Randolph extends win streak to six with dominant win over KJS United

By Mike Gurnis

Randolph is firmly putting its December struggles in the rear-view mirror.

A team which lost just one game all of last season- the North, Public sectional final to Northern Highlands- had to deal with three early-season losses, meaning a team which did not have to bounce back from a loss all of last season suddenly had some early adversity.

It all came to a head on Dec. 29 when it lost, 5-0 to Northern Highlands once again.

Since then, Randolph has rediscovered its game, and has put itself in the driver’s seat for the top seed in the Mennen Cup with a six-game winning streak. After avenging an early-season loss to Morristown-Beard with an impressive win on Wednesday, the Rams continued their strong run of play with a comprehensive, 9-2 win over Kinnelon-Jefferson-Sparta at Skylands Ice World in Stockholm.

“We forgot about that game,” Vinny Crisafulli said of the Northern Highlands loss. “We left that game in the past, and we’re looking at one game at a time right now, and one step at a time for every single game. We’re coming in with that same mentality, and we’re just looking to win every single game.”

The Rams, who defeated Morristown-Beard, 5-3 just 48 hours earlier, carried that momentum into this game against a strong KJS United squad which has cemented itself as one of the Mennen Division’s top teams this year.

It struck twice in the opening 5:05 of the game on goals from Keegan Melly and Andrew George, behind a relentless forecheck which made it hard for KJS United to break out of its own zone, especially early on. After Eddy Brown scored midway through the second period to cut KJS’ deficit to two, any hopes of the momentum potentially tilting in the favor of the tri-op were quickly erased.

George buried his second of the game 1:43 later, which started a string of five unanswered goals by the Rams to put the game away.

“Getting the first goal is huge,” George said. “That momentum just leads in and it carries throughout the game. So I think getting that first step is a really big piece in the game, and it’s great to do it first.”

Crisafulli added, “That win over Morristown-Beard gave us a lot of confidence. Every team is coming for us, no matter the circumstance. We’re just here to play with all our heart every single game. So we were ready to go.”

Multiple players found their way on the scoresheet, highlighted by Keegan Melly’s five-point game (1 g., 4 a.), which was tied for a career high for him. His brother, Shane Melly, has scored in five consecutive games and has scored at least two in the last four, as he had two goals and an assist in this one.

George, Crisafulli, and Jase Zangara each finished with two goals and two assists.

Most impressively, Randolph was able to significantly limit KJS’ dynamic top forwards such as Braydon Sisco and Eddy Brown. Neither player needs much in the way of time and space to make things happen offensively, and while each found the back of the net once, the Rams were able to contain them with an aggressive forecheck and strong play through the neutral zone- a hallmark of typical Randolph teams.

“These guys, we know they can fly,” Randolph coach Rich McLaughlin said of KJS. “(KJS United) can really motor. So we had to be on our toes on both ends of the ice today. We kept our intensity going, and we just did our jobs all the way through, without losing focus of what we had to get done. It was a good team effort. It was probably our best game of the year

He added of his team’s defense, “We did it right today. You know, we forechecked hard, we got in their lanes quickly, and we able to stop the long break where they like to take off and go. We were lucky enough, they had one or two (opportunities) in the beginning of the game, but we settled down and figured it out. We just forechecked hard and if we forecheck, we’re good. It takes care of a lot of problems.”

While it may be hard to imagine- even after a big win over a team that may very well be the top seed in the North, Public Co-op state tournament bracket- Randolph believes there is still another level it can get to.

Even with the offensive firepower it has, with five players with over 20 points this season, the hope is that the team will continue to focus on its defensive details as it prepares for the Mennen Cup and state tournament.

“We can score, but our biggest thing is we’re gonna have to really play defense,” McLaughlin said. “We’ll get our goals. We’ve got a lot of guys that can score a goal. In a big game, we’re only gonna get two, maybe three (goals), we’ve got to keep the other team off the board. We’re more worried about that right now, our team defense, and playing smarter and not just goal, goal, goal. You don’t want to win 9-8, you want to win 2 or 3-0, that’s our goal every game.”

Now, it finds itself in the driver’s seat for the top seed in the Mennen Cup. With four divisional games left, it holds a two-point lead on Morristown-Beard and a four point advantage over KJS United.

It controls its own destiny, so if it can win its final four games against Chatham, KJS, Bernards-Somerville-Middlesex, and Morris Knolls-Hills, it will win its second-straight division title and will be the top seed as it chases a Mennen Cup repeat.

“That number one spot is huge in this division,” Crisafulli said. “It’s a tough division, a lot of good teams. We’re just looking at the next game at a time, and who we’re playing doesn’t matter. We’re coming. We’re coming. It’s all that matters.”

SCORING SUMMARY
First period
RAN — Keegan Melly (Ryan Potanovich) 13:52
RAN — Andrew George (Keegan Melly, Vincent Crisafulli) 9:55
KJS — Braydon Sisco (Cormac Gibbons) 6:05
RAN — Jase Zangara (Shane Melly, Brian Cislo) 4:32
Second period
RAN — Shane Melly (Jase Zangara, Vincent Crisafulli) 8:12 PPG
KJS — Eddy Brown (Braydon Sisco) 6:50
RAN — Andrew George (Keegan Melly) 5:07
RAN — Vincent Crisafulli (Bryson Findling, Andrew George) 0:04
Third period
RAN — Vincent Crisafulli (Andrew Georg, Keegan Melly) 10:01
RAN — Shane Melly (Jase Zangara) 9:00
RAN — Jase Zangara (Shane Melly, Peter Psaras) 7:07 PPG

Shots on goal: Randolph 48, KJS United 19
Team records: Randolph 10-3 (7-0-0-1 Mennen), KJS United 8-3-1 (5-2-1 Mennen)

E-mail Mike Gurnis at michaelgurnis@gmail.com