Beyond the Scoresheet

Gordon Cup semifinals

The Gordon Conference was created to produce classic games like Wednesday’s semifinals.

The first semifinal, between Seton Hall Prep and Don Bosco Prep, had the laid-back crispness of most games at South Mountain, and it took the unbeaten Pirates a while to get going. The fourth-seeded Ironmen, playing without first-line forward Greg Blinn, took the lead with 58.5 seconds remaining in the first period. Skating out of his own zone, Billy Sanborn banked a soft pass off the right boards to Chris Buquicchio crossing the blue line. Buquicchio wristed a shot on net from the right circle that snuck through Zach Truesdell to give Bosco a 1-0 lead.

The Ironmen went up 2-0 early in the second period on the game’s only power play, although the play came in transition, rather than in an offensive-zone set. With a three-on-two on the left side, Sanborn made a slick backdoor pass that, although it was slowed down by a Pirate defenseman’s stick, found Kevin Reich arriving to finish just inside the right post to make it a 2-0 game. As so often happens, the goal seemed to wake Seton Hall Prep up, and the Pirates got back into things less than two minutes later when Matt Markovich slid a pass out of the right corner to a cutting Jan Trampota, who one-timed the puck just inside the left post. Seton Hall Prep tied the game four minutes later, when, from behind the net, John Passantino fed Chris Preziosi in the slot, and Bosco goalie Erick Cinotti could not hold his wrist shot.

The third period was a stop-start affair at times, with Seton Hall Prep coach Peter Herms complaining about Don Bosco’s sloppy line changes on the numerous stoppages of play. Herms kept skating three lines most of the period, while Gene Katz mixed and matched but seemed to shorten his bench a bit. The Ironmen had the better of play in the third period, with Truesdell reacting well to stop a sneaky backhand from the outstanding Sanborn and Reich ringing the crossbar with 1:59 remaining.

Seton Hall Prep had a definite advantage in overtime, with Bosco’s first line visibly weary. The Pirates dominated much of the period and finally cashed in to preserve their unbeaten record at the 9:42 mark. John Passantino swept in from the right wing, dragging a defender, and forced Cinotti dive to save his backhand attempt. The rebound lay loose in the low slot, and Preziosi reached it first to pop the puck into the now vacant net for the winning goal.

The overtime threw a wrench into my plan to cruise up Route 10 and make it to Randolph for most of the Delbarton-CBA game. In the end, I missed both goals in that game by about one traffic light.

Delbarton dominated the first two periods, if shot counts are any indication, but CBA struck first midway through the second period. Just after a power play ended, Mark Rivera was able to redirect a point shot from Michael Zuppe to give the sixth-seeded Colts the advantage. Delbarton won both meetings between the teams this year, and the Green Wave were back on level terms within 40 seconds, as third-line forward Zach Williams netted the tying goal. Williams’ return from injury has solidified Delbarton’s third line.

Its top two units were unable to crack Gary Kondler, however, and CBA seemed intent on duplicating its 2-1 overtime triumph in last year’s private championship game. The Colts got a mid-period power play in the third, and although Delbarton’s Jeff Leone had to make three saves in the first half of the power play, the best chance fell to Delbarton. Dan Pressl earned a neutral-zone steal for a breakaway, but could not find the net after deking to his backhand. Kondler later stopped consecutive shots from Williams and made a big save on Alex Smigelski with a minute remaining to send the game to overtime.

Delbarton appeared to have a slight advantage in overtime, with CBA content to rely on counterattacks and shoot from the blue line to test Leone. The period was fraught with tension on both sides, even moreso than in the Seton Hall Prep game, and seemed to bring out the best in both teams. With three minutes left in the 15-minute period, the Colts were clearly confident they would have an advantage in a shootout, relying on Kondler to outplay Leone.

So, five years after their epic private semifinal shootout, CBA and Delbarton were at it again. CBA won the coin toss, so Delbarton shot first. Kondler denied Matt Schillings with a poke check after Schillings moved to his backhand, but Leone answered by stopping Trevor Van Riemsdyk’s attempt at the five-hole. In the second round, Kondler foiled Pressl with a glove save, but CBA’s Mike Chilton missed while trying to beat Leone stick-side.

In the third round, Smigelski deked to his forehand and skated back to the Delbarton bench with celebratory shouts, but Kondler, flat on his stomach, had made a glove save to keep the shootout scoreless. Alex DePalma then gave CBA the lead, beating Leone with a fake to his forehand. Kondler had already stopped arguably Delbarton’s three best breakaway threats, but Charles Nerbak followed Smigelski’s lead by deking to his forehand and flipping it over Kondler’s glove. Leone responded with his best save of the shootout, a pad save on a low shot by Brett DePalma.

