Mahwah senior scores big in county win by Greg Tartaglia of The Record
WAYNE – Evan Levitsky entered Wednesday evening’s Bergen County ice hockey tournament opener with five total points on the season.
The Mahwah forward/defenseman topped that in the first 25 minutes against Tenafly/Cresskill at Ice Vault. He amassed three goals and three assists to power the No. 8 seed Thunderbirds to an 8-3 victory and a quarterfinal berth for the third straight year.
Mahwah (6-6-4) advanced to face No. 1 Don Bosco on Friday.
“I play in some games for offense, some games for defense… I just play wherever coach wants me to during the game,” Levitsky said. “I was feeling it [Wednesday night], so were my linemates. We just clicked.”
Levitsky was one of three players to tally a hat trick. Linemate Brody Selman had one less than three minutes into the second period and added two assists. Matt Brown netted three goals for No. 9 Tenafly/Cresskill (7-6-1), which was making its first tournament appearance since 2014.
“Everyone pretty much stepped up,” said Levitsky, the T-Birds’ lone senior.
Junior Nick Carabin, who has juggled club commitments with playing for Mahwah, opened the scoring 35 seconds into the game, helping his school to a 4-1 first-period lead.
“Nick plays on the 16-and-under national Avalanche team [based in Hackensack],” Mahwah coach Brad Segall said. “He is an exceptional player – in my opinion, one of the best, if not the best, defensemen in the state.”
Selman needed just 25 seconds to net the first goal of the second period, after which the Thunderbirds led, 7-1. Kevin Johnston added a shorthanded empty-netter for the team’s final tally.
Ryan Selman ended with 15 saves for Mahwah. The junior has been splitting time with classmate Jared Moss, and the duo combined to allow 2.3 goals per game through the team’s first 15 outings.
“We’re lucky in that we have two very good goalies,” Segall said. “Both always step up, and Ryan had a good game [Wednesday].”
RIVER DELL/WESTWOOD 4, NORTHERN VALLEY/HASBROUCK HEIGHTS 1: Senior Joey Ragno scored a pair of goals, including the 50th of his varsity career, in helping the No. 7 Golden Hawks (11-3) to their first county win in three years.
River Dell/Westwood will meet No. 2 Bergen Catholic in the quarterfinals.
According to statistics kept by Record hockey guru Jim McConville, Ragno now has 90 points (50 goals, 40 assists) in four varsity seasons. His first of the game, assisted by Christian Proot (one goal, one assist), snapped a 1-1 tie in the second period. Teammate Jackson Hening chipped in two assists.
In their first-ever Bergen tournament game, the No. 10 Golden Knights (5-5-2) got their goal from Ryan Travers.
ST. JOSEPH 2, RAMSEY 0: Dominick Posta registered both goals for the No. 5 Green Knights (10-2), who moved into the quarterfinals to face Big North Freedom rival and No. 4 seed Northern Highlands.
St. Joseph had been 0-3 against Ramsey in county play, including a loss in last season’s semifinals.
The No. 12 Rams got 38 saves from goalie Jonny Kopack but could manage only 10 shots on Pat Lynch, who notched his fourth shutout.
INDIAN HILLS 6, RAMAPO 0: Freshman Rory Maurer collected a hat trick and an assist, and senior Matt Paiotti had a goal and four assists to boost the No. 6 Braves (10-2-2) into the quarterfinals against No. 3 Glen Rock.
No. 11 Ramapo (3-8-3) fell to its rival in the Bergen tournament for the second time in three seasons.
A moment of silence was held before the game in memory of former Indian Hills player Dieter Kamm, who died earlier this week.