the puck and snagged it with my glove,” much like his favorite moment which was, “Beating Glen Rock in the first round of the state playoffs, that was huge just the joy and elation from that.”
In the latter half of the season, Korenbaum suffered a concussion in a game at Verona, making him unable to play. Not long before, junior captain Logan Brown had shattered his jaw in a game against Pascack Valley, leaving everyone on the team in low spirits, struggling to take home wins against inferior competition. When asked how he changed mentally after coming back, he said, “Playing with no fear like this could be my last game I’m just happy to be here, that mentality switch was really liberating.” On a similar note, he said the biggest lesson he learned has been, “The importance of building a family within sports… I didn’t really talk to them much because I just really locked in on playing my best but I consider these people family. It taught me the importance of having this insanely tight bond with these people… family can go beyond just your immediate family.”
Sam Korenbaum has impacted the Montclair High School hockey team so positively in ways that cannot be overstated. His impressive SV%, leaving him second in the division in this stat, and importance to the hockey team make him the Montclair Sports Network’s Hockey Player of the Year.