Beyond the Scoresheet

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

Shots

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

Putting together a schedule

I’m in Dallas for a few days, but this was written Nov. 21 for the Hockey Night in Boston preview. Apparently I wrote too much, as it didn’t quite make it. So here’s a brief look at the scheduling process … what a friend of mine from Rice would call an investigative blog.

Investigative blog – Scheduling
Coaches may not be able to control how their team plays on the ice, but they almost always have plenty of influence on who their team plays in non-league games. New Jersey coaches have anywhere from 5 to 13 non-league games to schedule, and each coach has his own style on this inexact science.

Non-league schedules are usually a good indicator of what a coach thinks of his team and division. After reaching February unbeaten last year in the relatively weak NBIAL, Indian Hills coach Phil Murphy is making the most of his limited non-league options this year by playing five top public schools, including two before Christmas.
“Since the NBIAL is new and somewhat unknown, we felt that we needed to play some Red Division teams and the top Morris County teams to become more recognizable with the other teams throughout the state,” Murphy said. “With the diversity in our schedule, we hope to improve our state ranking with the [seeding] committee when the time comes.”
Morris Knolls head coach Walt Keiper, on the other hand, is stepping out of the public ranks to test his defending public state champion. The Golden Eagles face central Jersey preps Princeton Day and Hun and two Gordon Conference teams, Hudson Catholic and Pope John.
“We play night in and night out against some of the top public schools in the state,” Keiper said of his league schedule. “Picking up games against private schools is a change for our program and will only strengthen the team. … I feel if you want to improve your program, you need to play tough opponents every game.”
In south Jersey, the difficulty of non-league scheduling is often compounded by obligations to the all-sport Shore Conference, which includes 18 of the 23 schools defined as ‘southern’ by the NJIHL. CBA head coach Mike Reynolds, for example, had 20 of his 21 games decided for him — 16 Gordon Conference games and four games in the Shore A Division.
Similarly, the central Jersey all-sport Skyland Conference will award a hockey championship this year, forcing public powers like Ridge and Bridgewater-Raritan to cancel already-scheduled games in favor of contests with first-year program Hillsborough, even though all five Skyland Conference teams already play in the holiday Somerset County Tournament.
Many NBIAL coaches have rankled under the 18-game league schedule imposed by their athletic directors that limits non-league opportunities. Still other coaches are limited by travel restrictions and ice time; teams in the lower divisions of the CVC and MCSSIHL often play non-league games against league teams, just to fill out the schedule.
But the most interesting part of the scheduling equation is the rule for state tournament qualification, which requires non-Gordon teams to have at least a .500 winning percentage as of the second Saturday in February to make the tournaments. Mid-level public coaches like Morris Hills’ Ed Higdon and Rumson/Fair Haven’s Dave Smith, among others, have to carefully plan their schedules around this deadline. This means realistically assessing their team’s chances of winning 50 percent of its games while trying to get as much exposure as possible against different regions of the state in hopes of a high seed.
Morris Hills, for example, competing in the Mennen Division for the first time since the advent of the MCSSIHL’s hierarchical division structure in 1986, can realistically expect to be 1-3 games under .500 from its league schedule. Higdon has carefully crafted his non-league schedule with six games against MCSSIHL teams from the Haas and Charette Divisions, simultaneously scheduling Paramus, Princeton, and Bayonne as ‘reach’ games. One can project Morris Hills’ record anywhere from 9-12 to 15-7, but the smart money would be on the Scarlet Knights finishing within two games of the .500 mark.
“You call all over leaving messages and trying to match up available ice-time, frequency of games in a week, and honoring commitments from last year,” Higdon said. “The state tournament is a factor, and I know that if we don’t play good hockey this year, we could miss the tournament.”
Smith, coaching his Bulldogs in the parity-ridden Southern White, has an even tougher puzzle to solve. After 12 league games and 4 Shore B matchups, he has 7 games in which to improvise. A 6-6 league season is a real possibility, and the additional Shore B games could easily see a 1-3 record. So he has to plan to go at least 4-2-1 in his non-league games to make the state tournament.
“Obviously, you need to keep in mind the goal of being .500 at the deadline, but it can be self defeating to place too much weight on that goal,” Smith said. “Every coach is guilty of looking at the schedule in advance, but I’m of the opinion that there’s no use qualifying for the state tournament if you can’t realistically envision advancing several rounds.”
With the Shore Conference encouraging crossover games, Smith scheduled four games against Shore C teams, which should be enough to get Rumson over the hump. His three remaining games? Tests against southern public power Middletown North, CVC middler WWPS, and Central Red veteran West Essex.
“We feel we can compete in the Southern White and should be no worse than .500 there,” Smith said. “We also know the Shore B could be a disaster for us, but under the best circumstances, it will toughen us up and make us better. Of our optional games, we’ve added one against a much higher-ranked opponent, two against opponents that should be of relatively equal strength, and four against regional rivals who are ranked below us, but all of whom should show up prepared to battle.”

