Mahwah tops West Milford to get back on track by Jim McConville special to The Record
WAYNE – Coming off a successful 2015-16 season, Mahwah’s returning hockey players just may have thought they would have that same success this season. They very well could, but it won’t happen without putting in the effort.
A 1-3-2 start left the Thunderbirds questioning themselves, so they went back to the drawing board this past week: Two practices, two days of working on getting to the net.
The return to fundamentals paid off in a big way, as they threw 50 shots on goal in a 4-1 victory over West Milford on Friday night at Ice Vault. It was a welcome change from recent outings.
“The couple of games, we just weren’t getting anything going offensively,” T-Birds coach Brad Segall said. “We weren’t forcing play, taking shots, crashing the net, all the things we need to do to be successful.”
That all changed against the Highlanders (4-3), as Mahwah came out with a much more spirited effort right from the opening faceoff.
After a scoreless first period in which Mahwah had the better of the first eight minutes and West Milford the better of the final seven, the Thunderbirds grabbed the lead 2:04 into the second period.
Anthony DeAlto was able to control the puck off the boards to the right of the West Milford net. He pushed it out to Kevin Johnston in the circle, and Johnston found room to the left slot, where he went high-right for the goal.
“Anthony and I have been playing together for a long time and we know where each other is going to be,” Johnston said. “He got it to me, and there was no one around. I just moved in and was able to get it over his shoulder.”
With Mahwah owning the middle period, DeAlto made it 2-0 off a rebound in front, then sent home his second of the game on a rush to the right slot at 8:42. At that point, Mahwah was outshooting the Highlanders, 14-2, in the period.
West Milford got one back on the power play, as Ryan Browne was able to get a second poke after an Alvaro Amado shot at 12:02. That sent the teams off after two periods with Mahwah up, 3-1.
The Highlanders had a chance to cut it to one 3:25 into the third, but Kyle Little sent one over the crossbar as he came in on net. The T-Birds then continued to put on pressure in the offensive zone, and it paid off.
It was Johnston again, this time on a rebound in front of a Hansen shot. That made it 4-1 at the 4:50 mark of the third, and Mahwah (2-3-2) kept pushing the play in the offensive zone.
“We worked real hard on our offensive zone play,” Johnston said. “We have a lot of guys who played last year but are now being counted on for more, and we just needed to get everyone on the same page.”
West Milford freshman Nick Johansson had a very busy night between the pipes for the Highlanders, stopping 46 shots. He kept his team in the game with a number of solid saves, including a breakaway save in the third period.
Jared Moss had 19 saves for Mahwah, as the Thunderbirds, at least for one game, seem to have righted their ship.
“Kevin, Anthony and Patrick had a real strong game,” Segall said of the first line that scored all four goals. “They were really active.”
Mahwah also got Brody Selman back from a broken thumb suffered in the season opener, and his presence helped solidify the lines.
“I feel like we still have a ways to go, but this was a promising effort,” Segall said. “As all of these young guys start to jell, we still have our best hockey ahead of us.”