Chatham comes through late to beat Morris Knolls-Hills
Kieran Brendle scored the go-ahead goal with 2:10 to go to propel fourth-seeded Chatham to a 4-2 win over fifth-seeded Morris Knolls-Hills in Mennen Cup first round action at Mennen Arena.
The teams went back-and-forth in the third period, which Tripp Connor finishing off a feed from Isaac Suh 3:18 into the period to give the Cougars the lead. Just a few minutes later though, Jake McCloud put home a rebound to tie the game up at two for Knolls-Hills.
But Brendle was able to put home the rebound of a James Lee shot, which gave the Cougars the lead. Charlie Dunn scored an empty-net goal with 21 seconds left to ice the game for the Cougars and secure its spot in Wednesday’s Mennen Cup semifinals.
Both goaltenders were stellar throughout the game, with Chatham’s Snowden Lange stopping 24 of 26 shots to earn his fourth win in four career starts against Morris Knolls-Hills. