Beyond the Scoresheet

the big one

I’ll spare you the details of my D.C. trip, but suffice it to say I made it back for the biggest game of every regular season Friday night at Mennen Arena. And neither I nor any of the 2,500+ other fans in attendance was cheated, as No. 1 Seton Hall Prep earned its first regular-season win over No. 2 Delbarton since 1998 with a well-deserved 3-2 decision. Ranked ahead of its rival chiefly due to a more experienced blue-line corps, the Pirates dominated the second period en route to the win.

No. 1 Seton Hall Prep defended its top ranking Friday with a 3-2 win over second-ranked rival Delbarton before a standing-room-only crowd of 2,500 at Mennen Arena. The win was Seton Hall Prep’s first over Delbarton since 2003 and first at Mennen since 2000 – both state tournament results. The Pirates had not beaten the Green Wave in the regular season since 1998.
All games are theoretically created equal, but not this one. The first-Friday-in-January matchup almost always outdraws the late-January game between the two rivals, and tonight might have been the largest regular-season crowd in state history. There were ice cuts at both intermissions, specially made T-shirts on both sides, fewer penalties than usual, and more parking congestion than you can imagine. Oh yeah, there was some hockey, too, and people standing just about everywhere to watch it.

The first period was a contrast in styles, with Seton Hall Prep rimming the puck high off the glass and Delbarton using stretch passes and lay-offs to build up speed through the neutral zone. After consecutive chances for Seton Hall Prep’s Mike Cacciotti and Delbarton’s Matt Schillings were denied around the 3:30 mark, the Green Wave opened the scoring at 5:07. First-line wing Dan Pressl whipped a pass into the slot from the right boards, and although captain Alex Smigelski did not connect perfectly with his one-timer, the shot fluttered into the top left corner. Smigelski almost doubled the lead on the same shift, but instead the action settled into an entertaining, back-and-forth pattern. Delbarton had the better of play in the middle of the period, springing Pressl for a breakaway with 3:05 left, but Pirate goalie Zach Truesdell reacted well to make a pad save on Pressl’s wrister. Holding the 1-0 lead, Delbarton head coach Bruce Shatel sent his team into a 1-1-3 trap for the final minute of the period to ensure the lead.

The second period opened with a flurry of activity, as Pressl parked to the left of the crease and found himself staring at a wide-open net, but his shot was deflected away by a Seton Hall defenseman. The Pirates took over the period and the game from that point, and with people still filing into the arena, tied the game at the 5:35 mark. Cacciotti won a loose puck from Delbarton freshman defenseman Alex Velischek on the right boards, skated in parallel to the goal line and deked toward the front of the net before lifting a backhand over Green Wave goalie Jeff Leone. As seems so typical of the rivalry, Seton Hall Prep took advantage of the momentum with another goal less than a minute later. Chasing a loose puck at the top of the offensive zone with his back to goal, second-line forward John Passantino hooked his way around a Delbarton defender and banked the puck off the right boards to keep it in play. The bank caromed perfectly to Chris Preziosi in the high slot, and his one-timer appeared to catch Leone off guard.

Delbarton responded by using its stretch forwards even further up the ice, drawing Seton Hall Prep defensemen away from their offensive zone, but the Green Wave could not generate much offense in the period. Delbarton got the game’s first power play at the 7:48 mark but looked anemic in failing to challenge Truesdell. Seton Hall Prep then found itself unlucky not to take a 3-1 lead late in the period, when Mike Tahan’s shot from the left corner trickled behind Leone, and the referee ruled it had not crossed the line.

Trailing 2-1 into the third period, Shatel opted to start the period with the 1-1-3 trap, which has successfully produced many an odd-man rush for Delbarton this year. It slowed the game down a bit on this night, since hard-hitting forechecking was almost nonexistent, and Seton Hall Prep took a giant step toward the win at the 5:20 mark. Jim Mahoney wristed a seemingly innocuous shot from the left face-off circle that eluded Leone for a 3-1 lead. The goal forced Delbarton to step up the urgency of its forechecking, but Peter Herms’ troops were able to limit scoring opportunities.

With two minutes remaining and the crowd beginning to file toward the exits, Delbarton took advantage of its second power-play opportunity. Chris Volonnino circled in the lower left corner and fired a back-door pass to a wide-open Schillings to make the score 3-2. Delbarton was able to pull Leone with 1:04 remaining but could only manage point shots, and Velischek’s shot with 10 seconds remaining was blocked. Seton Hall Prep celebrated the rare victory over its chief rival, leaving Delbarton to prepare for Sunday’s game against Don Bosco Prep. While most people fought the traffic to leave, Herms moved on to coach a Rockets youth game on rink 3.

