Beyond the Scoresheet

working overtime

Two lackluster playoff games at Mennen Arena Monday were redeemed by a scintillating nightcap, as No. 2 Randolph needed overtime to escape another upset bid from Mountain Lakes. In the early games, Morris Knolls blasted Pingry 9-3 behind hat tricks from Dan Duda and Tommy Tomensky. Morristown-Beard cruised past West Morris 6-0 in the second game.

Randolph 3, Mountain Lakes 2, OT
The third game was always expected to be the best one of the night, and it didn’t disappoint. Mountain Lakes almost beat Randolph January 14, allowing a power-play goal and a deflected goal in the third period in a 2-1 loss.

Randolph looked more comfortable on this night, and although the Rams were not dominant around the net, they consistently wore down Mountain Lakes and scored in the final minute of the first (Rob Kral) and second (Derek Ranger) periods to take a 2-0 lead heading into the third period. In the third period, Mountain Lakes immediately got back into the game with a bouncing blue-line shot from Clint McDonough just 49 seconds into the period. In a bit of retribution for the Jan. 14 encounter, Lakes tied the game midway through the period on a power-play goal when Jacob Sutker’s wrist shot deflected off a Randolph stick to elude Dan Diamond.

Lakes goalie Matt Lowell, who finished with 34 saves, was strong down the stretch to send the game to overtime, the first overtime contest in the Mennen Cup tournament since 2002. The winning goal came at the 6:11 mark, as Ram defenseman Kyle Krannich – who assisted on all three goals – stickhandled into the left corner before centering the puck for Kral to bang home the winner. Randolph will face Morristown-Beard in the semifinals for the sixth time in the last eight years – the Rams are 0-5 against the Crimson in Mennen Cup play since their championship run in 1992.

Randolph 3, Mountain Lakes 2, OT

Scoring

Shots

1st
14:05 Ran #9 Rob Kral (#22 Ricky Roma, #21 Kyle Krannich)
2nd
14:24 Ran #10 Derek Ranger (#21 Kyle Krannich)
3rd
0:49 ML #44 Clint McDonough (unassisted)
7:41 ML #12 Jacob Sutker (#44 Clint McDonough, #21 Kyle Fisher)
OT
6:11 Ran #9 Rob Kral (#21 Kyle Krannich, #22 Ricky Roma)

Goalies
#30 Matt Lowell (ML) 37-34
#1 Dan Diamond (Ran) 18-16

Power plays: ML 1-2, Ran 0-2

gone fishin, be back Monday

The great seeding debate is in full swing, from inane forum posters to well-studied fans to nervous coaches to excited players. I’ve made my list of 49 (possibly 52) and my list of 18 (possibly 20), and it was so difficult that I’m skipping town. Cup tournaments may start today, but I’m taking a break with a four-day sojourn to Texas for some great college baseball, a little soccer, and some serious catching-up with friends. I should be able to update the site with scores and standings most nights, so hopefully you’ll hardly notice I’m gone. And I’ll be back Monday in time for full Mennen Cup coverage, plus whatever other games I can get to Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday. Enjoy.

empty victory

Morristown-Beard 3, Chatham 2
An empty-net goal in a tie game allowed No. 6 Morristown-Beard to escape with a 3-2 win over No. 17 Chatham Tuesday night at Mennen Arena. Chatham needed a win to earn second place in the Mennen Division, while a tie would leave the Cougars in fourth place. With the game tied 2-2 and a last-minute power play, veteran Chatham head coach Harvey Cohen pulled goalie Michael Infante for a sixth attacker with 28 seconds remaining, but Morristown-Beard’s Dan Shurts scored into an empty net to secure the victory.

Chatham had frustrated Beard all night with solid goaltending from Infante, a surprisingly effective three-line attack, and opportunistic offense. Despite being dominated in the first period, the Cougars took the lead midway through the stanza when standout defenseman Jeff Tompson, from his own blue line, banked a pass off the right boards to Jeff Chatterton at the far blue line. Chatterton, one-on-one with a defender, wound up and ripped a right-circle slap shot that beat John Yanchek inside the left post. Morristown-Beard kept up the pressure and found the tying goal with three seconds remaining inthe period when Greg Alberti crossed the blue line and beat Infante with a wrist shot to his blocker side.

