Jan. 4 Notebook: Mendham’s Kovacs wins 400th, Delbarton tops CBA

Mendham 5, Madison 2
Mendham head coach John Kovacs picked up his 400th career victory with a 5-2 win over Madison at Mennen Arena.

Blake Stevens netted two goals for Mendham, which improved to 3-4 on the year with the win. Ian Tamboowalla dished out three assists.

Kovacs now holds a 400-338-60 career record with the win, and his career has spanned 36 years with his first years coming at Morris Knolls before taking over the Mendham job 27 years ago.

Delbarton 4, Christian Brothers 1
In a rematch of last year’s Non-Public state final, Delbarton got some revenge as Delbarton earned a 4-1 win over Christian Brothers at Jersey Shore Arena in Wall.

Trip Pendy, who missed last year’s state final due to an injury, scored two goals for Delbarton, which lost, 3-0 to CBA in that final. The win improved Delbarton to a perfect 6-0 on the season thus far.

Jason Cai turned aside 28 of 29 shots, while Nick Faccone had two assists. Liam Donnelly and Jack Gerne each scored for Delbarton.

Chatham 4, Morristown-Beard 2
Speaking of teams that are unbeaten, Chatham picked up yet another win on Wednesday as it took down Morristown-Beard for the second time this season, this time by a 4-2 score at Mennen Arena.

Chatham, which is now 7-0-1 overall with a 3-0 mark in the Mennen Division, was paced by Matt Nacinovich’s two goals, along with a goal apiece from Nikita Konevych and Connor Gilleece. Nate May made 19 saves in the win.

Hollis Humphries scored twice for Morristown-Beard, which fell to 4-5 overall with an 0-3 record in the Mennen.

Kinnelon-Jefferson-Sparta 4, Mount Olive-Hopatcong-Hackettstown 1
In a battle between the top two teams in the Halvorsen Division standings, it was upstart KJS United which prevailed in a 4-1 victory over Mount Olive-Hopatcong-Hackettstown at Mennen.

Adam Stefancik scored twice for KJS United, which improved to 6-1-1 overall with a 4-0 record in the Halvorsen to assume sole possession of first place. Rylan Gibbons made 29 saves in the win.

AREA SCOREBOARD
Pope John 3, St. Peter’s Prep 1
Glen Rock 9, Vernon 2