The Schedule (all games tonight at the Ice Vault in Wayne)
No. 4 Pascack Valley vs. No. 5 Tenafly, 5:15 p.m.
No. 3 Northern Highlands vs. No. 6 Paramus/Lyndhurst/Hackensack, 6:15 p.m.
No. 2 St. Joseph vs. No. 7 Northern Valley, 8:15 p.m.
No. 1 Glen Rock has a first-round bye
Semifinals: Tuesday, Feb. 17
THE FAVORITE
No. 1 Glen Rock (16-3-3) — First round matchup: Bye — will get lowest remaining seed in semifinals
Why the Panthers are favorites: Glen Rock has assembled quite the resume this season and has proven it will very much be a contender for the Public B state title. The Panthers, the two-time defending Cup champions, have defeated Morristown, Morris Knolls and, most recently, Summit on Friday; they have also tied Randolph and played Ramsey about as well as anyone has this season in the BCT semifinals before falling, 2-1, in overtime. Had it been Glen Rock who scored first in that semifinal overtime against the Rams and we’d be talking about Glen Rock as the potential No. 1 seed in Public B.
They also have a pair of wins over top Freedom contender St. Joseph, most recently turning a 2-0 deficit into a 5-2 win on Feb. 8. Glen Rock, in fact, is 7-0-1 against the Green Knights since the two schools were aligned in the same division, with Rock defeating Joes in each of the past two league Cup finals (3-2 win in 2014, 5-2 in 2013). What makes Glen Rock a multiple-title contender is its scoring depth and strong goaltending in Matt Rosario (2.04 GAA, 90.5 save pct. prior to Friday’s win vs. Summit). The Panthers have nine players with double-digit point totals, headed by sophomore Jake Kinney (15 G, 21 A), junior Justin Rosario (14 G, 18 A) and senior Brendan Rosario (13 G, 17 A). Senior Peter Tatigian (13 G, 10 A), junior Tom LaMacchia (7 G, 16 A), sophomore Peter Cassidy (7 G, 11 A), sophomore Colin Morrow (9 G, 8 A), senior Griffin Meyers (7 G, 12 A) and sophomore Brendan Murray (3 G, 9 A) have also all proven to be capable scorers. While Glen Rock certainly has some impressive results this season, there are also some, however, that don’t add up. There’s the 2-2 tie vs. Pascack Valley, the 3-3 tie vs. Wayne Hills — a good team, no doubt, but one Glen Rock should have handled — and the 6-3 loss to Cranford. When firing on all cylinders, though, coach Sergio Fernandez’s squad has proven to be among the best in the state.
THE CONTENDERS
No. 2 St. Joseph (13-5-2) — First round matchup: vs. No. 7 Northern Valley
Why the Green Knights are dangerous: For one, they seem due to knock off rival Glen Rock at some point… and what better time to do it than in a Cup final? For the most part this season, Joes has won the games they should have won and lost the ones in which they were the underdogs. Of the Green Knights’ five losses, two have come courtesy of Glen Rock, one came against Nutley (16-4), one to Randolph (14-4-3) and another to Bergen Catholic in the BCT quarterfinals, taking the Crusaders to overtime before falling in a heartbreaker, 5-4. The defense is strong, going six-deep, though it has surrendered nine goals in two games against Glen Rock this season. The Knights are very young, with their top seven scorers being underclassmen, including sophomore Pete Lombardi (16 G, 12 A), junior Ryan Grieco (13 G, 11 A), junior Matt Cocciadiferro (11 G, 12 A), sophomore Dominick Posta (11 G, 12 A), junior Nick Krasniqi (9 G, 12 A), junior Nick Andresini (2 G, 13 A) and junior Don Cuttone (6 G, 8 A). Senior Stephen Petrucelli also has 14 points. St. Joes fell one goal short in last year’s final; do the Green Knights have enough firepower this year to capture the title?