Finally, HNIB New Jersey ranks the five strongest non-league schedules for public schools, given preseason information.

1.Indian Hills — Phil Murphy was 5-for-5 with his non-league games, scheduling three of last year’s four public semifinalists plus Northern Red powers Bayonne and Clifton.
2.Randolph — Having your own ice certainly helps, as Rich McLaughlin lined up Don Bosco Prep from the Gordon Conference in addition to four serious public contenders — Bridgewater-Raritan, Ridge, Middletown South, and Indian Hills. The Rams will also skate in the Montclair tournament.
3.Bridgewater-Raritan — Excepting three required Skyland Conference games, Patrick Alvin scheduled three of his remaining five games from the state’s top public division, a fourth with the best public in the south, and a fifth with the CVC’s top public.
4.Ridgewood — Not a regular powerhouse, but the Maroons face four Red Division teams, including Red Bank Catholic, plus relative unknowns Ramsey (twice) and Princeton. The two games with Glen Rock hurt but could be a must for the state tournament.
5.Morris Knolls — I hate to pick another big gun, but Walt Keiper deserves some props for scheduling the big boys. If only the season opener could’ve been Knolls-CBA to settle last year’s score. Knolls takes on PDS, Hun, Pope John, and a weak Hudson Catholic squad in addition to public tests against Bridgewater-Raritan, Indian Hills, and Toms River East, plus the Cron Tournament.

Bridgewater-Raritan 2, Ridge 1

well, I saw a lot more penalties today than I would have liked, but I also saw two very competitive games. I started at Bridgewater, where Mountain Lakes rallied from a 3-0 deficit early in the second period for a 3-3 tie with Pingry. Half of the game’s goals were scored on power plays.

Bridgewater-Raritan 2, Ridge 1
This was my second trip to the Rock, and it once again made me think of what I imagine Indiana high school basketball to be like … everybody parking on residential streets, the bandbox-like arena packed 20 minutes before face-off, people squeezing themselves onto the balcony, local rivals exchanging cheers and jeers, a county championship banner … a great atmosphere, to be sure, even if the spotty wireless microphone and the banging on the balcony made life tough for the national-anthem singer.

But the game couldn’t quite match the hype, to be honest. The teams combined for 16 penalties, including 9 in the first period, which prevented the game from flowing and limited both coaches’ ability to use their depth.
The sloppiness started early, with Bridgewater taking a too-many-men penalty on its first line change of the season. Before the ensuing face-off, Ridge then had to call timeout for Jon Lyons to switch goalie masks. Bridgewater eventually took an early lead, with captain Kevin Tino winning a face-off for linemate Chris Caravanos to snap into the side netting on Lyons’ stick side. The Panthers failed to capitalize on two mid-period power plays, however, and Ridge started to creep back into the game late in the period. Matt Germann rang the crossbar on a power play, which was soon nullified for a penalty. Immediately after four-on-four action ended, Greg Zambon broke into the offensive zone and, from the left slot, whipped a wrist shot inside the right post, beating Panther starter Gary Biggs to tie the game 1-1.
The barrage of power plays continued in the second period, and Ridge even had about 30 seconds of six-on-four on a delayed penalty call. With the teams a combined 0-for-10 on the power play, Bridgewater finally snapped the tie at the 10:40 mark of the second period. With a power play winding down, Caravanos and Tino broke into the zone with a two-on-one, and Tino snapped a shot past Lyons from the right slot for the crucial goal, one second before the penalty expired.

Predictably, Ridge stepped up the pressure in the third period, and Biggs responded well, although the Red Devils did not get many good scoring opportunities and were forced to rely on long stretch passes late in the game. Biggs had to make only one save down the stretch, and when Caravanos cleared the zone for the last time, Bridgewater celebrated (with plenty of emotion) its first victory ever over Ridge in eight total meetings (1-6-1).

