Beyond the Scoresheet

South Mountain public doubleheader

I took in a pair of public-school games at South Mountain Arena today, which now has a newly painted roof and appears close to the end of its renovation.

Mountain Lakes 3, Vernon 1
Vernon might decide to stay away from Morris County teams in the future, as the Halvorsen Division’s Mountain Lakes handed the Vikings a 3-1 defeat. The Lakers only skated two lines but were still able to outplay Vernon and earn the victory. Jacob Sutker scored the game’s opening goal just 3:24 into the first period, beating Erik Kwitchoff with a high wrist shot from the slot. Lakes struck even earlier in the second period, as Clint McDonough tied up his defenseman, allowing the carom of a missed shot to drift back into the low slot, where Zach Cohen flipped into into the left side of the net. Cohen was on target again midway through the period, backhanding a shot from the corner through the legs of Kwitchoff on a power play.

At the other end, Matt Lowell had an excellent game in goal for Mountain Lakes, stopping 30 of 31 shots. Vernon finally pulled a goal back with three minutes remaining when Dan Colvin, held in check most of the night, used quick hands to set up Michael Cifelli for a semi-breakaway. Cifelli tried to go five-hole on Lowell, and apparently succeeded as the net was knocked loose in a collision. Lowell complained to the near-side official that he had made the initial save and then the net came off, but to no avail. Still, the Lakers had no trouble finishing out the game, although they did contrive to miss a 3-on-0 power-play rush on an empty net.

West Essex 4, Verona 4
This was my first look at Verona, and I thought the Hillbillies had the better of play, but always gritty West Essex pulled out a 4-4 tie. Verona’s top line gave the Knights trouble all night, scoring twice in three minutes in the first period to take a 2-0 lead. Danny Harris took a huge windup befoer blasting a shot past Nick Fernicola, and James Facey ripped home a rebound to double the advantage. But West Essex pulled back a goal before the intermission when Rob Pordon deflected a point shot by Verona goalie Henry Doernberg.

The Knights then tied the game early in the second period, as Jeff Kayzerman got free off the left boards and beat Doernberg up high with a wrist shot. Verona went on the power play soon after, and it was extended to a four-minute man advantage for an unsportmanlike conduct penalty. The Hillbillies took advantage, as Facey put the final touch on a goal scored during the second penalty. Despite three power plays and a 12-4 shot advantage in the period, Verona could not add to its lead.

West Essex owned the opening stages of the third period, with Pordon jamming in a controversial rebound in a five-shot sequence to tie the game. John Auriemma then gave Wessex its first lead when the Verona defense failed to clear a rebound lying in the slot. But Facey rallied Verona more than a minute later thanks to a brilliant play from Harris. Locked up with a defender behind the net, Harris reached his leg around his defender to kick the puck in front of the net. Fernicola had no idea where the puck was, and Facey nicked in to bang it home and tie the game.

Verona’s two lines were the more dangerous and exciting all night, but the Hillbillies had trouble clearing their own zone, and West Essex was able to take advantage of poor defensive-zone coverage to earn the tie.

Mountain Lakes 3, Vernon 1

1st
3:24 ML #12 Jacob Sutker (#44 Clint McDonough)
2nd
0:22 ML #8 Zach Cohen (#12 Jacob Sutker, #44 Clint McDonough)
8:43 ML (pp) #8 Zach Cohen (#21 Kyle Fisher)
3rd
12:00 Vern #10 Michael Cifelli (#27 Dan Colvin)

Goalies
#30 Erik Kwitchoff (Vern) 33-30
#30 Matt Lowell (Vern) 31-30

Power plays: Vern 0-3, ML 1-4

West Essex 4, Verona 4

1st
7:36 Vero #3 Danny Harris (unassisted)
10:42 Vero #13 James Facey (#25 Kyle MacIntyre)
14:23 WE (pp) #9 Rob Pordon (#13, #11 Jeff Kayzerman)
2nd
2:37 WE #11 Jeff Kayzerman (unassisted)
7:32 Vero (pp) #13 James Facey (#3 Danny Harris, #25 Kyle MacIntyre)
3rd
2:52 WE #9 Rob Pordon (#10 John Auriemma)
6:29 WE #10 John Auriemma (unassisted)
7:47 Vero #13 James Facey (#3 Danny Harris)

Goalies
#34 Nick Fernicola (WE) 30-26
#33 Henry Doernberg (Vero) 27-23

Power plays: WE 1-2, Vero 1-3

defense, anyone?