Having tied the game, one might have expected Morristown-Beard to run roughshod over the Cougars in the second stanza, but instead it was Chatham getting an early opportunity when Pat Coyne rang the post just 23 seconds in. Most of the possession was in the Chatham end, but the Cougars did mix in a 1-3-1 forecheck when the puck was behind the Crimson net, and Morristown-Beard was rarely able to get stretch passes deep.

In the third period, the referees took center stage, as the teams were whistled for a combined five penalties in the first four minutes, to go along with one at the end of the second period. Chatham took advantage just one minute in, skating in a 4-on-3 situation. Tompson, set up in the left corner, landed a cross-ice pass on the tape of cutting defenseman Paul Ughetta in the high right slot. His shot was saved by Yanchek, who tried to hold on for a face-off, but Chatham’s Mario Bronzino poked the puck, apparently loose in Yanchek’s pads, into the net before the whistle blew. The Cougars held the slim lead, which would have kept them on the other side of the bracket from No. 5 Morris Knolls, until late in the period. With four minutes remaining, Chatham appeared to go to a 1-2-2 forecheck for the first time all night and quickly got burned. Crimson defenseman Pat Yannotta found Alberti behind the defense with a breakaway pass, and he deked past Infante on his backhand to bury the tying goal.

It looked like Chatham would have the best chance to win the game after a questionable slashing call with 1:14 left, but the Cougars needed a diving poke check by Pat Coyne to deny Shurts on a breakaway. Chatham then managed just one shot on the power play before pulling Infante, and Beard earned the win when Shurts found the empty net. The Crimson must regroup quickly, traveling to face Princeton Day in the NJISAA Prep B final tomorrow afternoon.

The result completes the schedule for the Mennen Cup quarterfinals, with Morristown-Beard matched up against West Morris, Randolph facing Mountain Lakes in the most intriguing matchup, and Chatham taking on Morris Hills. In the first of the four quarterfinals, Morris Knolls plays Pingry.

Morristown-Beard 3, Chatham 2

Scoring

Shots

1st
7:13 Cha #12 Jeff Chatterton (#36 Jeff Tompson)
14:57 MB #19 Greg Alberti (#21 Dan Shurts, #5 Matt Kruvant)
2nd
none
3rd
1:04 Cha (pp) #10 Mario Bronzino (#19 Paul Ughetta, #36 Jeff Tompson)
11:07 MB #19 Greg Alberti (#10 Pat Yannotta)
14:45 MB (sh, en) #21 Dan Shurts

Goalies
#30 John Yanchek (MB) 19-17
#1 Michael Infante (Cha) 28-26

Power plays: MB 0-3, Cha 1-5

high-ranked battles

Delbarton 3, St. Peter’s Prep 1
No. 2 Delbarton validated its ranking and Gordon Cup seed with a 3-1 win Monday over No. 7 St. Peter’s Prep at Aspen Ice in Randolph. The Green Wave can also expect the second seed in the NJSIAA private state tournament after beating a Marauder team that had been on a roll until back-to-back losses to Pope John and Delbarton.

The teams, which tied 2-2 in Jersey City last week, traded early power plays in this contest, with St. Peter’s Prep goalie Kevin Fox making seven saves to keep the score 0-0. St. Peter’s Prep proceeded to get the next seven even-strength shots, but Delbarton took the lead with less than a minute to play in the period. Freshman Alex Velischek, skating on the top line backhanded a long pass out of the defensive zone to Dan Pressl at center ice, where Pressl sped by his defender and beat Fox with a low wrist shot.

Delbarton came out strong early in the second period, with the return of sophomore Zach Williams from injury solidfying the third line. But St. Peter’s Prep tied the game midway through the period when a long clearance by defenseman Justin Hudacko found Mike Dellutri sneaking behind his defenseman for a breakaway, and he shoveled it just inside the right post to tie the game. The Marauders continued to press play and take advantage of Delbarton’s poor defensive zone coverage for a few minutes, but rarely troubled Jeff Leone. Delbarton took control late in the period with two goals in 52 seconds. Captain Alex Smigelski, who was an ever-present playmaker most of the night, brought the puck out of the left corner, and although his shot was stopped by Fox, Velischek jammed in the rebound to make it 2-1. St. Peter’s Prep responded aggressively, but when the puck cycled around to the point, Matt Schillings stole it and took off with a breakaway, snapping a shot under Fox’s glove.

