Beyond the Scoresheet

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.

Boxscore

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.

Boxscore

All about the big video board

Seton Hall Prep 5, Delbarton 2
No. 1 Seton Hall Prep took a big step toward an undefeated season Saturday with a 5-2 win over No. 3 Delbarton (8-5-1) in front of a standing-room crowd of 2,569 at South Mountain. Seton Hall Prep (14-0-2) is trying to become the first team since St. Joseph Montvale in 1984 to complete an undefeated season. Delbarton was unbeaten against New Jersey teams in the 2001 and 1989 seasons, and Bergen Catholic finished 21-1-2 in 2003.

The 2006 versions of the state’s premier programs took the ice for warm-ups a full 35 minutes before the scheduled 5:30 face-off. The game had three ice cuts, a jumbo video board, a red-carpet national anthem, and (eventually) plenty of fans. The game started around 5:25, and the Pirates needed just 15 seconds to stamp their authority on the game. First-line forwards Mike Cacciotti and Rem Vanderbeek worked a perfect give-and-go, with Cacciotti deking to his backhand to score past Delbarton starter Jeff Leone.
When Seton Hall Prep went on the power play three minutes later, it looked like the rout was on. But Delbarton forward Matt Schillings intercepted a D-to-D pass and took off with a breakaway. Although he was tied up by a defenseman, he got off a one-handed shot, and when Pirate goalie Zach Truesdell could not find the rebound, Dan Pressl was on hand to fire it into an open net and tie the game. Delbarton had a 6-1 shot advantage at that point, but Seton Hall Prep outshot the Green Wave 11-1 over the rest of the period, finally beating Leone on a point shot from Tim Margiotta at the 9:03 mark.

Trailing 2-1, Delbarton got two early power plays in the second period, and Truesdell had to be at his best to maintain the lead. But Seton Hall Prep was back on the attack and had almost continuous pressure for the rest of the period, thanks in part to three power plays. The Pirates finally cashed in at 12:22, when Cacciotti found a loose puck near the goal line and snapped it by Leone before he could react. The goal came just one second after a power play expired.

In the third period, Delbarton got back in the game almost immediately, when Alex Smigelski’s point shot deflected off a Seton Hall Prep stick to a wide-open Pressl in the lower left circle, who once again had no trouble finishing into an open net. The game’s intensity picked up, with several after-the-whistle skirmishes, but Delbarton never created any serious chances to tie the game. Seton Hall Prep essentially iced the contest on a power-play goal at the 8:06 mark. With most of the nine players on the ice clogged on the left side of Seton Hall’s offensive zone, Chris Preziosi won the puck and made a smart feed to Cacciotti in the right circle, who whistled a high wrist shot past Leone.
With the teams skating four-on-four late in the period and Delbarton pushing up, Cacciotti and Vanderbeek missed consecutive breakaways before Vanderbeek got another chance and beat Leone through his legs to truly seal the game.

Seton Hall Prep clinched its third Gordon Conference regular-season title in four seasons and faces St. John Vianney, St. Peter’s Prep, and Connecticut power Fairfield Prep in its quest for an unbeaten regular season. Delbarton dropped into a second-place tie with Don Bosco Prep and faces St. Peter’s Prep twice and Pope John in leaugue play down the stretch. Don Bosco will face Bergen Catholic, St. Peter’s Prep, and St. John Vianney as the pair vie for a first-round bye in the Gordon Cup tournament.

Boxscore

At Mennen Arena, Chatham outshot Morris Knolls 34-18 but came away with only a 2-2 tie after 32 saves from Josh Ofner. Donnie Nichols and Dan Duda gave Knolls a 2-0 second-period lead before goals from Jeff Tompson and Jeff Chatterton pulled the Cougars level. In the second game, Mendham beat Jefferson 9-4.
The nightcap matched Halvorsen Division leaders Mountain Lakes and West Morris. The Lakers (9-6-1) clinched a Mennen Cup playoff berth with a 6-4 win over the Wolf Pack (7-8) behind Jacob Sutker (2 g, 1 a) and Dan Lio (1 g, 3 a). Lakes rotated seven forwards, with Lio’s second line making the difference. West Morris’ top line scored both even-strength goals through standout Kenny Hunt, while Todd DeVoid scored twice on the power play. The Lakers can clinch the division title and promotion to the Mennen Division with a win or a tie against Mendham Feb. 6.

All even at Aspen

CBA 1, Randolph 1
Defending private state champion CBA and defending public finalist Randolph played to a 1-1 tie Friday at Aspen Ice, although the Colts were without forward Mike Chilton and Randolph was without defenseman Ricky Roma.

