Beyond the Scoresheet

a busy Saturday

I had my first driving Saturday of the season, seeing most of three games at three different rinks. I started out at South Mountain for CBA-Seton Hall Prep, moved to Randolph for the last two periods of Pope John-Delbarton, and finished up at Mennen for Mendham-Jefferson.

Seton Hall Prep 1, CBA 0
It took me a bit to adjust to the new-look South Mountain Arena, which is under renovation. From what I could tell, it’s going to be awesome when finished. I’ve always been a fan of the airplane-hangar look, and if they can just get lighting to match the new seats and boards, it’ll be a gem.
Seton Hall Prep controlled the game throughout, playing with much more speed and confidence in the offensive zone. The Colts tired themselves out backchecking, but limited Seton Hall Prep’s odd-man rushes. Despite a 21-6 SHP shot advantage, the game was scoreless into the third period. CBA survived two lengthy 5-on-3 power plays for Seton Hall, while the Colts failed to take advantage of two breakaways.
Ryan Cuming was outstanding in net for CBA, including a brilliant three-save sequence three minutes into the game. After a 1-1 tie a week ago against St. Peter’s Prep with a big shot advantage, the difference for Seton Hall on this Saturday were senior stars Mike Cacciotti and Rem Vanderbeek, who both missed last week’s game. Early in the third period, Cacciotti’s deft pass from the left corner found Vanderbeek’s tape in the low slot for a one-timer through the legs of Cuming. The Pirates were never able to put the game away, but CBA, playing without transfer Mike Chilton as he sits out the required 30 days, had no offensive touch around the net.

Pope John 1, Delbarton 1
South Mountain to Aspen is not exactly a short trip, so we missed the first period of the Delbarton-Pope John game. We arrived with Delbarton leading 1-0 on a first-period goal from Dan Pressl. Pope John goalie Kevin Kobilinski (19 saves) kept the Lions in the game on three Green Wave power plays in the second and third periods. Although Pope John failed to generate many good chances, the Lions tied the game with 6:47 remaining in the third period on a point shot that Delbarton goalie John Leone (17 saves) never saw. Delbarton had pulled out a last-second victory over Don Bosco Prep earlier in the week, but Pope John was the more aggressive team down the stretch, finishing with an 8-4 shot advantage in the third period.

Mendham 5, Jefferson 2
I returned to Morristown in time to catch this game. The first two periods were a bit dull, with the only goal a fluke from the far blue line that gave Jefferson a 1-0 lead. But Mendham woke up in the third period on two early goals from the delightfully named Giovanni Marinelli. David Neves added two goals before Marinelli completed his hat trick into an empty net.

Boxscore

Scoring

Shots

1st
none
2nd
none
3rd
1:04 SHP #17 Rem Vanderbeek (#11 Mike Cacciotti)

Goalies
#1 Ryan Cuming (CBA) 32-31
#30 Zach Truesdell (SHP) 12-12

Power plays: CBA 0-3, SHP 0-6

Morris Knolls 4, Morristown-Beard 2

Defending Mennen Cup and public state champion Morris Knolls (2-0) passed its first test of the season Friday with a 4-2 win over division rival Morristown-Beard (1-1). The teams tied their first two games last year and Knolls won an exciting Mennen Cup final 1-0 on a last-minute goal, but the December encore was a distinct anticlimax, thanks in part to 14 minor penalties.

Dan Duda opened the scoring at the 6:42 mark when he stepped up from the neutral zone to keep the puck in at the blue line, then cut into the high slot and beat John Yanchek. Morristown-Beard leveled the game on a Corey Schneider goal less than two minutes later. The game turned in the middle of the second period. Knolls got a lucky goal off the hip of forward Charlie Van Houten, and Dan Coiro followed with a power-play goal to make it 3-1. Morristown-Beard turned up the pressure after that, peppering Knolls goalie Josh Ofner with 16 second-period shots. It finally paid off at the 13:34 mark, as Dan Shurts was credited with a goal when a Knolls player inadvertently poked the puck into his own net during a scramble. The Crimson continued to carry play for most of the third period, but Tommy Tomensky sealed the game with 2:52 remaining by lifting a rebound over the shoulder of Yanchek on the power play. Both goalies played well, but Ofner stood out with a 31-save performance.

The win earns Knolls an early leg up on defending its Mennen Division and Cup titles. The Golden Eagles will shift their focus to a fourth consecutive Cron Tournament title with a Monday night matchup against West Essex. Beard next faces an important division game Monday against Randolph.

