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Morris Knolls 4, Morristown-Beard 2

December 9, 2005 on 9:06 pm | In game recap | Comments Off on Morris Knolls 4, Morristown-Beard 2

Defending Mennen Cup and public state champion Morris Knolls (2-0) passed its first test of the season Friday with a 4-2 win over division rival Morristown-Beard (1-1). The teams tied their first two games last year and Knolls won an exciting Mennen Cup final 1-0 on a last-minute goal, but the December encore was a distinct anticlimax, thanks in part to 14 minor penalties.

Dan Duda opened the scoring at the 6:42 mark when he stepped up from the neutral zone to keep the puck in at the blue line, then cut into the high slot and beat John Yanchek. Morristown-Beard leveled the game on a Corey Schneider goal less than two minutes later. The game turned in the middle of the second period. Knolls got a lucky goal off the hip of forward Charlie Van Houten, and Dan Coiro followed with a power-play goal to make it 3-1. Morristown-Beard turned up the pressure after that, peppering Knolls goalie Josh Ofner with 16 second-period shots. It finally paid off at the 13:34 mark, as Dan Shurts was credited with a goal when a Knolls player inadvertently poked the puck into his own net during a scramble. The Crimson continued to carry play for most of the third period, but Tommy Tomensky sealed the game with 2:52 remaining by lifting a rebound over the shoulder of Yanchek on the power play. Both goalies played well, but Ofner stood out with a 31-save performance.

The win earns Knolls an early leg up on defending its Mennen Division and Cup titles. The Golden Eagles will shift their focus to a fourth consecutive Cron Tournament title with a Monday night matchup against West Essex. Beard next faces an important division game Monday against Randolph.

Boxscore

Scoring

MK	1	2	1		4
MB	1	1	0		2

Shots

MK	7	8	7		22
MB	10	16	9		35

1st
6:42 MK #14 Dan Duda
8:24 MB #23 Corey Schneider (#17 Mike Jacquin)
2nd
4:51 MK #19 Charlie Van Houten (#5 Dennis Cole)
7:21 MK (pp) #11 Dan Coiro (#13 Dan Duda)
13:34 MB #21 Dan Shurts (#5 Matt Kruvant, #19 Greg Alberti)
3rd
12:08 MK (pp) #41 Tommy Tomensky (#14 Dan Duda)

Goalies
#9 Josh Ofner (MK) 35-33
#30 John Yanchek (MB) 22-18

Power plays: MK 2-8, MB 0-6