No. 13 Randolph (10-3-2) had two power-play opportunities in the first period but could not capitalize. The Rams had the better chances in the period, and No. 6 CBA (3-5-7) used long shots to test Randolph goalie Dan Diamond and look for rebounds. But the Gordon Conference veterans began to wear down Randolph in the second period, pushing the play and getting closer to the net.

Randolph head coach Rich McLaughlin countered his team’s fatigue by rolling a fourth line at times, and that line got the game’s first goal late in the second period. Chris Wiggins set a pass from behind the net to Chris Maloney in the low slot, and he fought off one defender before slapping the puck through the legs of CBA’s Gary Kondler. The Colts responded in just 1:22, however, as Tom Mollica found Lou Amato in the slot for a one-time finish just inside the left post.

Randolph came out energized after the ice cut and went close to taking the lead on the power play early in the third period, but Kondler was able to stop John Beatrice from close range. CBA then dominated most of the period but rarely got enough traffic to the net to put Diamond in a tough position. The Colts got a late power play but had trouble with Randolph’s forecheck and only managed two shots. The Rams got two offensive-zone face-offs in the final minute behind efforts from Rob Kral but could not break the deadlock.

With the tie, Randolph joins the considerable number of teams linked to CBA through a tie, including every Gordon Conference team except Seton Hall Prep and Delbarton. CBA has not lost to a public school (excluding forfeits) since December 9, 2002, going 16-0-2 in that stretch.

Boxscore

Stand on your head

Morris Knolls 4, Morristown-Beard 1
Goaltending and a strong power play look like they could be enough to win a state title this year. Defending Mennen Cup and public state champion Morris Knolls had both of those facets covered Thursday, scoring three power-play goals and getting a spectacular 44-save performance from Josh Ofner in a 4-1 win over Mennen Division rival Morristown-Beard.

Unfortunately, I missed the first period. Each team had two power plays, and No. 4 Morristown-Beard (13-3) held a 16-7 shot advantage. But No. 9 Morris Knolls (13-2) cashed in on both of its chances with the man advantage. Jimmy Timmins opened the scoring at the 3:56 mark, and Steven Jones made it 2-0 with 2:18 remaining in the period.

It was more of the same in the second period, with Morristown-Beard carrying play. The Crimson hit the post in the first minute of the period, and Jones, standing just outside the crease, was whistled for delay of game after throwing the puck into the corner. But Ofner rose to the occasion with a series of stops on the ensuing power play. Morris Knolls got two more power plays in the period, and the Golden Eagles ran their advantage to 3-0 on the second one when Dan Duda ripped a shot from the right point that whistled by a screened John Yanchek. Morristown-Beard got back in the game with 0:38 remaining in the period when Sam Altiero took a breakaway pass from Ryan Paradis, shrugged off a slashing penalty called on Duda, and roofed a wrist shot at the near post.

I saw Walt Keiper use 12 different forwards for Morris Knolls in the game, rotating seven of them through the four wing slots on his second and third line, and occasionally on the top line when Duda shifted to defense. John Puskar, by contrast, only used his third line for a few shifts. Despite the depth, Knolls was unable to wear Morristown-Beard down and had trouble even clearing its own zone to get a line change early in the third period. But the Crimson never really looked like getting back in the game, and Tommy Tomensky sealed the win for Knolls with a length-of-the-ice slap shot into an empty net with 57 seconds remaining.

Knolls has won three straight and is unbeaten in five straight against Beard after winning last year’s Mennen Cup final and the first meeting this year. The Golden Eagles sit alone atop the Mennen Division with a 9-1 league mark. Beard, which is 2-0 against the Gordon Conference, dropped into a third-place tie with an 8-3 league record. Knolls gets a chance to avenge one of its losses on Saturday against Chatham, while the Crimson will face Randolph in a crucial game Tuesday.

Boxscore

quite the third-period collapse

Toms River North 3, Bridgewater-Raritan 2
I got my first look at No. 17 Toms River North Wednesday at the Rock Ice Pavilion in Dunellen. And although the Mariners were outplayed most of the game by No. 19 Bridgewater-Raritan, TRN rallied from a 2-0 deficit with three goals in the game’s final 4:40 for a dramatic 3-2 win that could relegate the preseason public favorite Panthers to a No. 7 seed, at best, in March’s NJSIAA public state tournament. Center Chris Moser scored two goals, including the game-winner with just 14 seconds remaining.

