MONDAY, JANUARY 13, 2025
Morristown-Beard drops first game, a heartbreaker to St. Joseph (Mont.)
In a battle of Top 5 teams in both the Big State Sports Power Rankings and the NJ.com Top 20, No. 4 Morristown-Beard fell, 1-0 to No. 5 St. Joseph of Montvale at Twin Oaks Ice Rink.
Logan Hughes scored the lone goal for St. Joseph with one second remaining in the second period, while Gabe Florio stopped all 20 shots he faced to earn the shutout. Morristown-Beard goalie Mason Hriczov made 33 saves in the loss.
Morristown-Beard fell to 9-1-1, and will take on Randolph in a big Mennen Division contest on Wednesday.
West Morris rallies in third to top Madison
Shiva Kuttikat and Gavin Smith scored 1:04 apart in the third period to propel West Morris to a 4-3 win over Madison in Halvorsen Division play at Mennen Arena.
Madison (2-12, 1-6 Halvorsen) took a 3-2 lead into the third period thanks to a goal from Ryan McSherry, and two from Chris Palawasta. But Kuttikat scored with 9:56 left to tie it, before Smith gave his team the lead with 8:52 left as West Morris avoided a major upset loss.
Tyler Hill had a goal and two assists for West Morris (9-5-1, 7-2 Halvorsen), while Smith had a goal and an assist. Ben Barnhill had two assists and Jason Trezza made 18 saves in the win. West Morris will next face Mount Olive-Hopatcong-Hackettstown on Wednesday.
Nick Worthington made 49 saves for Madison. It will next face Park Regional on Thursday as it looks to snap a seven-game losing streak.
Park Regional wins third in a row despite late push from Gill St. Bernard’s
Michael Capozzi scored twice to lead Park Regional to a 5-3 win over Gill St. Bernard’s in Haas-Charette play at Mennen Arena.
Park Regional built a 5-0 lead on goals from Capozzi, Dylan Aker, Chase Olszewski, and Colin Mullooly. That lead stood until the final three minutes, when Gill St. Bernard’s scored three goals in short order- from Brendan Binder, Noah Schultz, and Gabe Raphel. The last goal came with about 40 seconds left, but Gill St. Bernard’s was unable to win the puck back to make a push for another two goals to tie it.
Park Regional improved to 6-4-2 overall and 4-2-1 in the Halvorsen Division, as it now sits in third place. Dylan Marion made nine saves in the win. It will face Madison on Thursday.
Luc Jansson made 39 saves for Gill St. Bernard’s, which fell to 1-7 overall and 1-6 in the Halvorsen. It will next face Mendham on Thursday.
Mountain Lakes-Boonton earns key win
Eli Forman had a hat trick and an assist to lead Mountain Lakes-Boonton to an 8-1 win over Morris Catholic-St. Elizabeth-Newark Academy in Haas-Charette Division play at Mennen Arena.
Lawson Fagan scored twice with an assist, while Aiden Taylor dished out three assists for Mountain Lakes-Boonton (3-7). Colin Barrasso and Anthony Maclaren each had a goal and an assist in the win. Ethan Scanlon made 16 saves in the win.
Mountain Lakes-Boonton improved to 3-4 in the division and will next face Vernon on Saturday.
Mercer Acuna scored the lone goal of the game for the Morris Catholic tri-op. It will next face Parsippany Regional on Friday.
Pope John picks up second-straight win
Nicholas Colatrella scored twice and had an assist to lead Pope John to a 3-1 win over St. Peter’s Prep in Gordon Conference play at Skylands Ice World.
With the game tied at one early in the second, Colatrella broke the tie with 11:41 left before adding another with 1:27 left in the third period to seal it. Hunter Parillo had a goal and an assist for the Lions, which won their second-straight game and improved to 11-3-1 overall with a 4-3-1 record in the Gordon-National Division.
Mason Giordano made 16 saves for Pope John, which will take on St. Joseph of Metuchen on Wednesday.
Morristown hangs tough in loss to Livingston
Morristown fell, 4-2, to Livingston, which is ranked No. 7 in the Big State Sports Power Rankings, at Codey ARena.
Noel Gaynor and Willem Kerr each scored for Morristown, which fell to 3-9-1 on the season. It was a 1-1 game going into the third period before Livingston took the lead early in the period. Kerr scored the game-tying goal with 7:25 left, but Livingston took the lead shortly thereafter and finished it off with an empty netter.
Artie Conover made 30 saves for Morristown, which will face Chatham on Thursday.
E-mail Mike Gurnis at michaelgurnis@gmail.com
Morris-Sussex Hockey Report 