No. 2 Delbarton and No. 4 Don Bosco Prep played the highest-scoring game of the Gordon Conference season so far Sunday, with the Ironmen winning a 7-4 shootout over the Green Wave at the Ice Vault.

Delbarton scored in just 58 seconds on an excellent individual effort from Dan Pressl, and you thought the Green Wave might cruise. But Don Bosco Prep responded in just over a minute, as Greg Zisa’s wild slap shot was deflected (with his stick over his head, no less) by Mike Dolman past Delbarton goalie Jeff Leone. I think describing the other nine goals in detail might be a bit much, so let’s get down to some generalizations.

Delbarton dominated the first period at even strength, but Don Bosco Prep got a goal from Adam Basile just after a power play expired to take a 2-1 lead. Throughout the game, the Green Wave forwards skated rings around Don Bosco Prep in the offensive zone but were let down by sloppy play from their defensemen and goalies. The Ironmen, meanwhile, rolled three solid lines and had a lot of forechecking success but gave away eight power plays trying to slow Delbarton down.

The second period was one of the most hectic I’ve seen all year. Billy Sanborn scored his first of two goals at the 1:56 mark, tapping a lazy rebound by Leone. Delbarton head coach Bruce Shatel replaced Leone with Sean Kaplan, who faced only three shots the rest of the period. Bosco freshman goalie Erick Cinotti really took over the game at this point, stopping five shots in the first four minutes of the period. He repeatedly denied Pressl from close range, relying twice on the good fortune of the post, and was the biggest reason Bosco led through the first two periods.

Delbarton kept mounting pressure, however, and power-play goals from Pressl and Matt Schillings tied the game 3-3. With another power play late in the period, Delbarton appeared poised to take control of the game, but a foolish breakout pass across the face of goal was gloved by Greg Blinn, and he squared the puck to an open Sanborn for a tap-in past Kaplan. Delbarton responded within a minute, as Brian Fuller’s point shot slipped through traffic and Cinotti to tie the game 4-4. But the killing goal came with just 34 seconds remaining in the period. Miscommunication behind the Delbarton net resulted in a blind takeover pass to nobody, and Sanborn found Tyler Savage for a tap-in eerily similar to Sanborn’s goal just two minutes earlier.

So Don Bosco Prep took a 5-4 lead into the ice cut, but one figured Delbarton would pick up the intensity and resume its swarming offensive dominance in the third period. If anything, the exact opposite happened, and Delbarton was officially outshot 11-2 in the period. Shatel returned Leone to the net, and although he dealt with early Don Bosco pressure, Sanborn took advantage of an uncleared rebound at the 6:02 mark to give Don Bosco Prep a 6-4 lead. Lacking the freneticism and urgency of the first two periods, Delbarton failed to take advantage of a mid-period power play and eventually gave away a few of its own. With 3:25 remaining, Delbarton captain Alex Smigelski broke in against Cinotti on a shorthanded breakaway with a chance to get his team back in the game, but the freshman anticipated Smigelski’s move, almost too much, and made the save. The Ironmen sealed the game with a power-pla goal from Basile.

So every Gordon team has been proved human at this point, and Delbarton’s preseason weakness — lack of experience on the blue line and in goal — was finally exposed tonight. Don Bosco Prep will hope the win leads to a No. 2 seed in the Gordon Cup tournament.

