Beyond the Scoresheet

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.

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

Putting together a schedule

I’m in Dallas for a few days, but this was written Nov. 21 for the Hockey Night in Boston preview. Apparently I wrote too much, as it didn’t quite make it. So here’s a brief look at the scheduling process … what a friend of mine from Rice would call an investigative blog.

Investigative blog – Scheduling
Coaches may not be able to control how their team plays on the ice, but they almost always have plenty of influence on who their team plays in non-league games. New Jersey coaches have anywhere from 5 to 13 non-league games to schedule, and each coach has his own style on this inexact science.

Non-league schedules are usually a good indicator of what a coach thinks of his team and division. After reaching February unbeaten last year in the relatively weak NBIAL, Indian Hills coach Phil Murphy is making the most of his limited non-league options this year by playing five top public schools, including two before Christmas.
“Since the NBIAL is new and somewhat unknown, we felt that we needed to play some Red Division teams and the top Morris County teams to become more recognizable with the other teams throughout the state,” Murphy said. “With the diversity in our schedule, we hope to improve our state ranking with the [seeding] committee when the time comes.”
Morris Knolls head coach Walt Keiper, on the other hand, is stepping out of the public ranks to test his defending public state champion. The Golden Eagles face central Jersey preps Princeton Day and Hun and two Gordon Conference teams, Hudson Catholic and Pope John.
“We play night in and night out against some of the top public schools in the state,” Keiper said of his league schedule. “Picking up games against private schools is a change for our program and will only strengthen the team. … I feel if you want to improve your program, you need to play tough opponents every game.”
In south Jersey, the difficulty of non-league scheduling is often compounded by obligations to the all-sport Shore Conference, which includes 18 of the 23 schools defined as ‘southern’ by the NJIHL. CBA head coach Mike Reynolds, for example, had 20 of his 21 games decided for him — 16 Gordon Conference games and four games in the Shore A Division.
Similarly, the central Jersey all-sport Skyland Conference will award a hockey championship this year, forcing public powers like Ridge and Bridgewater-Raritan to cancel already-scheduled games in favor of contests with first-year program Hillsborough, even though all five Skyland Conference teams already play in the holiday Somerset County Tournament.
Many NBIAL coaches have rankled under the 18-game league schedule imposed by their athletic directors that limits non-league opportunities. Still other coaches are limited by travel restrictions and ice time; teams in the lower divisions of the CVC and MCSSIHL often play non-league games against league teams, just to fill out the schedule.
But the most interesting part of the scheduling equation is the rule for state tournament qualification, which requires non-Gordon teams to have at least a .500 winning percentage as of the second Saturday in February to make the tournaments. Mid-level public coaches like Morris Hills’ Ed Higdon and Rumson/Fair Haven’s Dave Smith, among others, have to carefully plan their schedules around this deadline. This means realistically assessing their team’s chances of winning 50 percent of its games while trying to get as much exposure as possible against different regions of the state in hopes of a high seed.
Morris Hills, for example, competing in the Mennen Division for the first time since the advent of the MCSSIHL’s hierarchical division structure in 1986, can realistically expect to be 1-3 games under .500 from its league schedule. Higdon has carefully crafted his non-league schedule with six games against MCSSIHL teams from the Haas and Charette Divisions, simultaneously scheduling Paramus, Princeton, and Bayonne as ‘reach’ games. One can project Morris Hills’ record anywhere from 9-12 to 15-7, but the smart money would be on the Scarlet Knights finishing within two games of the .500 mark.
“You call all over leaving messages and trying to match up available ice-time, frequency of games in a week, and honoring commitments from last year,” Higdon said. “The state tournament is a factor, and I know that if we don’t play good hockey this year, we could miss the tournament.”
Smith, coaching his Bulldogs in the parity-ridden Southern White, has an even tougher puzzle to solve. After 12 league games and 4 Shore B matchups, he has 7 games in which to improvise. A 6-6 league season is a real possibility, and the additional Shore B games could easily see a 1-3 record. So he has to plan to go at least 4-2-1 in his non-league games to make the state tournament.
“Obviously, you need to keep in mind the goal of being .500 at the deadline, but it can be self defeating to place too much weight on that goal,” Smith said. “Every coach is guilty of looking at the schedule in advance, but I’m of the opinion that there’s no use qualifying for the state tournament if you can’t realistically envision advancing several rounds.”
With the Shore Conference encouraging crossover games, Smith scheduled four games against Shore C teams, which should be enough to get Rumson over the hump. His three remaining games? Tests against southern public power Middletown North, CVC middler WWPS, and Central Red veteran West Essex.
“We feel we can compete in the Southern White and should be no worse than .500 there,” Smith said. “We also know the Shore B could be a disaster for us, but under the best circumstances, it will toughen us up and make us better. Of our optional games, we’ve added one against a much higher-ranked opponent, two against opponents that should be of relatively equal strength, and four against regional rivals who are ranked below us, but all of whom should show up prepared to battle.”