TRN (11-5) was without sophomore forward Sean Betterly and seemed intent on keeping its shifts ridiculously short in the first period; both teams’ third lines were used sparingly, but Bridgewater’s probably saw a bit more ice time. After some hard hits in the early going, the Panthers picked up play in the middle of the period and pressured Mariner goalie Dan Labbate into six saves by the middle of the period. But Bridgewater-Raritan (11-3-1) struggled on its first power play, as TRN forward Nicco Palmero had a breakaway saved by Gary Biggs. Late in the period, a Palmero shot deflected off a Bridgewater stick and rang the post.

The game continued scoreless through the second period, with each team exchanging completely fruitless power plays. Although Bridgewater-Raritan appeared to have slightly more depth at forward, TRN received superior play from its defensemen, and that would prove critical in the final minutes.

But the game was still scoreless into the third period, when Bridgewater-Raritan emerged from the ice cut with new intensity. The Panthers dominated the first nine minutes of the period and got the breakthrough at the 4:21 mark. After a period of pressure in the TRN zone, the puck cycled to the lower left face-off circle, where second-line forward Chris Tommins ripped a slap shot that snuck between Labbate’s shoulder and the near post for a 1-0 lead. BR continued to push forward, doubling its advantage four minutes later when Nick Loughlin, who assisted on the first goal, jammed in a rebound.

It looked like Bridgewater’s forward depth had worn down TRN, but the Mariners increased the physical part of their forecheck and pinned the Panthers in their own zone on the next shift. Finally Chris Moser picked up the puck in the right corner and flipped a cross-ice pass to the back edge of the crease, where Frank Crea knocked the puck down with his body before lifting it over Biggs’ blocker and under the crossbar at the near post to make it a 2-1 game. Two minutes later, Moser wrapped around and tried to feather a pass into the high slot for Crea. Although Crea could not reach the pass, he tracked it down near the blue line and dropped the puck back down to a wide-open Moser for a one-timer past Biggs to stun the once cruising Panthers.

The game’s next twist came after a Bridgewater timeout and 18 seconds of play. The officials whistled TRN goalie Labbate for playing without a mouth guard, a 10-minute misconduct. A skater served the penalty, and Labbate stayed in the game. North then used its timeout with 0:45 remaining and a face-off in the Bridgewater zone. As time wound down, Alex Cohen wristed a point shot that Biggs saved, but both Paul Daley and Moser were alone on the doorstep, with Bridgewater hoping to break out of the zone, and Moser slid the puck underneath the sprawling goalie for the winning goal with just 14 seconds remaining.

Bridgewater-Raritan had no way back after that blow, and TRN skated away with an emotional victory just two nights after losing 7-5 to Southern White leader Old Bridge. The Mariners scored three goals in 4:26, each from the edge of the crease with Bridgewater defensemen nowhere to be found. Based on recent results, you have to assume Morris Knolls, Randolph, Montgomery, Hillsborough, Old Bridge, and Toms River North will all be seeded ahead of Bridgewater-Raritan. The NBIAL and CVC schools are pushing to be there too.

Boxscore

Also, a nice role reversal at Mennen Arena tonight … No. 20/wb Mount Olive avenged a 7-1 loss to No. 15/wb Park Regional with a 2-0 win behind a pair of goals from … you guessed it, John Bellamente. Regional will still win the Charette Division title if it wins its remaining two league games.

Clifton and Middletown South played to a 2-2 tie tonight, a result that will probably see most of the Northern Red Division relegated below a host of southern teams. And in the Gordon Conference, CBA ran its division record to a remarkable 1-5-6 with a 1-1 tie against St. Peter’s Prep.

on the other rink

First of all, I’d just like to say that I saw more cars on 287 tonight driving with one functional headlight than I’ve seen in the past month combined. You might want to check that.

Don Bosco Prep 2, St. Peter’s Prep 1
No. 2 Don Bosco Prep (7-4-1) maintained third place in the Gordon Conference Friday by holding off No. 9 St. Peter’s Prep (6-4-2) by a 2-1 score at the Ice Vault in Wayne. The Ironmen scored two first-period goals and seemed to lose their intensity the rest of the way, allowing the Marauders a goal with 1:29 remaining before hanging on down the stretch.

The game lacked flow, and many a face-off was delayed when one center, or both, was removed out for a minor infraction. Neither team recorded a shot on goal until the 8:02 mark, but Don Bosco Prep scored soon after. Dave Conte fired a shot from the left point that Kevin Fox turned aside, but with St. Peter’s Prep defensemen nowhere to be found, Billy Sanborn had plenty of time to square the puck to a wide-open Greg Blinn for a simple tap-in. St. Peter’s Prep responded with a bit of its 1-1-3 trap, but the Ironmen doubled their advantage three minutes later. Conte’s point shot was again the catalyst, with Fox sprawling to stop a deflection and Steve McKenzie flipping the rebound over a diving Fox.

Despite four power plays in the first two periods, Don Bosco Prep never put St. Peter’s Prep away, and the Marauders (who go old-school with their Latin motto “Sub umbra Petri,” or “under the shadow of Peter,” on the bottom of their jerseys) began to skate into the game. St. Peter’s Prep had a few close-range chances to beat Erick Cinotti, but managed to get in each other’s way on several occasions. Don Bosco Prep used several different line combinations in the second and third periods, but could not find a third goal.

Although Kevin Reich delivered the game’s best hit in the third period, St. Peter’s Prep kept coming, finally pulling a goal back with 1:29 remaining. Second-line forward Bryan Robinson centered a pass from behind the net, and Mike Dellutri had plenty of space to beat Cinotti under his blocker. Although the Marauders pulled Kevin Fox for the final 1:19, Cinotti did not have to make another save.

Meanwhile, on the other sheet, the Ice Vault squeezed in an arena-record 750 (EDIT: 877) fans for the rivalry game between Wayne Hills and Wayne Valley. The Patriots came out with a 3-1 win.

Ramsey 6, Indian Hills 4
This was by far the most entertaining game of the night. #7/wb Ramsey (9-4-1) handed #3/wb Indian Hills (10-2-2) its first loss in 32 all-time NBIAL league games (22-1-9) after a breathtaking third period.

Indian Hills had the better of play in the first period, although Ramsey’s first line certainly created some chances. Indian Hills got a goal from Perry Clarkson, but David Zaentz responded for Ramsey with a breakaway goal after a smart feed by Casey Mignone. The Braves continued to carry play early in the second period, but the play of Ramsey goalie Chris Clifford kept the game tied.

Although Ramsey relies more on its first line than Indian Hills, the Rams seemed to pick up steam in the second period, taking the lead at the 8:36 mark when Brave goalie Anthony Tabbacchino could not hold Patrick Nerney’s point shot. Stamina started to tell the other way late in the period, however, and Ramsey had to ice the puck for a line change. On the ensuing face-off, Brave forward Kevin Ryffle jammed in a back-post rebound to tie the game with 1:48 left in the second period. Ramsey’s top line came right back with plenty of pressure, and David Zaentz looked to have scored from another Mignone feed, but both referees missed the play and, after conferring, did not recognize the goal.

Indian Hills began the third period with a bang, taking a 3-2 lead on a point shot from Tim Aberle past a screened Clifford. Ramsey had to be feeling deja vu all over again when David Zaentz was whistled for two minor penalties on the same play, since the Rams lost to Ramapo last week on a pair of power-play goals from a double power play. Indian Hills only scored once on its double power play, but the goal appeared to be a crushing blow. Brad Montalbano let loose with a slap shot from the left wing, which Clifford deflected straight up into the air with his blocker. Ryffle gloved the puck, dropped it for himself, and finished past Clifford’s despairing dive for a two-goal advantage.

When the second penalty expired, Ramsey responded with immediate pressure, but it took two minutes before it paid off. While Ramsey’s first line skated for probably 9-10 minutes in the third period, the Rams appeared to be matching their first line against Indian Hills’ second line whenever possible. No matter which line they were facing, the trio of David Zaentz, Derek Zaentz, and Mignone completely turned the game around in a span of 1:26 in the third period. Ramsey got a break on the first goal, as Andrew Burns’ point shot was knocked away by an Indian Hills defender but fell right to Derek Zaentz, who fired into the empty half of the net to cut the deficit to 4-3. Mignone stunned the Braves just 21 seconds later, sliding a backhand through Tabbacchino’s legs to tie the game in the blink of an eye. But the top unit was not done, as Derek Zaentz fed Mignone behind the net. His spinning backhand pass left Tabbacchino searching for the puck, which found David Zaentz wide open in front of the net for an easy finish.

Ramsey’s second line got through its one remaining shift without too many problems, and Mignone closed the game with an empty-net goal with less than three seconds remaining. The Rams celebrated an emotional win; their first this year over one of the NBIAL’s top four teams and revenge for an earlier 6-4 loss to Indian Hills. The teams could meet again in the NBIAL Division II championship game. Many of the elite players on both teams play club hockey together, so the post-game line saw a lot more man-hugs than handshakes - the way it should be after a hard-fought contest.

Boxscores