A Haas Division team beating a Mennen Division team is not something that you see every day.
For one, it’s rare for these match-ups to even happen to begin with. The MCSSIHL crossovers are required only for Mennen and Halvorsen, and Haas and Charette. And in the rare chance they do, the two-division gap becomes apparent with the Mennen team prevailing.
Sunday night though, was a much different story. Thanks to a hat trick from Ben Barnhill, West Morris, out of the Haas Division, took down Morris Knolls-Hills, 6-5, despite a late rally by Knolls-Hills at Mennen Arena.
It marked the first time that a Haas team has taken down a Mennen team in 14 years. The last time it happened was in the 2009-10 season, when Madison- then in the Haas- defeated Chatham, 3-2, in the Public B quarterfinals.
West Morris got out to a quick start with goals from Zach Knopf and Ben Barnhill in the first period to build a 2-0 lead going into the break. Michael Simone cut the deficit in half in the second period, but Barnhill scored twice in 2:09 early in the third to give the Wolfpack a commanding 4-1 lead.
After Gavin Smith scored to give West Morris a 5-2 lead with 6:47 left, it appeared the game was all but over. But, Morris Knolls-Hills refused to go away quietly. Luke Dickerson buried a power play goal with 3:04 left, before Michael Simone scored 45 seconds later to bring the deficit to just one.
On the ensuing possession, Knolls-Hills pulled its goalie for the extra attacker, and had control of the puck in the offensive zone as it pushed for the tying goal. But an errant pass was picked up by Jake Salamone, who fired it the length of the ice from his own goal line into the empty net to make it a two-goal lead again.
Ryan Nevins scored with 1:08 left to put Knolls-Hills within one, but ultimately, it was unable to find the tying goal.
Jake Salamone had a goal and two assists, while Knopf contributed a goal and an assist. Michael Treiber made 21 saves, as West Morris improved to 12-4-1. It was the team’s second game in 24 hours, after a dramatic 5-4 overtime win over Mountain Lakes-Boonton on Saturday.
Michael Simone had a hat trick for Knolls-Hills, which dropped to 6-9-1. Jake McCloud also had three assists. It will have to put this game behind it quickly, as it will have a big Mennen Division clash with unbeaten Randolph on Monday at 4:30 p.m. at Mennen Arena.
E-mail Mike Gurnis at michaelgurnis@gmail.com
Morris-Sussex Hockey Report 