Lakeland receives unlikely boost in Passaic hockey tourney by Jim McConville special to The Record
LITTLE FALLS – Coming in as the two-time defending Passaic County tournament champion and the top seed this year, Lakeland was looking to regain the scoring touch that seemed to be missing in its last two games.
The top-seeded Lancers got an unexpected boost from a player who had not scored in the first 13 games of the season. Sophomore Jason Paragallo scored a pair of goals as the third line answered the bell and propelled Lakeland to the championship game on Monday night.
With the 5-2 defeat of Wayne Hills, the Lancers (10-3-1) will take on third-seeded Clifton looking for the crown knowing that they don’t have to rely solely on their top line for scoring.
“It’s not for a lack of talent or opportunity,” Lancer coach Nick Crouch said of the goal droughts on the second and third lines. “It’s more a matter of confidence. Once that first ones goes, the rest will follow, much like Jason today.”
Paragallo’s first-ever varsity goal came 5:42 into the game on the power play, a shot from the right circle that went five hole. His second goal came at 10:01 of the second period from straight on, a shot through a partial screen.
“Both were great passes from Drew Lorenz,” Paragallo said. “The first one I was set up low in the circle and got a good shot. The second I went top left and got off a good shot. I really wasn’t thinking about (not having scored). It’s just nice to be able contribute and give the first line some support.”
Luke Broderick had given Lakeland a 2-0 lead in the first period, but Alex Waterman scored 2:39 into the second period to pull the Patriots (5-8-1) within one. Waterman finished a nice rush to the left slot with a middle rush.
Broderick netted his second of the game at 7:42 of the third period on a 5 on 3 power play. The goal, from the left circle off a pass out from behind by Dan Martin, came after Hills had narrowly missed on two golden scoring chances earlier in the period.
The Lancers scored with two seconds left on the second penalty, with Martin getting the goal to give the first line three tallies in the game. Getting the offense untracked was a big plus for Crouch.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys and we’ve been waiting for that breakout and hopefully this was it,” he said.
CLIFTON 5, PASSAIC VALLEY/CEDAR GROVE 1 – James Fusaro made the play of the game early in the third period, stealing a puck from a Hornet defenseman right at the top of the crease before whirling and sending the puck past a stunned goaltender.
That ignited the Mustangs, who finished off the hornets with a trio of third period goals. Clifton (8-4-1) will head to the championship game for the first time since 2007, when they won their last county title in a 3-2 win over Lakeland.
“I think he just took his eye off of it,” Fusaro said of the game-changing play. “I was able to get my stick on it and after that it was all just one motion. I think the goalie didn’t know what happened.”
Fusaro added an empty-net goal with 1:46 left and then set up Chris Poplawski for a goal 24 seconds later, completing an improbable run to the title match.
“No one though we would be here,” Clifton coach Tom Danko said. “Last year this was a bunch of freshmen and sophomores. This year, they’ve become much more of a team and it’s about competing in every game.”
After a scoreless first period, Passaic Valley/Cedar Grove put itself in trouble with back-to-back penalties that put Clifton in a 5-on-3 situation. As the latter penalty expired, the Mustangs kept the puck in the zone and set up Jason Finan straight away. Finan went glove side high and beat Hornets goalie Nick DiNardo.
After Vin Petriella scored unassisted for Clifton, the Hornets closed the gap to 2-1 on a good bounce of the puck. A carom off a Clifton defenseman went right to Alex LoPresti going left to right across the top of the crease and he smacked it home in the right side.
The Hornets (8-7) had 29 of their 32 shots in the first two periods, but Mustang goaltender Tyler Gibson kept them from mounting a comeback. In the third period, the Clifton defense gained control and forced much of the play into the PV/CG zone.