By Mike Gurnis
All Morristown-Beard could do was keep shooting the puck.
When the Crimson found themselves down, 1-0 to Mount Olive-Hopatcong-Hackettstown after one period- despite a 17-2 shot advantage- there wasn’t a whole lot that needed to change.
“We just had to mainly not try to get through everybody and try to do selfish plays,” freshman Hudson Salvador said. “(We had to) move the puck more and not force pucks to the middle.”
While Mo-Ho-Ha goalie Talon Muscolino was a brick wall for most of the night, Morristown-Beard finally broke through. Charlie Fernandez, Evan Jones and Hudson Salvador each scored goals in the second period en route to a 6-2 opening night win over Mount Olive-Hopatcong-Hackettstown at Mennen Arena.
Salvador scored twice in his first varsity game, with linemates John Gonnella and Peter Cross each assisting on those goals. Gonnella finished with three assists, while Cross had two helpers. Ryan and Brendan Tartaglione each chipped in with a goal and an assist.
“It feels good,” Salvador said of his first varsity goals. “I obviously wasn’t expecting to get two points, but it’s good.”
Morristown-Beard out-shot Mo-Ho-Ha 54-6 in the game. Mo-Ho-Ha only had 11 available skaters for this game, and Muscolino did all he could to keep his team in it with 48 saves.
“I wanted a bit more urgency. I felt like we had some shots and there were some rebounds,” Morristown-Beard coach Scott Greene said. “The goalie did a great job on their end. But for us, it was just about getting to pucks, puck recoveries, staying in the zone and keeping pressure. I thought (Mo-Ho-Ha) did a good job and they got a chance and buried one. Then they played it safe. For us, the next few periods, it was just about stepping up the urgency a little bit. We wanted to stay the course there, we had a lot of good looks and we ran into a hot goalie, and we just kind of wore them down.”
Morristown-Beard’s “third line” of Salvador, Gonnella, and Cross were heavily involved in this one. That line had started the night with Ryan Tartaglione in Cross’ place, but after some tweaks in the second period, that line proved to be impactful and combined for two goals.
“The first couple of games it took a bit to get used to,” Salvador said. “They’re both really good players, so it was easy to think together and get together, and we just work well together.”
Greene said, “We’ve been kind of moving guys around a lot. On paper, we technically started our third line. They’re probably one or two. It’s really hard to know (this early). In preseason, Salvador and Gonnella played really well together. Then we made a few changes to put Peter Cross with them. They’ve had some chemistry, though, and they really possess the puck well and work well together. I think we’re still trying to find some of that chemistry. We made a few tweaks in the second period to just kind of get things going.”
Salvador, specifically, stood out in the game aside from his two goals. He was on ice for the team’s second goal in the second period (and had originally been credited with an assist for it), and had multiple grade-A looks throughout the game. Just seconds prior to netting his first varsity goal, he had a shot from the slot that was stopped by Muscolino, but he stayed with it and found the back of the net in the final minute of the third.
“Hudson’s a great player,” Greene said. “He’s a special player, for sure. He really possesses the puck well. He uses his body well to protect the puck. I feel like he makes his teammates- whoever he plays with on a line- better around him. He finds open space really well. He’s a pretty big kid and a really good skater. Very very smart, very high hockey IQ.”
Daniel Testa and Daniel McGarry each scored for Mo-Ho-Ha in the game. Testa scored in the first period to open up the scoring, and McGarry scored a nice goal off the rush in the third period to cut the team’s deficit to 4-2.
Ryan Tartaglione and Brendan Tartaglione each scored just under three minutes apart to extend the advantage to four midway through the third, and Morristown-Beard was able to hang on for the rest of the way.
Morristown-Beard is a very young team, with just four seniors in its opening night lineup. It also has the tall task of having to replace the program’s all-time leading scorer in Hollis Humphries from last year, and things will only get tougher from here on out as it opens Mennen division play on Monday when it faces Morristown.
But Friday’s opening night performance- while not perfect- was an example of what this team can be capable of offensively with players like Salvador and Gonnella potentially in line for big seasons early in their high school careers.
“I think we can accomplish great things,” Salvador said. “I think this might be a good year for us. We’re doing good so far.”
THREE STARS
First star: Hudson Salvador, Morristown-Beard- 2G in first career game
Second star: John Gonnella, Morristown-Beard- 3A
Third star: Talon Muscolino, Mount Olive-Hopatcong-Hackettstown- 48 saves
Shots on goal: Morristown-Beard 54, Mount Olive-Hopatcong-Hackettstown 6
Saves: Talon Muscolino (Mo-Ho-Ha) 48, Pierce Brucker (Morristown-Beard) 4
Morris-Sussex Hockey Report 