Finally, HNIB New Jersey ranks the five strongest non-league schedules for public schools, given preseason information.

1.Indian Hills — Phil Murphy was 5-for-5 with his non-league games, scheduling three of last year’s four public semifinalists plus Northern Red powers Bayonne and Clifton.
2.Randolph — Having your own ice certainly helps, as Rich McLaughlin lined up Don Bosco Prep from the Gordon Conference in addition to four serious public contenders — Bridgewater-Raritan, Ridge, Middletown South, and Indian Hills. The Rams will also skate in the Montclair tournament.
3.Bridgewater-Raritan — Excepting three required Skyland Conference games, Patrick Alvin scheduled three of his remaining five games from the state’s top public division, a fourth with the best public in the south, and a fifth with the CVC’s top public.
4.Ridgewood — Not a regular powerhouse, but the Maroons face four Red Division teams, including Red Bank Catholic, plus relative unknowns Ramsey (twice) and Princeton. The two games with Glen Rock hurt but could be a must for the state tournament.
5.Morris Knolls — I hate to pick another big gun, but Walt Keiper deserves some props for scheduling the big boys. If only the season opener could’ve been Knolls-CBA to settle last year’s score. Knolls takes on PDS, Hun, Pope John, and a weak Hudson Catholic squad in addition to public tests against Bridgewater-Raritan, Indian Hills, and Toms River East, plus the Cron Tournament.

season preview, part 2 – NJIHL

To complete the season preview, we look at the state’s biggest league, the NJIHL.

Southern Red
This is one of the most competitive divisions in the entire state, as six of the seven teams finished last season ranked in the state’s top 20. Seriously, can we get a Southern Red/Mennen Division challenge in the mold of the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in college basketball? Two games at the Armory on Friday night, three games at Mennen on Saturday, everybody except two Southern Red teams get a game. Or play two games at Wall on Sunday. It’d be a blast.
Anyway, you almost have to install Bishop Eustace (14-7, #13) and Red Bank Catholic (21-6, #11, #1 W/B) as the twin favorites to start the season. Eustace should be very strong defensively, while RBC finally moves up to the right division. Both teams play challenging schedules, facing 2-4 Gordon teams. St. Augustine Prep (11-7-3, #17) dropped to third last year after consecutive first-place seasons in the Red Division. Middletown North (15-8-3, #14) is an up-and-coming program and should have an edge this season on rival Middletown South (15-11-2, #20). Toms River North (17-4-1, #18, #2 W/B) should have added incentive to play for a high seed in the state tournament after missing out last year. Finally, Monsignor Donovan (15-6-1, #4 W/B) should be very competitive in its first year in the Red Division.