The game was played like a season opener – sloppily – but the atmosphere made it absolutely worth the trip. The two teams are not scheduled to meet again until January 13, but both squads will hope to be in the Somerset County championship game December 28.

Boxscore

Scoring
Rid 1 0 0 — 1
BR 1 1 0 — 2

Shots (my tally)
Rid 4 9 8 — 21
BR 9 8 8 — 25

1st
4:14 BR #13 Chris Caravanos (#20 Kevin Tino)
13:04 Rid (sh) #13 Greg Zambon (#8 Scott Kiliyanski)
2nd
10:40 BR (pp) #20 Kevin Tino (#13 Chris Caravanos)
3rd
none

Goalies
#45 Jon Lyons (Rid) 25-23
#23 Gary Biggs (BR) 21-10

Power plays: Rid 0-5, BR 1-7

Opening Day at Mennen

As usual, I spent my opening day at Mennen Arena as much as possible. I actually only got to see the first game, the beginning of the second, and the end of the third, but it was good to be back watching games that count. Mennen looked in good shape, with clean ice, fancy MCPC logos, and new nets. Roxbury even had new uniforms, refuting my Pope John comment from last week. And it’s always good to see little kids taunting high-schoolers for being too slow to a loose puck.

Roxbury 3, Pequannock 3
The first game was Roxbury-Pequannock in an early matchup of perceived Haas Division favorites. I thought Pequannock was the better passing team, but Roxbury had the better of play and a 35-25 shot advantage. After a 1-1 first period, Pequannock took a 2-1 lead early in the second period on a power-play goal from Matt McGee after a deft cross-ice pass. But Roxbury responded inside of five minutes, as Alicia Lepore jammed home a rebound and Brandon Davis followed with a quick wrist shot from the right wing. Kevin McCloskey was pretty solid in the Roxbury net while protecting the lead, but Pequannock really started applying pressure down the stretch in the third period. Finally, with McCloskey on the ground, Matt Iaccheo slotted in a rebound from a bad angle to tie the game with 1:24 remaining. In a bizarre twist, Iaccheo was then penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, but Roxbury could not take advantage of the power play, and the teams settled for a 3-3 tie.

Mt. Olive 7, Parsippany Hills 3

Morristown-Beard 4, Morris Hills 1
In the marquee game of the day, locally speaking, Morris Hills played its first game as a member of the Mennen Division against Morristown-Beard. I’m told Hills had the better of play in the first two periods, and the Scarlet Knights got a lead late in the first period on a Jon Gaffney goal. But Morristown-Beard snuck back into the game on a Sam Altiero goal late in the period and went ahead just 19 seconds into the second period on a Dan Shurts goal. Morris Hills had a 19-10 shot advantage through two periods, but tired in the third period, perhaps partially due to the absence of first-line forward Scott Shapiro.
On a penalty kill past the halfway mark in the third period, Hills got two men caught deep on the offensive forecheck, leaving Beard with a 3-on-2. Greg Alberti took it himself down the left wing, cutting inside and deking around Ilya Schuf to make it 3-1. Mike Jacquin added a goal with 2:10 left to seal the deal. John Yanchek finished with 21 saves for the Crimson, while Schuf made 15 stops. But it looks like the Mennen Division ought to be exciting once again this year.

Elsewhere
Okay, I got a confirmation of the 10-0 MonDon score … that’s pretty impressive. Second-line forward Luke Segreto hit for a hat trick, so it sounds like the Griffins were too deep. And it means I have to eat crow on the first day of the season. I got a (well-written) email from a MonDon fan last night explaining why that fan thought I was mistaken in leaving MonDon at the bottom of the division, and it looks like that fan was right. So mad props to MonDon, that’s a great opening performance. And St. Augustine Prep made a little statement of its own, too. Unfortunate opening night for the Middletowns.
Other than that, of the scores I’ve seen, I’d say the Brick-TRE score (2-2) surprised me the most; I thought Brick would come out flying against that division. And it sounds like Steinert and HoVal had no problem in the CVC. I’m still waiting on several scores though, so send me some emails, preferably with enough information to prove you were actually at the game … I much prefer emailed scores to getting results off the NJO forum.