Beyond the Scoresheet

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

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.

a Spartan effort

I threw a baseball today. First time since September. It was that warm.

On the cold stuff, however, three teams clinched state playoff berths (assuming my powers of addition are still intact), running the current total of qualified teams to 43 (29 public, 14 private). Ridge breezed past Verona 7-1, Mountain Lakes beat Sparta 8-1, and WWPS beat Hamilton 10-0. Not exactly a lot of high drama, but results nonetheless. Brick Township picked up a crucial 5-2 win over Toms River East, leaving the Green Dragons at 6-7-3 with remaining games against Toms River North, Brick Memorial, and Old Bridge.

In the big games today, No. 12 St. Peter’s Prep got two goals from Tim Miller, including the game-tying goal with 49 seconds remaining and goalie Kevin Fox pulled for a sixth attacker, as the Marauders tied No. 2 Delbarton 2-2 at Pershing Field in Jersey City. In the first CVC game between its top three teams not to end in a tie, Steinert rallied from a 2-1 third-period deficit to beat Princeton 4-2 at IceLand. Mitch Wien scored the go-ahead goal before the Spartans added an empty-netter. Finally, MonDon beat Old Bridge 6-4 to snap the Knights’ 8-game unbeaten streak.

Tuesday’s limited schedule features a pair of great matchups in the South Jersey battle between CBA and St. Augustine Prep and the Mennen Division game between Randolph and Morristown-Beard.

margin of victory matters

Mountain Lakes (7-6-1) took a big step toward a top-two finish in the Halvorsen Division of the MCSSIHL with a 4-2 win over Pingry (5-6-3) Monday behind 30 saves from Matt Lowell. Pingry hit three posts in the first period and outshot the Lakers 28-15 over the final two periods. Mountain Lakes was able to skate healthier lines than in the past few weeks, and Jacob Sutker and Carl Dagger sandwiched first period goals around a Dan Ambrosia tally for Pingry.

The Big Blue applied pressure for most of the second period, finally tying the game at the 10:30 mark on a Dan Weiniger goal. But Mountain Lakes responded with the game’s most crucial goal, an accurate wrist shot from second-line forward James Putney, just 2:18 later. Clint McDonough sealed the game with a blast of a slap shot midway through the third period. Lowell was outstanding for Mountain Lakes, which hopes to get an additional boost with the expected return of forward Danny Lio from junior hockey. Could we see Mountain Lakes with three lines?

In other action at Mennen Arena, No. 4 Morristown-Beard (13-2) was sluggish in a 3-0 win over Mendham (3-8-2), which got 25 saves from Troy Hermann. In the nightcap, No. 20 Chatham (13-3) wore down Morris Hills (5-10) in a 5-2 victory. The Scarlet Knights dressed just 14 players and were without their top two scorers but did take a 1-0 lead. Ilya Schuf stopped 39 of 43 shots.

Around the state, No. 14 Bishop Eustace (9-4-1) rocked the Gordon Conference picture with a 5-2 win over No. 8 St. Peter’s Prep (6-5-2) … that’s sure to shake up next week’s rankings, especially considering the three-goal margin of victory is superior to that of Don Bosco Prep (2-1), St. John Vianney (5-3), CBA (1-0), and Pope John (2-2). Old Bridge (9-2-2) played its first non-league game since the Cron Tournament in December and upended No. 17 Toms River North (10-5), 7-5. I really want to say ‘I told you so,’ on this one, but I didn’t even have Old Bridge in my 21-32 category. And No. 1 Seton Hall Prep (11-0-2) rebounded from a 3-0 deficit to beat Princeton Day 5-3 at South Mountain. If one wants to compare scores, note Morris Knolls lost to the Panthers 5-4; who says we shouldn’t have an overall championship game?

Finally, in completely unrelated news, Freddy Adu made his full debut for the U.S. men’s national team last night and, at the age of 16, became the youngest player in U.S. history. Also, in case you were wondering, Nigeria edged Ghana 1-0 and Senegal beat Zimbabwe 2-0 in the African Nations Cup.

Sunday afternoons are for football

a few thoughts before I let the NFL playoffs, Rice women’s basketball, and U.S. soccer take center stage:

Delbarton 3, CBA 1
I saw almost the entire Delbarton-CBA game last night, and it was a really feisty encounter. Both teams were playing hard-nosed, physical, and occasionally dirty. Three of the game’s four goals were scored on the power play, and Delbarton captain Alex Smigelsi was whistled for five minor penalties, which earn an automatic game misconduct. Note this is a misconduct, not a disqualification, and carries no suspension or team ramification.