Seton Hall Prep 3, Delbarton 2

1st
5:07 Del #9 Alex Smigelski (#17 Dan Pressl, #26 Chris Volonnino)
2nd
5:35 SHP #11 Mike Cacciotti (#17 Rem Vanderbeek, #21 Michael Tahan)
6:29 SHP #12 Chris Preziosi (#24 Nick Passantino)
3rd
5:20 SHP #15 Jim Mahoney (#11 Mike Cacciotti, #17 Rem Vanderbeek)
13:41 Del (pp) #8 Matt Schillings (#26 Chris Volonnino, #9 Alex Smigelski)

Goalies
#30 Zach Truesdell (SHP) 19-17
#35 Jeff Leone (Del) 33-30

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

Attendance: 2,500+

be back Friday

I’ll be out of town Wednesday and Thursday and I may or may not have good internet access. So e-mail me scores and I’ll try to update if I can, but I might not have the site up-to-date again until Friday some time.

Delbarton 5, Bishop Eustace 1

No. 2 Delbarton outskated Bishop Eustace 5-1 Tuesday at Aspen Ice in Randolph, getting a goal and two assists each from top-line forwards Dan Pressl and Alex Smigelski. Colin Saltiel made 32 saves in the loss.

Matt Schillings scored the lone goal of the first period, sliding a backhanded rebound by Saltiel, and although Pressl twice came inches away from adding to the lead, the game remained 1-0 until late in the second period. At the 10:01 mark, however, Erik Olson picked up the rebound of a blocked point shot and beat Saltiel through a screen to make it 2-0. Three minutes later, however, Bishop Eustace got on the board by catching Delbarton in a chance, and Mike Dwier snapped a shot under the glove of Sean Kaplan to make it 2-1. The Green Wave repsonded in only 22 seconds, however, effectively sealing the game when Smigelski took a feed in the low slot and beat Saltiel.

Delbarton added third-period power-play goals from Alex Velischek and Pressl to provide the final 5-1 margin ahead of its showdown with rival Seton Hall Prep Friday night at Mennen Arena.

Delbarton 5, Bishop Eustace 1

1st
4:55 Del #8 Matt Schillings (#7 Alex Velischek)
2nd
10:01 Del #13 Erik Olson (#6 Dan DeRenzi, #2 Brian Fuller)
13:02 BE #53 Mike Dwier (#3 Brad Schuler, #97 Tyler Hancock)
13:24 Del #9 Alex Smigelski (#13 Erik Olson, #17 Dan Pressl)
3rd
2:27 Del (pp) #7 Alex Velischek (#9 Alex Smigelski, #17 Dan Pressl)
7:47 Del (pp) #17 Dan Pressl (#9 Alex Smigelski)

Goalies
#00 Colin Saltiel (BE) 37-32
#1 Sean Kaplan (Del) 9-8
#35 Jeff Leone (Del) 5-5

Power plays: BE 0-2, Del 2-3

Friday results

the last full day of 2005 has 16 games, and here are the early results:

my NBIAL debut

Indian Hills 1, Ramapo 1
I’m pretty sure this was my first NBIAL league game Wednesday, as I traveled north of the border to Sport-O-Rama in Monsey, New York for the clash between intra-school-district rivals Ramapo (6-0-1) and Indian Hills (6-1-2). It was about what I expected of the NBIAL: dense, physical, hard-nosed hockey with not a lot separating the two teams, but I would have loved to see some more scoring chances. Even with 12 power plays, the teams combined for only 30 shots. I won’t go so far as to say there were more cheap shots than shots, but the game was chippy at times, and both coaches had words for the officials after the final whistle. Oh yeah, and they tied 1-1.

The teams played at a fast pace but did not race end to end, instead controlling the game in spurts. Ramapo had the best chance of the first period, ringing the left post with 5:26 remaining. Scoreless into the second period, Indian Hills goalie Anthony Tabbacchino made a good save on Ramapo’s Robbie Sorrenti in the first 30 seconds. After being outplayed in the early part of the second period, Indian Hills took a 1-0 lead past the halfway mark. Working on an ineffective power play, forward Brad Montalbano stepped up with pace at the red line, gained the offensive zone, skated around a defenseman, and feinted to his backhand before sliding a forehand shot that trickled through the pads of Ramapo’s Dan Menken.

The emotional goal sparked the game a bit, and even a casual observer could see jawing going on after several big hits. Ramapo finally tied the game with just 6.3 seconds remaining in the second period. Still in the offensive zone after a power play, Matti Makela fed linemate Sorrenti in front, and he one-timed the puck behind Tabbacchino.

The physical play continued early in the third period, and Ramapo had a shorthanded rebound goal disallowed because the net was dislodged, and the Raiders were unable to capitalize on two power plays late in the period. Both teams had trouble getting shots on net from the points, and the game ended in a 1-1 tie, disappointing both teams. Indian Hills, a bit banged up after four tough game in eight days, tied Ramapo for the third consecutive game and has not beaten the Raiders in the last five years (0-5-3). Still, the Braves beat Fair Lawn and Ramsey and are just one point behind Ramapo, which has yet to play Ramsey for the first time.