St. Peter’s Prep had the better of play in the third period, with Leone making 10 saves – including seven in the first four minutes – in one of the best periods by a Delbarton goalie all year, and the Green Wave held on for the victory. With NJIHL cup seeding meetings scheduled for tomorrow, half of the Gordon Conference finds itself without a completed schedule.

Morris Knolls 4, Randolph 2
No. 5 Morris Knolls ran its win streak against No. 11 Randolph to seven with a 4-2 win Monday at Mennen Arena, likely also securing the top seed in the upcoming public state tournament. Junior forward Tommy Tomensky scored all four goals for the Golden Eagles.

The result rarely seemed in doubt, probably because it took Morris Knolls just 16 seconds to get on the scoreboard, as Tomensky shook loose in the slot to slam home the rebound of a Dennis Cole shot from the point. The rest of the first period was unremarkable and, true to form, Randolph held a shot advantage without any meaningful scoring chances.

Knolls struck soon after the ice cut with a goal just 1:27 into the second period, as a centering pass trickled to Tomensky, wide open in the slot, and he whipped it by Randolph goalie Dan Diamond to make it a 2-0 game. Knolls went on the power play midway through the period, but Ram forward Rob Kral had the best chance with a shorthanded breakaway denied by Ofner. When a Knolls penalty evened things up at four-on-four, Randolph finally struck. Defenseman Kyle Krannich got the puck at the right point, stickhandled around one forward and then stickhandled all the way through the slot, avoiding players from both teams, before backhanding the puck past Josh Ofner. This was the only five-minute stretch where one really felt like Randolph could tie it, but Ofner stared down the Rams’ chances on a late power play to hold the 2-1 lead.

Tomensky wrapped up the game for Knolls in the first minute of the final stanza. His line created an immediate three-on-two rush, and when Duda left a drop pass in the left face-off circle, Tomensky took a full windup before ripping a slap shot past Diamond’s glove to make it 3-1. The Golden Eagles’ top line stayed on the ice, however, and Tomensky produced perhaps his most skilled goal of the night. The junior posted up at the top of the crease and deflected a pass from Dan Duda on net. Diamond went down and made the save, but Tomensky, with a defender draped all over him, deftly pulled the rebound to his backhand and slipped it around Diamond.

Randolph tried to prove the 4-1 lead was not insurmountable with a goal just 21 seconds later, as Derek Ranger backhanded a rebound over Ofner. Trailing by two goals, Mike Turner had one decent chance in the next few minutes before the game returned to fruitless dump-and-chase hockey. A deserved win for Knolls, which got 33 saves from Ofner, and it is tough to see any public (except maybe Chatham, if things stay the same) shutting down Tomensky, Duda, and Steven Jones.

Delbarton 3, St. Peter’s Prep 1

Scoring

Shots

1st
14:05 Del #17 Dan Pressl (#7 Alex Velischek, #9 Alex Smigelski)
2nd
7:34 SPP #14 Mike Dellutri (#27 Justin Hudacko)
13:06 Del #7 Alex Velischek (#9 Alex Smigelski)
13:58 Del #8 Matt Schillings (unassisted)
3rd
none

Goalies
#24 Kevin Fox (SPP) 23-20
#35 Jeff Leone (Del) 22-21

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

Morris Knolls 4, Randolph 2

Scoring

Shots

1st
0:16 MK #41 Tommy Tomensky (#5 Dennis Cole, #44 Steven Jones)
2nd
1:27 MK #41 Tommy Tomensky (#44 Steven Jones, #14 Dan Duda)
9:20 Ran (4-4) #3 Kyle Krannich
3rd
0:13 MK #41 Tommy Tomensky (#14 Dan Duda, #5 Dennis Cole)
0:59 MK #41 Tommy Tomensky (#14 Dan Duda, #44 Steven Jones)
1:20 Ran #10 Derek Ranger (#12 Chris Tamminga, #17 Chris Maloney)

Goalies
#1 Dan Diamond (Ran) 23-19
#33 Josh Ofner (MK) 35-33

Power plays: Ran 0-4, MK 0-2

lucky 13

Wow, I haven’t posted since Tuesday. A weird week. Let’s see if I can make up for it, especially since I’ll be out of town this weekend.