With the shootout tied 1-1 heading into the fifth round, Chris Volonnino confidently deked to his forehand before sliding the puck under Kondler for a 2-1 lead. Rivera responded with maybe the best-taken penalty shot, given the pressure, roofing a wrist shot to force extra frames. Freshman Alex Velischek stepped up for Delbarton’s sixth shot, snapping a left-handed shot past Kondler’s stick for a 3-2 lead. Needing to score, Ken Jordan tried to duplicate Rivera’s shot but missed high, and Delbarton advanced to its second Gordon Cup championship appearance in as many tries. Imagine what a fourth meeting would be like … you could see it in the private quarterfinals.

Seton Hall Prep 3, Don Bosco Prep 2, OT

Scoring

Shots

1st
14:01 DBP #12 Chris Buquicchio (#21 Billy Sanborn)
2nd
2:10 DBP (pp) #7 Kevin Reich (#21 Billy Sanborn)
4:01 SHP #19 Jan Trampota (#10 Matt Markovich, #7 Matt Kufta)
8:00 SHP #12 Chris Preziosi (#26 John Passantino, #24 Nick Passantino)
3rd
none
OT
9:42 SHP #12 Chris Preziosi (#26 John Passantino)

Goalies
#1 Erick Cinotti (DBP) 33-30
#30 Zach Truesdell (SHP) 26-24

Power plays: DBP 1-1

Delbarton 2, CBA 2, OT (Delbarton advances 3-2 in shootout)

Scoring

Shootout

Shots

1st
none
2nd
7:03 CBA #21 Mark Rivera (#7 Michael Zuppe, #8 Ken Jordan)
7:42 Del #25 Zach Williams (#13 Erik Olson, #2 Brian Fuller)
3rd
none
OT
none

Goalies
#36 Gary Kondler (CBA) 36-35
#35 Jeff Leone (Del) 23-22

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

Shootout
Goals:
CBA – Alex DePalma, Mark Rivera
Del – Charles Nerbak, Chris Volonnino, Alex Velischek
Saves:
CBA – Kondler 3-6
Del – Leone 2-4

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

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

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

Chilling out

I made my first trip to Chill Out in Hackettstown today … not for the faint of heart. Small ice, low roof, fairgrounds-style grandstands, bad zamboni coverage, etc. But hey, it’s a rink in West Jersey. And you can take public transportation, since it’s right next to the Hackettstown train station.

In the first game Friday, Ramapo edged Mountain Lakes 2-1 behind superior blue-line play and a strong performance from Dan Menken (34 saves), who slightly outplayed more heralded counterpart Matt Lowell (23 saves). The teams were scoreless into the second period, when Ramapo captain Matt Pecoraro stepped up at the blue line, snuck through two defenders, and slipped a shot that trickled through the pads of Lowell. Brian Ix scored the eventual game-winning goal early in the third period on a rebound. Dan Lio got one back for Mountain Lakes on a deflection, but the Lakers could not take advantage of a late power play and came away without the win they had hoped would boost their state-tournament seeding.

Delbarton 2, Pope John 1
Both student sections ended up in the same grandstand, one behind the other, due to the crowd, and that made the game way more entertaining for me than it might have been otherwise. Pope John boasted greater numbers and cheerleaders, bravely wearing skirts in a rink, while Delbarton’s students had more to cheer about and were so ironic as to cheer for Pope John at one point.

Taking a page out of Seton Hall Prep’s book, Delbarton struck just 11 seconds into the game on a top-shelf wrist shot from heretofore-slumping captain Alex Smigelski past Lion goalie Kevin Kobilinski, who was pulled after two periods in Wednesday’s comeback win. Pope John responded by controlling possession after a mid-period power play but could not penetrate Jeff Leone in the Green Wave net.

Delbarton opened the second period with a 1-1-3 trap, and it produced a second goal. After a center-ice intercept and right-side dump-in by defenseman Brian Fuller, Dan Pressl beat Kobilinski with a slick wrist shot from the right face-off circle. The Green Wave used a more conventional forecheck much of the period but still limited Pope John’s offensive opportunites, thanks in part to defensemen Alex Velischek, Mike Campbell, Jason Harden, Fuller, and, in the third period, Dan DeRenzi. In fact, despite solid periods of possession, Pope John went more than 22 minutes (late 1st- to mid-3rd period) with just one shot on goal.

The Lions came out with renewed aggression in the third period but still rarely troubled Leone, starting after Sean Kaplan played against St. Peter’s Prep Monday. Delbarton all but cruised down the stretch, and although Jimmy Alexander spoiled Leone’s shutout with three seconds remaining, the Green Wave skated away with a 1-0-1 edge in the season series and clinched a top-three seed in the Gordon Cup tournament.