Boxscore

Scoring

Shots

1st
6:42 MK #14 Dan Duda
8:24 MB #23 Corey Schneider (#17 Mike Jacquin)
2nd
4:51 MK #19 Charlie Van Houten (#5 Dennis Cole)
7:21 MK (pp) #11 Dan Coiro (#13 Dan Duda)
13:34 MB #21 Dan Shurts (#5 Matt Kruvant, #19 Greg Alberti)
3rd
12:08 MK (pp) #41 Tommy Tomensky (#14 Dan Duda)

Goalies
#9 Josh Ofner (MK) 35-33
#30 John Yanchek (MB) 22-18

Power plays: MK 2-8, MB 0-6

Bridgewater-Raritan 2, Ridge 1

well, I saw a lot more penalties today than I would have liked, but I also saw two very competitive games. I started at Bridgewater, where Mountain Lakes rallied from a 3-0 deficit early in the second period for a 3-3 tie with Pingry. Half of the game’s goals were scored on power plays.

Bridgewater-Raritan 2, Ridge 1
This was my second trip to the Rock, and it once again made me think of what I imagine Indiana high school basketball to be like … everybody parking on residential streets, the bandbox-like arena packed 20 minutes before face-off, people squeezing themselves onto the balcony, local rivals exchanging cheers and jeers, a county championship banner … a great atmosphere, to be sure, even if the spotty wireless microphone and the banging on the balcony made life tough for the national-anthem singer.

But the game couldn’t quite match the hype, to be honest. The teams combined for 16 penalties, including 9 in the first period, which prevented the game from flowing and limited both coaches’ ability to use their depth.
The sloppiness started early, with Bridgewater taking a too-many-men penalty on its first line change of the season. Before the ensuing face-off, Ridge then had to call timeout for Jon Lyons to switch goalie masks. Bridgewater eventually took an early lead, with captain Kevin Tino winning a face-off for linemate Chris Caravanos to snap into the side netting on Lyons’ stick side. The Panthers failed to capitalize on two mid-period power plays, however, and Ridge started to creep back into the game late in the period. Matt Germann rang the crossbar on a power play, which was soon nullified for a penalty. Immediately after four-on-four action ended, Greg Zambon broke into the offensive zone and, from the left slot, whipped a wrist shot inside the right post, beating Panther starter Gary Biggs to tie the game 1-1.
The barrage of power plays continued in the second period, and Ridge even had about 30 seconds of six-on-four on a delayed penalty call. With the teams a combined 0-for-10 on the power play, Bridgewater finally snapped the tie at the 10:40 mark of the second period. With a power play winding down, Caravanos and Tino broke into the zone with a two-on-one, and Tino snapped a shot past Lyons from the right slot for the crucial goal, one second before the penalty expired.

Predictably, Ridge stepped up the pressure in the third period, and Biggs responded well, although the Red Devils did not get many good scoring opportunities and were forced to rely on long stretch passes late in the game. Biggs had to make only one save down the stretch, and when Caravanos cleared the zone for the last time, Bridgewater celebrated (with plenty of emotion) its first victory ever over Ridge in eight total meetings (1-6-1).

The game was played like a season opener – sloppily – but the atmosphere made it absolutely worth the trip. The two teams are not scheduled to meet again until January 13, but both squads will hope to be in the Somerset County championship game December 28.

Boxscore

Scoring
Rid 1 0 0 — 1
BR 1 1 0 — 2

Shots (my tally)
Rid 4 9 8 — 21
BR 9 8 8 — 25

1st
4:14 BR #13 Chris Caravanos (#20 Kevin Tino)
13:04 Rid (sh) #13 Greg Zambon (#8 Scott Kiliyanski)
2nd
10:40 BR (pp) #20 Kevin Tino (#13 Chris Caravanos)
3rd
none

Goalies
#45 Jon Lyons (Rid) 25-23
#23 Gary Biggs (BR) 21-10

Power plays: Rid 0-5, BR 1-7

Opening Day at Mennen

As usual, I spent my opening day at Mennen Arena as much as possible. I actually only got to see the first game, the beginning of the second, and the end of the third, but it was good to be back watching games that count. Mennen looked in good shape, with clean ice, fancy MCPC logos, and new nets. Roxbury even had new uniforms, refuting my Pope John comment from last week. And it’s always good to see little kids taunting high-schoolers for being too slow to a loose puck.