Contenders: Bishop Eustace, Red Bank Catholic, St. Augustine Prep, Middletown North, Toms River North
Pretenders: Middletown South, Monsignor Donovan

Southern White
I like the new Southern White and am really interested to see how the competition plays out. Everyone is looking forward to seeing Brick Township (2-20-3) play in a regular division, but the Green Dragons have plenty of (Gordon Conference) experience and should be immediate favorites. After that, I’m not sure what to think. Rumson/Fair Haven (11-13-3, #8 W/B) and Brick Memorial (8-12-2) ought to be competitive, and Old Bridge (20-3-2, #5 W/B) could really make some noise. First-year program Gloucester Catholic is an unknown; they probably should have started a division lower. Comparing Toms River East (6-13-3) and Wall (11-10-3) is impossible at this point, but I’ve got a hunch the Knights will make life difficult for everyone, and TRE has a strong schedule.

Contenders: Brick Township, Rumson/Fair Haven, Brick Memorial, Old Bridge
Pretenders: Wall, Toms River East, Gloucester Catholic

Southern Blue
Before we got to the Southern Blue, whose idea was it to have the overlapping Shore divisions? Keeping the Bricks in the Shore A at the expense of three Red Division teams makes no sense and really tied scheduling hands. There are only five Southern Conference schools that are not Shore schools; maybe we could just forget the Shore championship for the time being?

Moving on, you have to think this division is going to be a blast. Not necessarily great hockey, but a good time. Somebody needs to fill St. Joseph Hammonton (0-11) in on the non-league scheduling rules; they still only have league games scheduled this year, and it’s tough to find a lot of pride when you have never won a single game. Toms River South (6-10-3) and Point Pleasant (6-15) ought to have the edge in this division, but don’t count out Manasquan (5-15-6). Any team named the Big Blue Warriors has to be taken seriously. I fully admit to knowing virtually nothing about these teams, but both Manasquan and PPB lost by three goals to champion Wall in the Southern Blue tournament last year. Meanwhile, relatively experienced Red Bank Regional (10-12-1) should finish ahead of Southern Regional (2-17-2) and first-year program St. Rose (how ’bout them Purple Aces!), and the Bucs might challenge for a higher place.

Contenders: Toms River South, Point Pleasant Boro, Manasquan
Pretenders: Red Bank Regional, Southern Regional, St. Joseph Hammonton, St. Rose.

Central Red
This division can’t quite match the Mennen or Southern Red for top-to-bottom competitiveness, but it’s close. Everybody’s mouths are watering for the three-headed monster of Bridgewater Raritan (19-8-2, #16), Ridge (21-4-1, #15), and St. Joseph Metuchen (10-9-2). But really, the Panthers (my top-ranked public school) should be loaded this year, with the unfortunately named Red Devils (they wear green and white) just behind. The other four teams are a bit more mysterious. Verona (19-6-2, #18 W/B) is on my dark-horse list, while Montclair (11-13-3) has jacked up its schedule. West Essex (8-16) and Cranford (7-15-1) will probably be fighting to avoid the inevitable drop to the White Division and will play at least three times after being paired together to open the Cron Tournament. That’s a pet peeve of mine, division teams being paired together (just ask Vernon and West Milly), but it’s unavoidable at the Cron.

Contenders: Bridgewater-Raritan, Ridge, St. Joseph Metuchen, Verona, Montclair
Pretenders: West Essex, Cranford

Central White
This is another fun one, mostly thanks to Montgomery (8-12-2) and South Brunswick (10-9-2, #6 W/B), who have left the I-195 scene for the I-78 crowd this year. I also expect Summit (12-13, #19 W/B), Watchung Hills (19-4-2), and MKA (2-15-4) to challenge. And Westfield (13-8-5, #20 W/B). Wow, that’s almost everybody. Seriously, I’m looking forward to this division. I really don’t know if Bernards (2-16-2) is going to be able to compete, but the Mountaineers been competitive in the past when nobody thought they could be.

Contenders: South Brunswick, Summit, Westfield, Montgomery, Watchung Hills, MKA
Pretender: Bernards

Central Blue
This should be a wide open division, but demoted Johnson (5-13-2) should be an immediate title contender. Millburn (11-11-3) also plays a tough non-league schedule, while West Orange (6-13-2) and Dayton (13-9-2) are also expected to factor. First-year program Hillsborough is an unknown entity but has a good reputation, while Livingston (9-11-1) and Governor Livingston (1-13-1) just hope to be competitive.