State tournament qualifiers
It’s state tournament cutoff day, and we all know the record snowfall this weekend had a major effect on some team’s chances. By my calculations, if make-up games are not played Monday, it got three teams in (Millburn, Southern, Montville) and cost Brick a chance to get in. Nutley and MKA must win today against River Dell and Verona, respectively, to make the tournament.

I’ve been wrong before, but I have 44 public teams in, plus the aforementioned three, plus either TRE or TRS – since they play each other today, only one can get in. TRE must win, while TRS will get in with a win or a tie. That makes 48 qualifiers , and Westfieldcould get in with a win or tie against Madison. That would be a record for public qualifiers; 47 teams qualified in 2004.
As for the privates, a record-tying 18 teams are already qualified. The private quarterfinals are going to be ridiculously competitive, as will many of the round-of-16 games.

At-large consideration
I have to think Red Bank Catholic (8-11-2) merits an at-large bid for the private tournament, and I wouldn’t have a problem with MKA (8-9-2) getting one, although the Cougars are 0-4 against private schools.
And this may be harsh, but I’m not sure if I can justify any at-large qualifiers in the public bracket. Paramus, Verona, Middletown South, and Morris Hills will all argue that they play in a tough division, but it seems harsh to take one of those without taking the others. Here’s a look at their cases:

Paramus (7-9-2, 2-8-2 Northern Red)
Key wins: Clifton 5-1; Morris Hills 1-0
Bad results: Bayonne 1-5, 1-3; Northern Highlands 1-4
Record vs. public qualifiers: 3-4-1 (plus win over TRE)
Verdict: No. The Spartans’ two marketable wins came in December, and they play in the weakest Red Division.

Verona (8-11-2, 4-7-1 Central Red)
Key wins: St. Joseph Metuchen 4-2
Bad results: Mah 2-4 (also won 8-5); Westfield 2-5; West Orange 3-6
Record vs. public qualifiers: 1-5 (plus loss to Westfield)
Verdict: Not bad considering the tough division, but splitting with Mahwah and failing to win the Hillbilly Tournament could really hurt them. Only major win was against a private.

Middletown South (7-11-2, 4-8 Southern Red)
Key wins: Red Bank Catholic 5-4, Monsignor Donovan 1-0, Brick Township 4-2
Bad results: Indian Hills 2-3, Wall 2-2 (tie)
Record vs. public qualifiers: 0-4-2
Verdict: With eight division games against privates (2-6), they recovered for a pair of big wins down the stretch and were very respectable in losses to Indian Hills and St. John Vianney and in tying Clifton. The team I consider most likely to get in.

Morris Hills (9-12, 3-10 MCSSIHL Mennen)
Key wins: Mountain Lakes 5-4
Bad results: Jefferson 4-5, Paramus 0-1, Princeton 5-8
Record vs. public qualifiers: 4-8
Verdict: A tough one. Hills was without its best player, Jon Gaffney, for probably a month. The three bad results, especially the loss to fellow at-large candidate Paramus, might sink Hills’ chances.

If it were up to me
Still a tough one. Having looked at their cases, I think I might go with the movie that initiated my affinity for Houston, The Bad News Bears in Breaking Training, and say “Let the kids play!” Middletown South, Verona, and Morris Hills all get in, in that order, for playing in tough leagues. The at-large bid exists because hockey’s divisions are aligned based on skill level, so reward the teams that play in the toughest divisions.

