West Milford’s Chris Dressler (top left), Mahwah’s Tyler Gutierrez (top right), Lakeland’s Shane Davison (bottom left) and Wayne Hills’ Danny Reidel (bottom right) all played important roles for their team’s first round state tournament wins on Monday.
Is North Jersey hockey collectively turning a corner at the state level? After Day 1 of the state tournament (and including Sunday’s Paramus Catholic game), it certainly appears that is the case.
Last year, through the preliminary and first round of the state tournament, North Jersey teams went 5-10. After Monday’s results, North Jersey teams are an impressive 9-3 (with one loss coming in a double-local matchup featuring Ridgewood and Pascack Valley) — and perhaps most impressively, state title hopefuls Don Bosco, Bergen Catholic, Ramsey and Glen Rock all have yet to play.
The Big North Liberty Division alone is currently 5-0, without Ramsey even contributing to that yet. It’s a testament to not only the quality of the division from top to bottom, but really magnifies just how good Ramsey really is/was this season. The Rams steamrolled through division play with a 15-0-1, really only being tested twice (Ramapo once and Lakeland once). Every other game was essentially non-competitive. Their sometimes-criticized regular season schedule (no fault of their own, and they do what they can to improve it) is looking better and better with every Liberty Division state win. What will that mean down the road? We’ll see.
The highlights of Monday came courtesy of No. 21 West Milford and No. 19 Mahwah in Public B, upsetting No. 12 Brick Township and No. 14 Montville, respectively.
The Highlanders, who made the state committee look good after it awarded them an at-large bid, defeated Brick, 4-1. In Monday’s state preview, I wrote there were a lot of question marks surrounding Brick, especially defensively, and it was debatable whether or not Brick deserved the 12-seed. West Milford proceeded with a statement win — the biggest upset in any bracket so far and the program’s first state tournament win since 2010 (when they upset No. 1 Ramsey in the Round of 16)– and did so in different fashion than it has been accustomed to. With so much of the spotlight shining on Chris Dressler and Joey Fenui this season, the Highlanders received four goals from four different scorers… and Fenui wasn’t even one of them, though he did provide two assists. Dressler got his, but Jared Calise, Alex Crevina and Paul Roth all also scored and Andrew Ajello, Nik Latronica and Fenui added the assists. Though West Milford was outshot, 27-18, Highlanders goalie Donovan Lemay was up to the task, making 26 saves. Ironically enough, after traveling 92 miles down the Parkway to pick up its first round victory in Brick, West Milford will now have the luxury of playing literally right up the road at Skylands Ice World in Stockholm for its Round of 16 contest against No. 5 Kinnelon. West Milford is actually closer to Skylands than Kinnelon. The Highlander Herd should be out in full force for that one with a Public B quarterfinal spot on the line.
Over at Mennen Arena, No. 19 Mahwah defeated No. 14 Montville (another debatable seed), 7-3, providing one of four losses from Halvorsen Division teams in the first round. After surrendering the game’s opening goal in the first five minutes, the Thunderbirds erupted for the next five to take control. Just following the game on Twitter, Mahwah seemed in control for the majority of the game, aside from when Montville cut it to 5-3 midway through the third before Luc Roberts struck about a minute later to put the T-Birds back up, 6-3, with 5:32 to go. In Monday’s preview, I wrote Mahwah had the potential for a first-round upset for a couple reasons, but most importantly because when both Tyler Gutierrez and Marty Kapoian are in the lineup, good things seem to happen. That’s when Mahwah is at its best. On Monday, the pair struck for eight points (Gutierrez 2 goals — the first two — and 1 assist; Kapoian 1 goal, 4 assists), while Mahwah also received one goal a piece from Shane Ciongoli, Anthony DeAlto, Paul LaDuca and Roberts (two assists, too). The Thunderbirds peppered Montville goalie Josh Beron with 43 shots, as the T-Birds outshot the Mustangs, 43-36. Mahwah freshman goalie Jared Moss was busy and effective, stopping 33 shots in the Thunderbirds’ first state tournament win since 2011, when as the No. 4 seed reached the Public B semifinals. The T-Birds had fallen in the first round in each of the past three seasons, but will now likely take on fellow North Jersey foe Glen Rock in the Round of 16.
Elsewhere in Public B…
No. 16 Lakeland defeated No. 17 West Morris Central, 4-0
Determined to send a message to the state committee that they got it wrong when it came to Lakeland’s seed, the Lancers controlled things from the start in the shutout victory over West Morris Central. Coach Nick Crouch and Player of the Year candidate Danny Mullin (one goal, one assist Monday) were both candid about their disagreement with the Lancers’ seed, but Crouch admitted it was their own fault for not going out and earning a higher seed (winning more games, scheduling tougher non-conference opponents). Regardless, no matter where Lakeland was seeded, if they wanted to make a deep run in Public B, there was likely going to be a time when it ran into any one of The Big 3 — Chatham, Ramsey or Glen Rock — it’s just coming sooner than Crouch and Lakeland were hoping for. They backed up their claim that they deserved a better seed on Monday (and the success of the Liberty Division on Monday also backed up that claim), but they can send shockwaves throughout the state if they upset No. 1 Chatham in the Round of 16.
