By Mike Gurnis
This one meant just a little more for Kinnelon-Jefferson-Sparta.
Sure, the program’s first win over a Mennen division opponent since the tri-op formed in 2020 would be impressive enough on its own.
But all week, the team’s thoughts have been centered around defenseman Alex Roslan. The sophomore had been hospitalized since shortly after last Friday’s win over Madison with an illness, and the squad went into Friday’s tilt with Morris Knolls-Hills with him heavily on their minds.
With their teammate watching from his hospital bed, KJS United made sure to raise his spirits.
Behind a show-stopping performance from Rylan Gibbons in goal, and a four-goal onslaught in the third period, KJS United picked up a 4-0 win over Morris Knolls-Hills at Skylands Ice World.
It was the Halvorsen division team’s first win over a Mennen opponent since the tri-op was formed in 2020, going 0-6 in those crossover games.
“I know he’s going back into surgery tonight, so this was such a huge win,” senior defenseman Aiden Parlapiano said. “We were all texting him before and he was texting us back about how we needed to secure this. It was such a fantastic moment, and he was telling us after that he was watching.”
“It felt so good. Especially just being able to get back to him and tell him that we were able to do this and accomplish this type of feat, it was just awesome.”
KJS coach Jeff Myhren added, “He’s just always on your mind on the bench. When they called a timeout (in the third period) and we were talking, we said think of Roslan right now and the position he’s in and watching from. He’s on our minds. He’s a tremendous asset to this team. He’s a young defenseman, but phenomenal. He got a lot of time last year. He’s run the point on the power play. He’s a go-to guy, but without him, it’s tough. But it makes the other guys step up, and they really did.”
With Roslan out, the pressure was on the rest of the defensemen, as well as Gibbons in goal, to step up. Parlapiano, specifically, came through, as he registered two points- including the first goal of his varsity career.
After a scoreless first two periods, including a second period in which KJS was out-shot 14-3, it broke through 1:02 into the third on a goal from freshman Braydon Sisco. Just over five minutes later, it was Parlapiano’s point shot which made it through traffic and hit the top corner to give the team a key insurance goal.
“Getting the second (goal) for such a big game like this, it felt fantastic,” Parlapiano said. “Especially putting up one more for our team was a great feeling. The crowd was going crazy, and I loved every second of it.”
Gibbons, on the other hand, was able to hold it down in goal with the lead. He made several big saves, especially during the second period while it was still scoreless. That ultimately gave the team belief going into the third that it could do something it hadn’t done before.
“I think we were just excited that we were with this team,” Gibbons said. “Usually, when we play a Mennen team, it’s like we’re trying to keep up, trying to keep up. We felt that because it was 0-0, it was still a game. We said you know what, we’re going to go out there and we’re just going to take this one. That’s what we did.”
Thanks to his efforts, and the defensive group in front, KJS was able to hold a Morris Knolls-Hills squad- which had scored nine goals in two games prior to this one- completely off the board.
Knolls-Hills held a 32-13 shot advantage in the game.
“It was phenomenal,” Myhren said of Gibbons. “He was always in the right spot shutting down everything. He was just reading the puck really well today. You could tell he was in the zone. It was fun to watch. We got a lot of good bounces, and Knolls is a fantastic team. They put up a lot of shots on us, but Rylan was that last line of defense and was just tremendous today. When he’s in the zone, he’s tough to beat.
“When the other coaching staff is walking off (the ice) asking ‘he’s a senior, right?’ You know how valuable he is.”
Anthony Prunty added a third goal with 4:57 left, before Joey Kopec sealed it with an empty-ntter with 17 seconds remaining.
It was the biggest regular season win for a program that has steadily been building itself up over the last few years, including a Halvorsen division regular season title last winter. It showed in this game that it can compete with and beat the best teams, which will make it a top contender for a Halvorsen Cup title- and maybe even a Public Co-op state title.
“I want (the state) to know that we are a real team and we are here to play,” Parlapiano said. “We will not stop going until we hopefully reach the highest possible achievement that we can of being in the state championship.”
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
First star: Rylan Gibbons, KJS United, So., G- 32-save shutout
Second star: Aiden Parlapiano, KJS United, Sr., D- 1G, 1A (first career varsity goal)
Third star: Braydon Sisco, KJS United, Fr., F: Game-winning goal
SCORING SUMMARY
First period
No scoring.
Second period
No scoring
Third period
KJS — Braydon Sisco (Logan Winslow) 13:58
KJS — Aiden Parlapiano (Cormac Gibbons, Michael Pandiscia) 8:25
KJS — Anthony Prunty (Aiden Parlapiano) 4:57
KJS — Joey Kopec 0:17 ENG
Shots on goal: Morris Knolls-Hills 32, KJS United 13
Saves: Rylan Gibbons (KJS) 32, Reid Kisch (Knolls-Hills) 9
Team records: KJS United 2-0, Morris Knolls-Hills 1-2
Morris-Sussex Hockey Report 