Delbarton head coach Bruce Shatel handed Sean Kaplan his third start of the season in goal after incumbent Jeff Leone started in Friday’s 4-3 loss to St. John Vianney. Kaplan responded with 11 first period saves and 26 for the game. Despite being drastically outshot early in the first period, Delbarton went on top thanks to a late power-play goal from Charles Nerbak on a subtle pass from Dan Pressl.

CBA also had the better of play early in the second period and finally tied the game on a power play of its own at the 8:23 mark. Mike Chilton fed Trevor van Riemsdyk on the point, and his shot appeared to deflect off a Delbarton defenseman at the edge of the crease before going in. Delbarton responded with 1:14 to play in the period, again on the power play. Skating behind the net, Nerbak fed a cutting Smigelski in the left circle, and although Ryan Cuming made the initial save, Matt Schillings was on hand to pop the rebound over Cuming’s dive.

Delbarton got a key insurance goal early in the third period, as the physical Chris Volonnino dropped a pass down low to Nerbak, who deked a backhand shot through Cuming’s legs. The Colts’ best chance to get back in the game came on a mid-period power play which included 1:05 of 5-on-3 play, but they only managed two shots. Kaplan made 12 saves in the third period to secure the win. Freshman Alex Velischek has spent more time at his normal forward position in the last two weeks for Delbarton (8-4-1), skating on the second line with Nerbak and Volonnino; sophomore Jason Harden has joined Mike Campbell, Dan DeRenzi, and Brian Fuller on the blue line. CBA (3-5-5) lists 10 freshmen or sophomores on its roster. The scoreboard listed shots at 27-18; I don’t entirely trust that number.

Rankings quandaries
So I will have plenty of rankings questions when I sit down to figure them out tonight. Let’s start in the 3-5 slots. Yes, Delbarton lost to St. John Vianney to split the season series. But the Green Wave dominated the shot count in Friday’s loss and outscored the Lancers 6-5 in the two games. And Morristown-Beard beat St. John Vianney, but moving the Crimson up to No. 3 would be a bit much.
Similarly, the NBIAL teams really screwed me up with their exciting games this weekend. Ramsey could be considered the division’s top team after splitting games with Ramapo and Indian Hills, beating the Braves one night before IH handed Ramapo its first loss of the year. Fair Lawn appears to have lost a step on the top three.
Hillsborough and Montgomery are clearly going to move up thanks to Hillsborough’s 4-1 win over Bridgewater this week, although both teams will get adequate chance to prove themselves with upcoming Skyland Conference games. St. Augustine Prep had egg on its face after Ramapo made the drive to Vineland to find no referees. And what to do with Northern Red teams?
Check back really late tonight or tomorrow for updated rankings.

Other weekend action
Steinert and Mendham had a wild one Friday, with the Spartans pulling out an 8-6 win. Additionally, check out this trivia from Mendham’s other game against a CVC opponent this year … in Hopewell Valley‘s 5-2 win over the Minutemen Jan. 6, the Bulldogs scored one goal of each type: even strength, power play, shorthanded, penalty shot, and empty net.
Vernon beat Newburgh Free Academy (N.Y.) 16-6 Friday night. Sixteen! That’s just crazy. However, the Vikings should’ve saved some of those goals for Saturday’s 6-2 loss to Clifton.
Madison beat Hudson Catholic 3-2 on Friday. ‘Nough said.
Bishop Eustace and MonDon tied 3-3, further confusing the Southern Red picture. Eustace has won three consecutive Handchen Cup titles, so the smart money is on the Crusaders to pull out the No. 2 seed, but they only lead Red Bank Catholic by a half-game.
I’m not sure how to feel about the Paramus Catholic–St. Joseph Montvale series. They played twice in an 18-hour span, tying Friday night 3-3 before PC won Saturday afternoon 4-1. Next time, how ’bout a doubleheader with the first game starting at 9 p.m. and the second game at 12:30 a.m.? Somehow, I don’t think the NJSIAA would sign off on that.
Pingry and Mendham tied for the second time in six days Saturday, and the recent resurgence of Jefferson has the Halvorsen Division turning heads. Mendham is just 1-4-2 in league play but has five potentially winnable league games remaining. West Morris ought to have enough of a head-start to win the division and earn promotion, but Mountain Lakes could have something to say about it.
Also, the Mercer County Tournament bracket is now available on the ice cups page. I’m not a big fan of the power-point seeding process … Hopewell Valley and Lawrence ahead of Notre Dame? C’mon now. No way Notre Dame and Princeton should meet in the semifinals.

31 games, 20 results, several stories

man, heck of a day of hockey. And I was in the city with my siblings and cousin. So here’s what I’ve gleaned from e-mails and the like about one of the state’s busiest days:

Wednesday’s games