Roxbury 3, Pequannock 3
The first game was Roxbury-Pequannock in an early matchup of perceived Haas Division favorites. I thought Pequannock was the better passing team, but Roxbury had the better of play and a 35-25 shot advantage. After a 1-1 first period, Pequannock took a 2-1 lead early in the second period on a power-play goal from Matt McGee after a deft cross-ice pass. But Roxbury responded inside of five minutes, as Alicia Lepore jammed home a rebound and Brandon Davis followed with a quick wrist shot from the right wing. Kevin McCloskey was pretty solid in the Roxbury net while protecting the lead, but Pequannock really started applying pressure down the stretch in the third period. Finally, with McCloskey on the ground, Matt Iaccheo slotted in a rebound from a bad angle to tie the game with 1:24 remaining. In a bizarre twist, Iaccheo was then penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct, but Roxbury could not take advantage of the power play, and the teams settled for a 3-3 tie.

Mt. Olive 7, Parsippany Hills 3

Morristown-Beard 4, Morris Hills 1
In the marquee game of the day, locally speaking, Morris Hills played its first game as a member of the Mennen Division against Morristown-Beard. I’m told Hills had the better of play in the first two periods, and the Scarlet Knights got a lead late in the first period on a Jon Gaffney goal. But Morristown-Beard snuck back into the game on a Sam Altiero goal late in the period and went ahead just 19 seconds into the second period on a Dan Shurts goal. Morris Hills had a 19-10 shot advantage through two periods, but tired in the third period, perhaps partially due to the absence of first-line forward Scott Shapiro.
On a penalty kill past the halfway mark in the third period, Hills got two men caught deep on the offensive forecheck, leaving Beard with a 3-on-2. Greg Alberti took it himself down the left wing, cutting inside and deking around Ilya Schuf to make it 3-1. Mike Jacquin added a goal with 2:10 left to seal the deal. John Yanchek finished with 21 saves for the Crimson, while Schuf made 15 stops. But it looks like the Mennen Division ought to be exciting once again this year.

Elsewhere
Okay, I got a confirmation of the 10-0 MonDon score … that’s pretty impressive. Second-line forward Luke Segreto hit for a hat trick, so it sounds like the Griffins were too deep. And it means I have to eat crow on the first day of the season. I got a (well-written) email from a MonDon fan last night explaining why that fan thought I was mistaken in leaving MonDon at the bottom of the division, and it looks like that fan was right. So mad props to MonDon, that’s a great opening performance. And St. Augustine Prep made a little statement of its own, too. Unfortunate opening night for the Middletowns.
Other than that, of the scores I’ve seen, I’d say the Brick-TRE score (2-2) surprised me the most; I thought Brick would come out flying against that division. And it sounds like Steinert and HoVal had no problem in the CVC. I’m still waiting on several scores though, so send me some emails, preferably with enough information to prove you were actually at the game … I much prefer emailed scores to getting results off the NJO forum.

Scrimmage: PJ 3, Ran 1

I got off to a late start for the Randolph-Pope John scrimmage today, and I was further confused when I walked into the rink and did a brief double take – who was Roxbury playing? But it was just Pope John. The Lions, under the direction of former Roxbury goalies Ryan and Corey Brown, wear uniforms that, viewed from behind, are virtually identical to Roxbury’s uniforms. Once I got past that fact, however, I enjoyed the game.

It was sloppier than the RBC-Knolls scrimmage I saw yesterday, especially in terms of penalties … both teams spent plenty of time on the power play. Tied 1-1 after the first period, Pope John got a power play goal on a well-deflected point shot and a scrappy goal that probably should not have counted due to the referee’s whistle to win 3-1. The scoreless third period was an 18-minute stanza with running time, and the scoreboard shot count was 21-20 in favor of Pope John.

Scrimmage: RBC 4, MK 3

The day after Thanksgiving has traditionally been my first hockey game of the season, since I am always in New Jersey for the holiday, and I made it to Aspen Ice in Randolph this afternoon to see Morris Knolls-Red Bank Catholic.

The game felt like a good start to the season, with intensity rarely seen in a preseason scrimmage and fast play despite the inexperience on both sides. Knolls was not at full strength, with only 17 players dressed, and RBC was rotating up to seven defensemen. The Caseys probably had a bit of a territorial and shot advantage, in my mind, and led 1-0 and 2-1 before Knolls tied it up each time. Both teams switched goalies midway through the second period, and the Golden Eagles took a 3-2 lead into the third period before RBC tied the game with a power play goal. The Caseys finally won the game with about 3:30 remaining, although Morris Knolls pulled its goalie down the stretch.

The contest felt like more than a scrimmage, and both coaches seemed cautiously optimistic about their team’s performance. Knolls is back in preseason action against Clifton Saturday night at 8, also in Randolph. RBC scrimmages St. Peter’s Prep Saturday night at 7:30 at the Armory before opening the season December 2.