Don Bosco Prep 7, Delbarton 4

1st
0:58 Del #17 Dan Pressl (#9 Alex Smigelski, #22 Mike Campbell)
2:05 DBP #11 Mike Dolman (#77 Greg Zisa)
7:45 DBP #91 Adam Basile
2nd
1:56 DBP #21 Billy Sanborn (#18 Tyler Savage)
4:47 Del (pp) #17 Dan Pressl (#7 Alex Velischek, #9 Alex Smigelski)
7:56 Del (pp) #8 Matt Schillings (#7 Alex Velischek, #17 Dan Pressl)
12:16 DBP (sh) #21 Billy Sanborn (#26 Greg Blinn)
13:31 Del #2 Brian Fuller (#7 Alex Velischek, #5 Chip Peinado)
14:26 DBP #18 Tyler Savage (#21 Billy Sanborn)
3rd
6:02 DBP #21 Billy Sanborn (#18 Tyler Savage)
12:37 DBP (pp) #91 Adam Basile (#16 Dan Fredeman, #23 Will Kealy)

Goalies
#35 Jeff Leone (Del) 20-15
#1 Sean Kaplan (Del) 3-1
#1 Erick Cinotti (DBP) 23-19

Power plays: Del 2-8, DBP 1-4

the big one

I’ll spare you the details of my D.C. trip, but suffice it to say I made it back for the biggest game of every regular season Friday night at Mennen Arena. And neither I nor any of the 2,500+ other fans in attendance was cheated, as No. 1 Seton Hall Prep earned its first regular-season win over No. 2 Delbarton since 1998 with a well-deserved 3-2 decision. Ranked ahead of its rival chiefly due to a more experienced blue-line corps, the Pirates dominated the second period en route to the win.

No. 1 Seton Hall Prep defended its top ranking Friday with a 3-2 win over second-ranked rival Delbarton before a standing-room-only crowd of 2,500 at Mennen Arena. The win was Seton Hall Prep’s first over Delbarton since 2003 and first at Mennen since 2000 – both state tournament results. The Pirates had not beaten the Green Wave in the regular season since 1998.
All games are theoretically created equal, but not this one. The first-Friday-in-January matchup almost always outdraws the late-January game between the two rivals, and tonight might have been the largest regular-season crowd in state history. There were ice cuts at both intermissions, specially made T-shirts on both sides, fewer penalties than usual, and more parking congestion than you can imagine. Oh yeah, there was some hockey, too, and people standing just about everywhere to watch it.

The first period was a contrast in styles, with Seton Hall Prep rimming the puck high off the glass and Delbarton using stretch passes and lay-offs to build up speed through the neutral zone. After consecutive chances for Seton Hall Prep’s Mike Cacciotti and Delbarton’s Matt Schillings were denied around the 3:30 mark, the Green Wave opened the scoring at 5:07. First-line wing Dan Pressl whipped a pass into the slot from the right boards, and although captain Alex Smigelski did not connect perfectly with his one-timer, the shot fluttered into the top left corner. Smigelski almost doubled the lead on the same shift, but instead the action settled into an entertaining, back-and-forth pattern. Delbarton had the better of play in the middle of the period, springing Pressl for a breakaway with 3:05 left, but Pirate goalie Zach Truesdell reacted well to make a pad save on Pressl’s wrister. Holding the 1-0 lead, Delbarton head coach Bruce Shatel sent his team into a 1-1-3 trap for the final minute of the period to ensure the lead.

The second period opened with a flurry of activity, as Pressl parked to the left of the crease and found himself staring at a wide-open net, but his shot was deflected away by a Seton Hall defenseman. The Pirates took over the period and the game from that point, and with people still filing into the arena, tied the game at the 5:35 mark. Cacciotti won a loose puck from Delbarton freshman defenseman Alex Velischek on the right boards, skated in parallel to the goal line and deked toward the front of the net before lifting a backhand over Green Wave goalie Jeff Leone. As seems so typical of the rivalry, Seton Hall Prep took advantage of the momentum with another goal less than a minute later. Chasing a loose puck at the top of the offensive zone with his back to goal, second-line forward John Passantino hooked his way around a Delbarton defender and banked the puck off the right boards to keep it in play. The bank caromed perfectly to Chris Preziosi in the high slot, and his one-timer appeared to catch Leone off guard.

Delbarton responded by using its stretch forwards even further up the ice, drawing Seton Hall Prep defensemen away from their offensive zone, but the Green Wave could not generate much offense in the period. Delbarton got the game’s first power play at the 7:48 mark but looked anemic in failing to challenge Truesdell. Seton Hall Prep then found itself unlucky not to take a 3-1 lead late in the period, when Mike Tahan’s shot from the left corner trickled behind Leone, and the referee ruled it had not crossed the line.