Delbarton 2, Pope John 1

Scoring

Shots

1st
0:11 Del #9 Alex Smigelski (#26 Chris Volonnino, #17 Dan Pressl)
2nd
2:55 Del #17 Dan Pressl (#2 Brian Fuller)
3rd
14:57 PJ (6-5) #17 Jimmy Alexander (#9 John Hero)

Goalies
#35 Jeff Leone (Del) 17-16
#35 Kevin Kobilinski (PJ) 26-24

Power plays: Del 0-2, PJ 0-2

not what we expected

Morristown-Beard 5, Randolph 4
No. 7 Morristown-Beard blew a 4-0 lead but recovered for a dramatic 5-4 win over No. 13 Randolph Tuesday in a Mennen Division game that featured a pulsating, seven-goal second period.

The Mennen Division heavyweights, both chasing No. 6 Morris Knolls for the top seed in the Mennen Cup tournament, played not-to-lose in the first period, going almost nine minutes without a single shot on goal. The period featured fast skating and good neutral-zone passing but no threatening offensive moves until late in the period. Crimson defenseman Bob Yannotta went high off the glass out of the defensive zone, finding brother and defense partner Pat Yannotta in the neutral zone. The elder Yannotta stepped up with a three-on-two rush and worked a quick give-and-go with forward Mike Jacquin, one-timing the return pass just inside the right post for the game’s opening goal. Randolph, rotating two different lines through its third spot in the rotation, had just one shot in the opening stanza, a dump-in from center ice.

Morristown-Beard stamped its authority on the game early in the second period, as Turner Paine fired a one-timer past Dan Swenson from the slot just three minutes in. The Crimson then took advantage of a line mismatch when its first line caught one of Randolph’s third lines deep in the offensive zone. Greg Alberti took advantage on the break, snapping a shot underneath Swenson from the right face-off circle. Finally, just past the halfway mark, Pat Yannotta appeared to sew things up with a blast from the point just under the left corner of the crossbar for a seemingly insurmountable 4-0 lead.

Despite showing no signs of an offense earlier in the game, Randolph now awoke with a physical forecheck, and Ed Keenan sneaked a pass from behind the net to Greg DaSilva cutting through the slot for a one-time tap-in behind normally dominant John Yanchek. Randolph scored again just 21 seconds later, as Rob Kral carried the puck into the zone and fired home a snap shot from the left circle. The Ram momentum was broken by a Beard power play, but Randolph picked up the play again for the final four minutes, dominating so much that Crimson coach John Puskar complained about the difference between a two-second and a five-second clock hold after it did not stop immediately. Randolph justified his fears by continually applying pressure in the right corner, in front of its fans, and DaSilva reacted quickly to a loose puck in the right circle to fire it through the legs of Yanchek and make it a 4-3 game. Remarkably, the Rams tied the game just 25 seconds later. Again working out of the right corner, Kral centered a pass for cutting defenseman Kyle Krannich. He was unable to control the pass, but the puck caromed to the right post, where John Beatrice popped up to bang it behind Yanchek for an emotional tying goal. Kral thought he had scored to take the lead with 18 seconds remaining, but Yanchek kept the shot out as players from both teams met in the crease.

Tied 4-4, the period break came at an unfortunate time for Randolph, which could not continue its momentum into the third period. Although the Rams had the better of play, Pat Yannotta rang the post on a slap shot with 9:45 remaining for the period’s best chance. The Crimson used their advantage as the home team to get another line mismatch on an offensive zone face-off late in the period, with its first line against Randolph’s other third line. As if on a power play, the face-off came back to Ryan Paradis on the right point. He swung a D-to-D pass to Matt Kruvant on the left pass, and he fired the puck back-door to Dan Shurts in the lower left face-off circle, where Shurts took his time before whipping a bad-angle wrist shot into the top of the net as Swenson tried to recover.

It was a fittingly dramatic ending to a memorable game that, given Randolph’s tie with CBA Friday, only serves to confirm both Beard’s potential to play with and beat Gordon Conference teams and its susceptibility to inconsistency against less-hyped opponents.

Morristown-Beard 5, Randolph 4

Scoring

Shots

1st
12:08 MB #10 Pat Yannotta (#17 Mike Jacquin)
2nd
2:51 MB #3 Turner Paine (#14 Rich Leonardis, #23 Corey Schneider)
5:02 MB #19 Greg Alberti (#21 Dan Shurts, #24 Bobby Yannotta)
7:39 MB #10 Pat Yannotta (#23 Corey Schneider)
8:15 Ran #26 Greg DaSilva (#16 Ed Keenan, #15 Matt Incledon)
8:36 Ran #9 Rob Kral (#22 Ricky Roma, #3 Kyle Krannich)
13:53 Ran #26 Greg DaSilva (#28 Paul Kusik)
14:18 Ran #19 John Beatrice (#3 Kyle Krannich, #9 Rob Kral)
3rd
12:18 MB #21 Dan Shurts (#5 Matt Kruvant, #15 Ryan Paradis)

Goalies
#31 Dan Swenson (Ran) 19-14
#30 John Yanchek (MB) 18-14

Power plays: Ran 0-1, MB 0-1