Public (47)
Clifton 14-2-4
Tenafly 10-6-4
Vernon 9-8
Ridgewood 14-1-3
West Milford 13-5-2
Lakeland 9-9-3
Glen Rock 14-4-2
Sparta 8-7-2
Passaic Valley 9-3-7
Bridgewater-Raritan 15-5-1
Ridge 12-4-4
Montclair 10-8-2
Montgomery 18-2
Watchung Hills 10-9
Hillsborough 19-3
West Orange 13-7
Livingston 10-10-1
Millburn 8-8-2
Toms River North 13-6-1
Old Bridge 11-5-3
Wall 11-4-6
Red Bank Regional 10-5-1
Manasquan 11-9-1
Point Pleasant Boro 7-6-3
Southern Regional 7-6-2
Steinert 17-1-1
Princeton 12-5-2
Hopewell Valley 9-8
WWPS 9-6-2
Lawrence 12-6
Morris Knolls 17-2-1
Randolph 12-4-2
Chatham 15-4-1
Mountain Lakes 11-7-2
West Morris 9-8-1
Kinnelon 12-4-3
Pequannock 8-7-4
Montville 8-8-3
Park Regional 13-4-3
Mount Olive 12-5
Madison 12-5
Indian Hills 14-3-4
Ramapo 15-3-2
Fair Lawn 15-4-1
Ramsey 13-5-3
Northern Highlands 10-6-3
Old Tappan 8-8-5

Private (18)
Seton Hall Prep 13-0-2
Delbarton 10-5-3
Pope John 11-4-4
Don Bosco Prep 10-8-1
St. Peter’s Prep 9-6-4
CBA 7-6-7
St. John Vianney 8-8-1 (Gordon exception if necessary)
Bergen Catholic 2-10-4 (Gordon exception)
St. Joseph Montvale 7-6-5
Paramus Catholic 11-2-5
St. Joseph Metuchen 9-5-3
St. Augustine Prep 11-4
Bishop Eustace 13-4-2
Monsignor Donovan 9-7-3
Gloucester Catholic 8-2-1
Notre Dame 11-3-3
Morristown-Beard 15-3-1
Pingry 8-8-4

A dissatisfactory result

Morristown-Beard 2, Delbarton 2
A lot has changed in the last 12 years, but Morristown-Beard still can’t beat Delbarton. Chris Volonnino scrambled home a rebound with 44.7 seconds remaining at Aspen Ice in Randolph Tuesday as the No. 2 Green Wave rallied for a 2-2 tie with the seventh-ranked Crimson. Delbarton is 30-0-4 against Morristown-Beard since 1994, although the teams have tied three of their last four meetings.

Delbarton dominated the first two periods in the teams’ first meeting since the 2004 Mennen Cup final. As he did Friday, captain Alex Smigelski opened the scoring, but this time it took half the period. After defenseman Brian Fuller forced the puck down low and Erik Olson won it out of the corner, Smigelski beat Crimson goalie John Yanchek at the near post from a short angle on the left side to make it 1-0. The Green Wave continued to press, and Dan Pressl was just wide with a rebound minutes later.

Yanchek was at his best, however, in the first 10 minutes of the second period. Delbarton, led by an outstanding two periods from freshman defenseman Alex Velischek, had 10 of the first 12 shots in the period. The best chance came with 8:29 remaining, when Yanchek slid to his right to deny Charles Nerbak at the back post after a pass from Matt Schillings on a 2-on-0 break. He then stoned Schillings from the left face-off circle two minutes later to keep it a 1-0 game. As I mentioned in the preamble to one Top 20 poll a few weeks ago, most of the top teams have a goalie capable of stealing a game – Yanchek stole the second period Tuesday with 14 saves.

Predictably, Morristown-Beard came out fired up for the third period, and Delbarton goalie Sean Kaplan had to make a point-blank save on Dan Shurts inside of 20 seconds. Delbarton matched its top line against Morristown-Beard’s all night, but the matchup went the other way at the five-minute mark. Off an offensive zone draw, Kaplan could not hold Shurts’ shot, and Sam Altiero got to the rebound to lift it over Kaplan and tie the game. The Crimson celebrations – both on the ice and off – were extreme, and the student fans in the balcony accidentally broke a pane of glass on the railing from the pounding, holding up play for five minutes. Morristown-Beard continued to have the slight edge in play in the period, and Altiero was on target again four minutes later with a sublime snap shot from the left circle that he placed just under the crossbar as Alberti drove toward the net to distract Kaplan.

