Tentatively, we are just seven days away from the start of Cup tournament play in the MCSSIHL.
With that in mind, let’s take a look at where each team stands, who has clinched, who’s been eliminated, as we head into the final week of regular season play.
MENNEN DIVISION
— For the division title and top seed, it’s going to come down to Randolph and Chatham. Randolph is 5-0-1 (11 points) and Chatham is 5-1-1 (11 points), so Randolph has the inside track with a game in hand. Randolph will face Morristown-Beard on Wednesday, then Morristown next Monday. Chatham has its final divisional game against Morris Knolls-Hills on Wednesday. If Randolph wins out, it wins the Mennen Division. If it wins and Chatham loses to Morris Knolls-Hills, Randolph wins the Mennen Division. If Chatham beats Morris Knolls-Hills and Randolph loses one of two games, they’ll finish tied. If Chatham wins and Randolph loses both games, Chatham wins the division outright. Wednesday’s action should give us a good idea of how this will shake out.
— Morris Knolls-Hills is officially in in the Mennen Cup with six points and two games left to play. It cannot finish any higher than third.
— The fourth and final playoff spot will come down to Morristown-Beard and Morristown. Morristown-Beard is 1-4 with two points, while Morristown is 0-6. Morristown-Beard has games left against Randolph, Morristown, and Morris Knolls-Hills. Morristown has its final two games against Randolph and Morristown-Beard. Simply put, if Morristown-Beard beats Morristown, Morristown-Beard is officially in.
HALVORSEN DIVISION
— KJS United has clinched the division title and the top seed in the Halvorsen Cup with a 7-0 divisional record.
— Mount Olive-Hopatcong-Hackettstown and Mendham will face each other in the 2v3 game in the Halvorsen Cup semifinals. Mo-Ho-Ha currently holds the 2-spot after its win over Mendham on Monday, but Mendham could tie them with a win on Wednesday. Regardless, this match-up is locked in, it’s just a question of which team gets to occupy the home bench at Mennen Arena.
— The fourth and final playoff spot is between Madison and Mountain Lakes-Boonton. Madison holds the edge with a 1-5 record and Mountain Lakes-Boonton is 0-6. Madison will face Mendham and Mountain Lakes-Boonton, while Mountain Lakes-Boonton will face KJS United in addition to Madison.
HAAS DIVISION
— Bernards-Somerville-Middlesex currently holds first place (7-1, 14 points). It will face second-place West Morris on Thursday, followed by fourth-place Park Regional on Saturday. A BSM win or tie against West Morris on Thursday officially clinches the Haas title and the top seed.
— BSM, West Morris, and Roxbury are all officially in the Haas Cup.
— Park Regional is guaranteed at least a tie for fourth place. Gill St. Bernard’s can catch Park if it wins out and if Park loses its final two games, and then it would come down to tiebreakers. A Park Regional point in its final two games officially clinches its spot.
— Vernon is eliminated from Haas Cup contention.
CHARETTE CUP
— Montville is in first place with a 7-0 record (14 points). Its final league game is against High Point-Wallkill Valley-Kittatinny next Monday, and it can clinch the outright division title and top seed with a tie or win.
— High Point-Wallkill Valley-Kittatinny and Newton-Lenape Valley are officially in. High Point will finish no lower than the two seed, and Newton-Lenape Valley is locked into the third seed.
— The fourth and final playoff spot is between Morris Catholic-St. Elizabeth and Parsippany Regional. Morris Catholic currently holds that spot with three points, with Parsippany trailing by one. Morris Catholic has finished divisional play, and Parsippany has one final game against Newton-Lenape Valley. A tie would bring tiebreakers into play, while a win would see Parsippany leapfrog Morris Catholic for the final playoff spot.
The Morris-Sussex Hockey Report 