No. 13 Indian Hills defeated No. 20 Hopewell Valley, 3-0
In just his first season running the show at Indian Hills, coach Anthony Tabbacchino collected his first career state tournament win Monday night. The Braves struck for one goal in all three periods, getting scores from Cameron Cotter, Liam Johnson and Jon Hoogendoorn. There wasn’t much offense in this one, with both teams combining for just 31 shots (Indian Hills outshot Hopewell Valley, 16-15). Braves goalie Josh Welte made 15 saves, as Indian Hills held an opponent to one goal or less for the 12th time this season. The Braves will now likely get No. 4 Middletown North in the Round of 16, a team with a 13-5-4 record coming out of the Shore A North (which includes CBA and Howell).
No. 9 Wayne Hills defeated No. 24 Jefferson, 7-2
It was The Danny Reidel Show through the first two periods, with the dynamic senior forward striking for a hat trick and one assist as the Patriots built up a comfortable 5-1 lead after two. Dan Mirman, Grant Kelly, Dean Hulbert and Robbie Testino all also scored, Ben Pawlak provided three assists and Mirman supplied a pair of helpers as Wayne Hills advanced to the Round of 16 for the third straight year. The Round of 16, however, has been unkind to the Patriots in recent memory, with their season ending in this round in each of the last two seasons. Wayne Hills look look to snap that streak this year when they take on the winner of No. 8 Middletown South/No. 25 Princeton. The Pats can beat Middletown South, a team with a nice record (16-5-1) but a weak regular season resùmè.
No. 5 Kinnelon defeated No. 28 Sparta, 3-1
Though the Colts outshot Sparta, 41-13, they had trouble finding the net and struggled to put away a feisty Spartans team. It was scoreless after 1, despite an 18-1 shot advantage, tied at 1 after two periods and Kinnelon only led, 2-1, until Jack Nussbaum gave the Colts a two-goal advantage with 6:02 left in the third. No. 21 West Milford, coming off that upset of No. 12 Brick Township, will likely present a much more difficult challenge than Sparta (the Highlanders are more talented than Sparta and it will probably feel like a West Milford home game), so there is some upset potential in that Round of 16 game.
No. 10 Madison defeated No. 23 Northern Highlands, 5-3…
…but it didn’t come easily for the Dodgers. Entering the game at 25-1 overall, Madison — one of the toughest teams in Public B to get a read on — was leading, 4-1, in the third period before Northern Highlands’ Jake Homan struck twice to cut the deficit to one with about five minutes to go. Madison’s Jack DeBoer put the game away with an empty-netter, as Madison survived a scare from the Highlanders. Despite the loss, it was a good showing from a young Highlanders squad.
IN PUBLIC A…
No. 14 Ridgewood defeated No. 19 Pascack Valley, 6-2
Ridgewood’s Cooper Telesco recorded a hat trick, Pat Anzano added one goal and one assist and one of the Maroons’ Patriot Cup final heroes, J.P. Kelly provided a pair of assists as Ridgewood kept on rolling in Round 1. The Maroons (10-8-3) have now gone 10 straight games without a loss (8-0-2 and have not lost since Dec. 30). Ryan Carius and Slater Neborsky both also scored for Ridgewood, which struck for two goals in all three periods in the 6-2 victory. The Maroons outshot Pascack Valley, 37-28, with Ridgewood goalie Mickey Legg making 26 saves. Being battle-tested for postseason tournaments is why Ridgewood went out and played the brutal non-conference schedule that it did… and now the Maroons will get a rematch with one of those opponents, Ridge, in the Public A Round of 16. Ridgewood fell to Ridge, 4-2, back on Dec. 12.
No. 10 Westfield defeated No. 23 Passaic Valley, 5-1
The Hornets’ successful 2014-15 season — after winning four games in 2013-14 — came to an end on Monday. Fredrik Eriksson scored Passaic Valley’s lone goal in the second period off assists from Steven Tillie and Alex LoPresti. Despite the four-goal advantage, Westfield only outshot Passaic Valley, 38-33.
IN NON-PUBLIC…
No. 15 St. Joseph defeated No. 18 Donovan Catholic, 5-2
The Green Knights set up a North Jersey Non-Public classic showdown — against No. 2 Don Bosco — in the Round of 16. In Monday’s win, Ryan Grieco scored twice and added one assist and Don Cuttone, Pete Lombardi (two assists) and Cole Garabed (one assist) all scored once. Goalie Robert Massimi made 26 saves in the win, surrendering just two goals in the third period. When SJR takes on Bosco in the Round of 16, the Knights will be looking to reach the Non-Public quarterfinals for the first time since 1999.
From Sunday…
No. 17 Paramus Catholic defeated No. 16 Seton Hall Prep, 4-1
The Paladins bounced back from their crushing 4-2 loss to Ridgewood in the Patriot Cup final with a mini first-round upset over the Gordon Conference’s Seton Hall Prep. Though PC was outshot at more than a 2-to-1 clip (42-20 in favor of Seton Hall Prep), Paladins goalie John Pitera made 41 saves to send PC to the Round of 16, where they will meet No. 1 and tournament favorite Delbarton. Matt Rainey scored twice for Paramus Catholic (with two goals in the second period just minutes after SHP made it 1-1), Nick Carnevale gave the Paladins a 1-0 lead in the first off an assist from Corey Sowinski and Anthony Caporrino iced the win with an empty-netter with 27 seconds left in the third.