MORRIS KNOLLS-HILLS DOWNS MORRISTOWN FOR FINAL MENNEN CUP SPOT
Behind an impressive five-point performance- including three goals- from Jake McCloud, Morris Knolls-Hills defeated Morristown, 6-4 to clinch the fourth and final Mennen Cup spot at Mennen Arena.
Knolls-Hills went into the game leading Morristown by one point in the standings, and would have clinched a spot with a win or tie. In a back-and-forth game, the teams traded goals, with Brody Toye’s goal giving Morristown a 3-2 lead with 8:28 left in the second period.
But from that point on, it was all Morris Knolls-Hills. Jake McCloud tied it just under two minutes later, before Dylan Williams put his team in front for the first time with 2:48 left in the second. McCloud added an insurance goal with 4:14 left, which came in handy when Morristown’s Jake Buonocore scored with the extra attacker on with 1:25 left.
Morristown had a couple of chances to tie it in the final minutes, but Knolls-Hills goalie Nick Trento came up big. McCloud then iced the game at the buzzer with an empty-netter.
Morris Knolls-Hills will now look ahead to the Mennen Cup semifinals on Wednesday, where it will likely take on top-seeded Randolph. The official seeds and match-ups will be finalized by the MCSSIHL on Sunday morning.
KJS CLINCHES HALVORSEN DIVISION WITH WIN OVER MENDHAM
In the first game of a back-to-back with Mendham to close out the Halvorsen Division schedule, KJS United earned a 5-3 win over Mendham at Mennen Arena.
The win clinched the top spot in the Halvorsen Division for KJS United for the second-straight year, and was the program’s 13th-straight divisional win. It will be the top seed for the Halvorsen Cup, which will be officially seeded and finalized by the MCSSIHL on Sunday morning.
KJS had five different goal scorers, with Joey Kopec, Anthony Pandiscia, Michael Pandiscia, Jake Prunty, and Anthony Prunty all finding the back of the net. The team improved to 12-3 with its ninth-consecutive win. Rylan Gibbons made 17 saves.
Ian Aitkenhead, David Kalis, and Brandon Eigner each scored for Mendham. The two teams will meet again tomorrow at 4:40 p.m. at Skylands Ice World
MONTVILLE RALLIES PAST MOUNTAIN LAKES-BOONTON
Cole Riley scored two goals with an assist to lead Montville to a 5-4 come-from-behind win over Mountain Lakes-Boonton at Mennen Arena.
Mountain Lakes-Boonton led, 3-1 in the second period, before Montville’s Matt Trifari cut it to one late in the period. Logan Engle scored 1:21 into the third to tie it up, before Michael Maly put his team in the lead with 8:17 to go. Cole Riley added an empty-netter to make it 5-3.
Lawson Fagan scored with seven seconds left for Mountain Lakes-Boonton.
Montville improved to 9-8 overall and finished its Haas Division schedule with a 6-4 record. Mountain Lakes-Boonton, on the other hand, dropped to 3-11-1 with a 1-8-1 Haas record.
OTHER SCORES
Morristown-Beard 3, Seton Hall Prep 1
E-mail Mike Gurnis at michaelgurnis@gmail.com
Morris-Sussex Hockey Report 