By Mike Gurnis
After seeing a two-goal lead evaporate in a span of just over five minutes in the second period, a clear message needed to be sent in the Mendham locker room.
The Mendham leadership group made it clear that its second period, where it was out-shot 12-6 and surrendered two goals to Montville, was not acceptable.
“We just needed that little extra motivation from all the guys,” Eddie Fox said. “We all came together and agreed that we needed to pick it up in the third period. All throughout the season we just need to play a complete 45 minutes.”
It responded in a big way in the third period. Jake Fox gave his team the lead back five minutes into the period, before Eddie Fox added a key insurance tally just over two minutes later. In total, it scored three unanswered in the third to put away a 6-3 win over Montville in Halvorsen Division play at Mennen Arena.
Jake Fox finished with a hat trick, the second of his high school career. He scored twice in a span of 24 seconds late in the first period to break a 1-1 tie and give his team a two-goal lead.
The second period saw Montville defenseman Marco Van De Graaf find the back of the net on shots from the point twice in a span of 5:30, and suddenly, all of the momentum appeared to be on the Mustangs’ side.
It was clear that the Minutemen needed to get back to basics going into the third.
“Definitely a lot was said, especially from the leadership,” Jake Fox said. “Basically just a motivational message to keep us going. We were playing sloppy hockey in the second period, and we got told what we needed to be told to get our momentum going into the third. Luckily, we were able to cash in on that.”
“(It was just about) Just our overall structure and sticking to the basics. If you can’t get the little things right, you can’t score goals, so that’s mainly what we focused on there.”
It was a big Halvorsen Division win for the Minutemen, who have had an up-and-down start to the year with a 3-3 overall record, but now stand at 2-1 in the division with its one loss being an overtime loss. It lost a pair of competitive games to strong opponents in West Essex-Caldwell and currently unbeaten Scotch Plains-Fanwood in the Essex Holiday Tournament.
That early-season adversity is something that Mendham hopes it can carry through the rest of the season.
“We think we have good motivation and momentum going on right now,” Jake Fox said. “I think there’s definitely a long way to go. I think this team has a lot more potential to do a lot better things, and win championships in the future. So I think if we stick to the little things, we have bright things in our future.”
But its next test will be one of its biggest. On Monday, it will take on cross-town rival West Morris at 4:30 p.m. at Mennen Arena. It will be the first meeting between the schools since the 2019-20 season, and the Minutemen will look to hand West Morris its first divisional loss of the year.
“Everyone on the team is super excited to play them,” Jake Fox said. “(It’s a highly-anticipated game. We have a game plan worked out for how we’re going to deal with them. If we stick to the little things and just do what we’ve been taught, I think we’ll be alright.”
SCORING SUMMARY
First period
MEN — Brandon Eigner (Ian Aikenhead) 9:34
MON — Cole Riley (Aidan Rankin) 7:32
MEN — Jake Fox (Ian Aikenhead) 2:29
MEN — Jake Fox (Eddie Fox) PPG 2:05
Second period
MON — Marco Van De Graaf (Justin Martinez) 6:40
MON — Marco Van De Graaf 1:10
Third period
MEN — Jake Fox (Hayden Bogart) 10:05
MEN — Eddie Fox (Hayden Bogart, Cameron Smith) 7:24
MEN — Ian Aikenhead (Hayden Bogart) 1:03
Shots on goal: Mendham 26, Montville 26
Saves: Brendon Eigner (Mendham) 23, Dylan Hunter (Montville) 20
Team records: Mendham (3-3, 2-0-0-1 Halvorsen), Montville (3-4, 2-3 Halvorsen)
E-mail Mike Gurnis at michaelgurnis@gmail.com
Morris-Sussex Hockey Report 