Trailing 2-1 into the third period, Shatel opted to start the period with the 1-1-3 trap, which has successfully produced many an odd-man rush for Delbarton this year. It slowed the game down a bit on this night, since hard-hitting forechecking was almost nonexistent, and Seton Hall Prep took a giant step toward the win at the 5:20 mark. Jim Mahoney wristed a seemingly innocuous shot from the left face-off circle that eluded Leone for a 3-1 lead. The goal forced Delbarton to step up the urgency of its forechecking, but Peter Herms’ troops were able to limit scoring opportunities.

With two minutes remaining and the crowd beginning to file toward the exits, Delbarton took advantage of its second power-play opportunity. Chris Volonnino circled in the lower left corner and fired a back-door pass to a wide-open Schillings to make the score 3-2. Delbarton was able to pull Leone with 1:04 remaining but could only manage point shots, and Velischek’s shot with 10 seconds remaining was blocked. Seton Hall Prep celebrated the rare victory over its chief rival, leaving Delbarton to prepare for Sunday’s game against Don Bosco Prep. While most people fought the traffic to leave, Herms moved on to coach a Rockets youth game on rink 3.

Seton Hall Prep 3, Delbarton 2

1st
5:07 Del #9 Alex Smigelski (#17 Dan Pressl, #26 Chris Volonnino)
2nd
5:35 SHP #11 Mike Cacciotti (#17 Rem Vanderbeek, #21 Michael Tahan)
6:29 SHP #12 Chris Preziosi (#24 Nick Passantino)
3rd
5:20 SHP #15 Jim Mahoney (#11 Mike Cacciotti, #17 Rem Vanderbeek)
13:41 Del (pp) #8 Matt Schillings (#26 Chris Volonnino, #9 Alex Smigelski)

Goalies
#30 Zach Truesdell (SHP) 19-17
#35 Jeff Leone (Del) 33-30

Power plays: SHP 0-1, Del 1-2

Attendance: 2,500+

be back Friday

I’ll be out of town Wednesday and Thursday and I may or may not have good internet access. So e-mail me scores and I’ll try to update if I can, but I might not have the site up-to-date again until Friday some time.

Delbarton 5, Bishop Eustace 1

No. 2 Delbarton outskated Bishop Eustace 5-1 Tuesday at Aspen Ice in Randolph, getting a goal and two assists each from top-line forwards Dan Pressl and Alex Smigelski. Colin Saltiel made 32 saves in the loss.

Matt Schillings scored the lone goal of the first period, sliding a backhanded rebound by Saltiel, and although Pressl twice came inches away from adding to the lead, the game remained 1-0 until late in the second period. At the 10:01 mark, however, Erik Olson picked up the rebound of a blocked point shot and beat Saltiel through a screen to make it 2-0. Three minutes later, however, Bishop Eustace got on the board by catching Delbarton in a chance, and Mike Dwier snapped a shot under the glove of Sean Kaplan to make it 2-1. The Green Wave repsonded in only 22 seconds, however, effectively sealing the game when Smigelski took a feed in the low slot and beat Saltiel.

Delbarton added third-period power-play goals from Alex Velischek and Pressl to provide the final 5-1 margin ahead of its showdown with rival Seton Hall Prep Friday night at Mennen Arena.

Delbarton 5, Bishop Eustace 1

1st
4:55 Del #8 Matt Schillings (#7 Alex Velischek)
2nd
10:01 Del #13 Erik Olson (#6 Dan DeRenzi, #2 Brian Fuller)
13:02 BE #53 Mike Dwier (#3 Brad Schuler, #97 Tyler Hancock)
13:24 Del #9 Alex Smigelski (#13 Erik Olson, #17 Dan Pressl)
3rd
2:27 Del (pp) #7 Alex Velischek (#9 Alex Smigelski, #17 Dan Pressl)
7:47 Del (pp) #17 Dan Pressl (#9 Alex Smigelski)

Goalies
#00 Colin Saltiel (BE) 37-32
#1 Sean Kaplan (Del) 9-8
#35 Jeff Leone (Del) 5-5

Power plays: BE 0-2, Del 2-3