BRUCKER’S BIG PERFORMANCE KEYS MORRISTOWN-BEARD
Thanks to a 33-save effort from senior goalie Pierce Brucker, Morristown-Beard took down KJS United, 5-2 at Mennen Arena in a Mennen/Halvorsen crossover game.
After the teams traded goals in the first period, Morristown-Beard took control in the second as Nick Squashic and Peter Cross scored 1:07 apart to give the Crimson a two-goal lead. KJS had a golden opportunity to make a dent in that deficit when a five-minute major penalty was called against Morristown-Beard late in the period, but Charlie Fernandez finished off a 2-on-1 from Lucas Krzanowski for a shorthanded goal to make it 4-1.
KJS’ Anthony Prunty cut the deficit to two late in the third, but Ryan Tartaglione iced it with an empty-netter.
Freshman Trenton Fei finished with a goal and an assist- the first goal of his varsity career for Morristown-Beard (2-1-1). Squashic and Tartaglione each had a goal and an assist, while Kevin Fraga had two assists.
Jake Prunty buried the first goal of his varsity career for KJS (2-1) in the loss. Rylan Gibbons made 28 saves, including the 1,000th of his career.
MOUNTAIN LAKES-BOONTON EARNS FIRST WIN
After surrendering a three-goal lead, Mountain Lakes-Boonton got the response it needed late as it took down Parsippany Regional, 5-3, for the team’s first win of the season at Mennen Arena.
Eli Forman, Lawson Fagan, and A.J. Wenzel all scored in the first period to give Mountain Lakes-Boonton (1-3) a commanding 3-0 lead. Robert Hemenway scored before the period expired to get Parsippany on the board, and then added another early in the third to cut it to 3-2. Then, Nicholas Hornung struck for a power play goal with 10:46 left to knot the score up at three.
But Jonathan Garibaldi scored with 5:17 left to give his team the lead, and A.J. Wenzel iced it with just over a minute left.
Fagan (1 g., 2 a.) and Forman (1 g.) each scored the first goals of their careers as freshmen. Wenzel had two goals and Garibaldi chipped in with a goal and an assist. Cody Roller stopped 19 of 22 shots, including a big save in the final minutes on a rebound to preserve his team’s lead.
Andrew Nicholas stopped 42 of 47 shots for Parsippany (2-2), which saw its two-game winning streak stopped.
NEWTON-LENAPE VALLEY WINS SUSSEX CUP OPENER
Maksym Pastukh had a hat trick to propel Newton-Lenape Valley to a 7-4 win over High Point-Wallkill Valley-Kittatinny at Skylands Ice World.
It was the first game of the Sussex Cup round-robin, and also a key Charette division battle. The win gives Newton-Lenape Valley the early edge in the Sussex Cup, and can clinch it with a win over Vernon on Saturday at 6 p.m. at Skylands Ice World.
Brayden Dabrowski scored twice, while Kellan Faessinger and Ty Dellicker each scored for Newton-Lenape Valley, which is now 2-0 in the Charette and 3-2 overall.
High Point-Wallkill-Kittatinny fell to 2-2 overall and 1-1 in the Charette.
PARK REGIONAL DOWNS ROXBURY FOR FIRST WIN
After a tough first two games to start the year, Park Regional got on the board with its first win in a dominant 8-2 win over Roxbury at Mennen Arena.
Michael Capozzi had a five-point (2 g., 3 a.) night for Park Regional (1-2). Nick Monaco contributed two goals and an assist, while freshman Frankie Scrocco scored the first points of his career with a goal and an assist. Colin Mullooly and Chase Olszewski each had a goal, while Matthew McDermott dished out two assists. Dylan Marion stopped 28 of 30 shots in the win.
A.J. Mancuso and Chase Alven each scored for Roxbury, which fell to 1-3. It was the first career goal for Alven, a sophomore.
POPE JOHN STARTS QUICK TO WIN SECOND-STRAIGHT
Behind three first period goals, Pope John picked up its second-straight win with a. 4-1 win over Notre Dame at Grundy Ice Arena in Bristol, PA.
Hunter Parrillo, Nicholas Colatrella, and Matt Hughes all scored in the first period- with Colatrella and Hughes’ goals coming 14 seconds apart. Robbie Myshkoff scored in the second period to extend the lead to 4-0.
Parrillo, Hughes, and Myshkoff all finished with a goal and an assist each, as Pope John out-shot Notre Dame, 47-15. Soren Torlucci made 14 saves in his first start of the year.
Pope John is now 3-2 on the year.
MO-HO-HA FALLS AT PRUDENTIAL CENTER
Mount Olive-Hopatcong-Hackettstown fell into an early deficit and was unable to recover in a 6-2 loss to Ramsey-Indian Hills in a game played at Newark’s Prudential Center.
Freshman Dominic Landolfi and sophomore Anthony Walsh each scored for Mo-Ho-Ha- with the latter being his first career varsity goal. Talon Muscolino stopped 34 of 40 shots as Mo-Ho-Ha fell to 1-3-1 on the year.
MORRISTOWN-BEARD GIRLS TAKE DOWN OAK KNOLL BEHIND SPERLING’S NATURAL HAT TRICK
Morristown-Beard opened its divisional slate with a dominant 6-2 win over Oak Knoll at Twin Oaks Ice Rink.
After surrendering the first goal 23 seconds into the game, the Crimson responded as Sylie Sawale tied it 36 seconds later, before adding another to give her team the lead just a few minutes later.
Jessica Sperling recorded a natural hat trick, as she scored late in the second period to extend her team’s lead to 4-2, before scoring twice late in the third to seal the win. She finished with a hat trick and an assist, while Sawale had two goals and an assist. Julie Jasaitis added a goal and an assist. Brooklyn Chen and Kailin Kane each dished out two assists.
Hannah Mortazavi stopped 22 of 24 shots in the win. Morristown-Beard is now 3-1 overall with a 1-0 mark in the Librera division.
CHATHAM GIRLS RALLY PAST KENT PLACE BEHIND NACINOVICH
After falling behind by two in the first period, the Chatham girls scored three unanswered goals to pick up a big 3-2 win over Kent Place in a Cohen division battle at Westfield Rink at Gumbert Park.
Maddie Jepsen cut the deficit to one late in the first period. Then, Sarah Nacinovich scored twice in 46 seconds, with the go-ahead goal being a shorthanded goal.
Chatham evened up its record at 2-2 and is now 1-1 in the Cohen division. Emma Acomb made 27 saves in the win.
E-mail Mike Gurnis at michaelgurnis@gmail.com
Morris-Sussex Hockey Report 