Clinging to a 2-1 lead and hoping for its first win over Delbarton since Feb. 10, 1994, Morristown-Beard fell prey to an old foe – line changes – and was whistled for too many men on the ice with three minutes remaining. Although Delbarton failed to capitalize on the power play, Beard iced the puck just after it expired, giving Delbarton an offensive zone face-off with 0:54.8 remaining. Delbarton head coach Bruce Shatel pulled Kaplan for a sixth attacker, and it paid off in just 10 seconds. Dan Pressl circled on the left point and fired a shot on net. Yanchek made the initial save, but was unable to cover the puck, and Volonnino was on hand in the low slot to shovel it into the corner for a dramatic game-tying goal. Neither team was especially pleased to hear the final whistle, Morristown-Beard for again blowing a late lead and Delbarton for being held to the tie.

The tie is a slight blow to Delbarton’s hopes of earning the No. 2 seed in the private state tournament, but the Green Wave can still probably get that honor if they beat St. Augustine Prep and St. Peter’s Prep. Beard improves to 2-0-1 against Gordon competition but will still be unsure of receiving a seed higher than sixth or seventh.

Morristown-Beard 2, Delbarton 2

Scoring

Shots

1st
7:38 Del #9 Alex Smigelski (#13 Erik Olson, #2 Brian Fuller)
2nd
none
3rd
4:59 MB #9 Sam Altiero (#21 Dan Shurts, #19 Greg Alberti)
9:134 MB #9 Sam Altiero (#19 Greg Alberti, #21 Dan Shurts)
14:15 Del #26 Chris Volonnino (#17 Dan Pressl)

Goalies
#30 John Yanchek (MB) 26-24
#1 Sean Kaplan (Del) 19-17

Power plays: Del 0-1

Chinks in the iron

No. 8 St. Peter’s Prep continued its recent surge with a 4-2 win over No. 4 Don Bosco Prep Monday at Pershing Field in Jersey City. Forwards Kyle Palmieri, Matt Runciman, and Tim Miller had two points apiece and Kevin Fox made 25 saves for the Marauders, who scored three third-period goals in a three-minute span to rally from a 2-1 deficit. St. Peter’s Prep is 3-0-2 since its Jan. 23 loss to Bishop Eustace. Don Bosco Prep, meanwhile, is 3-5 since mid-January, although two losses were to unbeaten Seton Hall Prep.
EDIT: Okay, after going back and forth several times in the last 24 hours, we seemed to have confirmed that NJIHL division tiebreakers are as follows: 1. division wins; 2. head-to-head record; 3. division goal differential. This means St. Peter’s Prep will make the playoffs but cannot finish second.

In the NJISAA (New Jersey Independent Schools Athletic Association) Prep B Tournament,
No. 7 Morristown-Beard breezed into the tournament final with a 7-2 win over Hun. The Crimson will, as usual, meet Princeton Day in the championship after the Panthers’ 5-2 win over MKA. The teams have met in the championship in four consecutive years, with Morristown-Beard winning last year. PDS won four consecutive titles from 2001-04, beating Morristown-Beard in the final three times.

In other action at Mennen Arena, Mountain Lakes clinched the Halvorsen Division title and the accompanying berth in the Mennen Division – a landmark step for the Lakers – with a disappointing 1-1 tie against a much-improved Mendham team. In earlier action at BSA, West Morris and Pingry played to a 2-2 tie that sealed Pingry’s first state tournament berth since 2000. West Morris is one game under .500 with remaining games against Mount Olive and Morristown. Mendham must beat Morris Hills and Mountain Lakes in its final two league games to overtake Pingry for a Mennen Cup playoff berth. No. 11 Randolph, meanwhile, could be on a collision course with Mountain Lakes after a 4-1 win over Morris Hills moved the Rams into third place in the Mennen Division.

Tuesday‘s action ought to be interesting, despite the smaller slate of games. The Morris County matchup between No. 3 Delbarton and No. 7 Morristown-Beard headlines the list, but the rematch of the Somerset County Tournament final between No. 14 Montgomery and No. 15 Hillsborough is also tempting. Notre Dame–Red Bank Catholic and Brick–TRN also stand out.