17TH HALVORSEN CUP FINAL
1-KJS United (14-4) vs. 2-Mendham (8-11-1)
Thursday, 5 p.m. at Mennen Arena
Previous meetings: These teams played a back-to-back just under two weeks ago. KJS United won both meetings, by a 5-3 score on Feb. 1, followed by a 5-1 triumph on Feb. 2.
CUP HISTORY
KJS United
— This is the second-straight Halvorsen Cup final appearance for the Kinnelon-Jefferson-Sparta tri-op, which has never won a title as a combined program since joining forces in 2020. Kinnelon, as a standalone program, won a Halvorsen Cup title in 2019. Jefferson won a Haas Cup in 2007, while Sparta has never won a title.
MENDHAM
— Mendham last won the Halvorsen Cup during the 2021-22 season, when it defeated Morristown in the final. In total, it has won five Halvorsen Cup titles- 2009, 2013, 2014, 2020, and 2022. It also won the Haas Cup in 2019.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
KJS United
Anthony Prunty, F, Sr., (20 g., 11 a.), Adam Stefancik, F, Sr., (14 g., 16 a.), Anthony Pandiscia, F, Sr. (10 g., 16 a.), Braydon Sisco, F, Fr. (13 g., 12 a.), Logan Winslow, F, Sr. (6 g., 13 a.), Jake Prunty, D, Fr. (6 g., 17 a.), Joey Kopec, F, Sr., (9 g., 3 a.).
Goalie: Rylan Gibbons, Sr. (.902 sv%)
Mendham
Ian Aitkenhead, F, Jr. (19 g., 9 a.), Brandon Eigner, D, So. (4 g., 13 a.), Jake Fox, F, Jr. (4 g., 10 a.), Denis Nunan, D, Fr. (4 g., 6 a.)
Goalie: Brendon Eigner, So. (.912 sv%)
HOW THEY GOT HERE
KJS United
The tri-op has been on an impressive run over the past two seasons, going a perfect 16-0 in Halvorsen Division regular season play in that time. But last year, it was unable to capture the Halvorsen Cup, as it fell to Mount Olive-Hopatcong-Hackettstown in the final. It will look to finish off Halvorsen play in the right way this year by winning the title it fell short of last season.
Prior to an out-of-conference 7-3 loss to Manasquan-Point Pleasant Beach on Friday, KJS had won 11-straight games, including the team’s semifinal win over Madison by a score of 5-2. There are very few- if any- weaknesses on this team. It has plenty of depth of up front, has a solid defense core, and has one of the best goalies in the area in Rylan Gibbons. When this team is on its game- and its very rare that it isn’t- it’s a very difficult team to beat.
Mendham
The Minutemen have gone through an up-and-down season, as it has not won more than two games in a row. That said, it has been competitive all year, and has been in just about every game- even the games it has lost. It even went into the final back-to-back with KJS United controlling its own destiny- if it managed to win both games, it would’ve won the Halvorsen regular season title and would’ve been the one seed. But it lost both, and fell down to the three seed.
In its semifinal game with Bernards-Somerville-Middlesex, Mendham picked up a 1-0 win thanks to a third period goal from Ian Aitkenhead and a 25 save shutout from Brendon Eigner. While it has struggled to score goals all year, it can count on Eigner- who is right up there with Gibbons for top goalie in the Halvorsen- to give it a chance to win on any given night.
PREDICTION
This game features the two best goalies in the Halvorsen Division with Gibbons and Eigner manning the nets on each side. With that being said, expect a very low-scoring game with a title on the line and each netminder motivated to give their team the best chance to win.
But in the end, the depth of a KJS United squad- which will undoubtedly be motivated by last year’s loss in the Cup final- will find its way to capture the first Halvorsen Cup as a tri-op.
KJS United over Mendham
E-mail Mike Gurnis at michaelgurnis@gmail.com
Morris-Sussex Hockey Report 