Indian Hills 1, Ramapo 1

1st
none
2nd
8:25 IH (pp) #22 Brad Montalbano (#11 Tim Aberle)
14:54 Rmpo #28 Robbie Sorrenti (#17 Matti Makela, #10 Zander Pindyck)
3rd
none

Goalies
#38 Anthony Tabbacchino (IH) 16-15
#30 Dan Menken (Rmpo) 14-13

Power plays: IH 1-6, Rmpo 0-6

SCIAA Semifinals – the curses continue

Both SCIAA tournament semifinals produced shutout upsets on Tuesday, with Central Red powers Bridgewater-Raritan and Ridge falling to first-year program Hillsborough and 2003 champion Montgomery, respectively.

Montgomery 3, Ridge 0
In their previous meeting Dec. 10, No. 17 Ridge beat Montgomery despite missing two players due to suspension. If anything, the Red Devils were expected to inflict more damage on the White Division Cougars in this meeting. But Montgomery (6-1) got two power-play goals in the first 5:42 en route to a surprising 3-0 win over Ridge (4-2-2) in the day’s first game at Bridgewater Sports Arena.

The Cougars opened the scoring through Mike Yetter at the 2:46 mark when he stole the puck as a Ridge defenseman tried to clear it and quickly snapped a shot underneath Jon Lyons before the Red Devil goalie could react. Given another power-play opportunity less than three minutes later, Montgomery needed only 20 seconds to convert. This time Sean Hover’s point shot trickled off the inside of Lyons’ pad and into the net for a 2-0 margin. After killing a Ridge power play, the Cougars struck again with an element of fortune at 9:53. Mike Violette threw a blind backhand in front of the net from the right corner. The puck caromed off a Ridge defender and on goal, where Lyons made the initial save. Robbie Sparno was first to the rebound, however, and tapped it in at the back post for a commanding 3-0 lead.

The remainder of the game was a blur of power plays, turnovers, and solid goaltending. Coasting with a 3-0 lead, Montgomery was able to get the puck deep in the zone and rely on its forecheck to slow down the opposition. Ridge forwards, in contrast, were too often dispossesed while stickhandling into the zone and lacked the tape-to-tape passes necessary to get through the netural zone with space. Sophomore goalie Ian Healey had a tremendous game for Montgomery, stopping all 25 shots he faced, including 20 saves over the final two periods.

Hillsborough 1, Bridgewater-Raritan 0
The second game was expected to be the closer contest, and it did not disappoint. First-year program Hillsborough (8-0) condemned No. 1 seeds to an 0-3 all-time record in the tournament with a 1-0 upset of No. 10 Bridgewater-Raritan (6-1) in a pulsating semifinal.

A first-year program with a lot of junior hockey experience, Hillsborough skates just four seniors and relies on its top line, especially junior Michael Lysyj, for most of its offense. The Raiders served early notice they would not be intimidated when they were able to kill off a power play just 15 seconds into the game. Perhaps the most crucial play of the first period, however, came just past the halfway mark. Raider goalie Eric Visnovsky came out for a loose puck, but with pressure from each team, his clearance was deflected toward the empty net. Visnovsky’s helmet flew off, mandating a stoppage of play and, in this case, nullifying a Panther goal.

Bridgewater-Raritan had a slight edge in even-strength play during the first period and early in the second period, but the game completely changed at the 6:02 mark. Hillsborough forward Alex Merry took advantage of a defensive slip to skate in against Gary Biggs with a semi-breakaway. Biggs reacted well to save Merry’s wrist shot, but a sliding Bridgewater-Raritan player inadvertently knocked the puck into his own goal, sending Hillsborough and its crowd into rapture. The Panthers almost tied the game within two minutes, as Visnovsky made a sprawling toe save on Chris Caravanos after a deft backdoor pass from Kevin Tino. The remainder of the period was all Hillsborough, as Biggs made a ridiculous total of 16 saves, at least half of them in the final five minutes.

Having skated three lines most of the game and playing with desperation, Bridgewater-Raritan was able to turn the tables in the third period. The Panthers had four minutes of power-play time from the 7:15 to the 11:29 marks of the third period, forcing nine saves out of Visnovsky. After stopping three chances in a row on the first power play, he made the game’s biggest save on the second by getting across his crease to deny Tino, who had snuck to the back post for a rebound. The defending champions pulled Biggs with 1:08 to go but never came close to tying the game.

Montgomery 3, Ridge 0

1st
2:46 Mtgry (pp) #20 Mike Yetter (#12 Jim Yetter)
5:42 Mtgry (pp) #7 Sean Hover (#20 Mike Yetter)
9:53 Mtgry #2 Robbie Sparno (#19 Mike Violette)
2nd
none
3rd
none

Goalies
#35 Ian Healey (Mtgry) 25-25
#45 Jon Lyons (Rid) 19-16

Power plays: Mtgry 2-5, Rid 0-6

Hillsborough 1, Bridgewater-Raritan 0

1st
none
2nd
6:02 Hboro #18 Alex Merry (unassisted)
3rd
none

Goalies
#32 Eric Visnovsky (Hboro) 29-29
#23 Gary Biggs (BR) 29-28

Power plays: Hboro 0-4, BR 0-5

31 games, 20 results, several stories

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