No. 5 Tenafly (10-8-2) — First round matchup: vs. No. 4 Pascack Valley
Why the Tigers are dangerous: Because if they seeded the tournament with a committee — and not by season standings — Tneafly could make a legitimate case for the No. 3 seed (similar to Lakeland in the Liberty Division), especially with they have been playing lately. Tenafly is 7-1-1 in its last nine games, including a 5-3 win over actual No. 3 seed Northern Highlands and 6-6 tie against actual No. 4 seed (and first-round opponent) Pascack Valley in that stretch. After a 1-6 start (the main reason they got the No. 5 seed in this tournament), the Tigers have gone 9-2-2 in their last 13 games and improbably qualified for the state tournament. Leading the second-half-of-the-season surge has been a pair of seniors in Eric L’Heureux and Jake Bernstein. L’Heureux is North Jersey’s leader in assists, with 28 (and has added 16 goals) and Berstein isn’t far behind with 15 goal and 22 assists. Freshman Julian Tallier has been one of the best in his class in North Jersey, tallying 12 goals and 21 assists in his first high school season.
THE REST OF THE FIELD
No. 3 Northern Highlands (9-9-1) — First round matchup: vs. No. 6 Paramus/Lyndhurst/Hackensack
After a 5-2-1 start, Highlands has gone just 4-7 in its last 11 games — narrowly holding on to an automatic state tournament berth. The Highlanders should get past Paramus tonight, but will likely run into No. 2 St. Joseph in Tuesday’s semifinal — a team that defeated Highlands by a combined score of 13-2 in two meetings this season. Senior David Dachille is Highlands’ leading scorer with 12 goals and 11 assists, sophomore Dylan Koh has added 12 goals and five assists and senior Eric Brubaker has contributed five goals and a team-best 12 assists.
No. 4 Pascack Valley (9-7-6) — First round matchup: vs. No. 5 Tenafly
Like Northern Highlands, Pascack Valley enters tonight’s first-round contest struggling. The Indians have not won since before the Bergen County Tournament started (Jan. 10 vs. West Windsor-Plainsboro Ewing, who is 1-22 this season) and haven’t beaten a team with a winning record from New Jersey since before that (Dec. 26 vs. Mahwah). They enter tonight 0-5-2 in their last seven, though do have some noteworthy results this season, specifically a 2-2 tie against top-seeded Glen Rock back on Dec. 21. Tonight’s matchup against Tenafly should be an entertaining, high-scoring affair, as the last time these two teams met, they played to a 6-6 draw on Jan. 9. Junior Matt Truglio (14 G, 21 A), senior Chris Zariello (23 G, 7 A), sophomore Trent Shaley (17 G, 12 A), senior John Scarano (11 G, 14 A) and senior Nick Giordano (10 G, 12 A) have paced the Indians’ offense this season. Defense has been an issue, especially lately, with Pascack surrendering 43 goals during this current seven game winless streak. But they certainly can score, evident recently after dropping eight goals on Public B contender Kinnelon in an 11-8 loss one week ago.
No. 6 Paramus/Lyndhurst/Hackensack (4-16-3) — First round matchup: vs. No. 3 Northern Highlands
It has been a tough year for the CometSpartanBears, but they have played their first-round opponent, Northern Highlands, tough this season. In two meetings, Paramus has fallen to the Highlands, 4-2 on Dec. 13 and 6-3 on Jan. 10. Junior Evan Kelly (20 goals, 18 assists) an senior Joey Reveille (16 goals, 15 assists) have quietly put together solid seasons.
No. 7 Northern Valley (4-16) — First round matchup: vs. No. 2 St. Joseph
Northern Valley will get a tough test tonight against St. Joes, who beat NVOT, 8-0, back on Jan. 4. Despite the rough season, senior Griffin Privitera has capped off an impressive career and enters tonight with 21 goals and 21 assists, both team highs and is among North Jersey’s leaders in both categories.