Contenders: Johson, Millburn, Dayton, West Orange
Pretenders: Hillsborough, Livingston, Governor Livingston

Northern Red
This division appears to be a two-horse race between Bayonne (21-2-3, #19) and Clifton (18-5-2). Bayonne was unbeaten in league play last year, and both teams play schedules indicative of a strong team. But up-and-comer Vernon (21-5-1, #11 W/B), state tournament Cinderella Tenafly (14-10-3), and former power St. Joseph Montvale (11-8-3) hope to challenge the top two. Paramus (6-13-2) and Paramus Catholic (4-13-4) are likely to be fighting to avoid relegation.

Contenders: Bayonne, Clifton, St. Joseph Montvale, Vernon
Pretenders: Tenafly, Paramus, Paramus Catholic

Northern White
The state’s only six-team division has plenty of parity this season. Lakeland (8-15-1) drops down to challenge Northern Hills Conference rival West Milford (10-7-4, #15 W/B), which finished second last year. Ridgewood (15-8-4, #16 W/B) has one of the state’s toughest public-school schedules, while River Dell (12-10-2, #17 W/B) turned heads toward the end of last year. Wayne Valley (8-14) and newcomer Nutley (5-15-1) seem unlikely to challenge.

Contenders: West Milford, Ridgewood, Lakeland, River Dell
Pretenders: Nutley, Wayne Valley

Northern Blue
This resurrected division has three first-year programs and four traditional doormats, so it’s anybody’s game. I’m going to stick my neck out and install DePaul Catholic as the favorite, since they had a successful JV program last year. Newton and Sparta should also be respectable first-year teams. Glen Rock (6-12-3) should be the most successful returning program, with Passaic Valley (8-11-2), Hackensack (1-18-1), and East Side (2-14-2) bringing up the rear.

Contenders: DePaul Catholic, Glen Rock, Passaic Valley
Who knows? Newton, Sparta
Pretenders: Hackensack, East Side

Gordon Conference
Now for the big boys. The private-school powers have succeeded in producing an elite division almost off the radar for many of the state’s public schools. I picked all eight teams in my preseason top 10 (another shameless HNIB plug), and I expect to see the top six spots regularly filled with these teams. For the most part, they can only be reasonably compared against each other.
CBA (25-3-2, #1) won the state title in overtime last year and appears to have plugged the holes on its first line, but I wonder if one line will be enough this year. Delbarton (22-2-6, #2) probably has the best top two lines in the state, but the defending Gordon Cup champions will need time to mature their inexperienced defense corps and goaltenders. Seton Hall Prep (13-8-4, #4) probably has the best chance to challenge last year’s dominant duo behind strong returning players at most positions. Don Bosco Prep (15-11-1, #3) was hit hard by transfers but should be strong in goal and have enough offense to get by. Pope John (8-13-3, #7) really came on toward the end of last year but will need to stay out of the penalty box to be successful. St. Peter’s Prep (11-8-6, #5) lost the corps of its team from the last two years but might have the depth to remain competitive. In the league’s only coaching change, Bergen Catholic (12-10-3, #6) brought back head coach Dan May, who coached the Crusaders to state titles in 2001 and 2003, but one year might be quick for a turnaround. St. John Vianney (7-13-3) finished out of the top 20 last year and will probably need to take advantage of its Shore Conference games.

Contenders: CBA, Delbarton, Seton Hall Prep, Don Bosco Prep
Pretenders: Pope John, St. Peter’s Prep, Bergen Catholic, St. John Vianney

First-year program High Point and Gordon dropout Hudson Catholic (2-21-2) join the four preps as independent teams this year.

And that’s it. Having talked/written more about this season before it started than any other, I’m ready to see some real action that counts in the standings. Let the games begin.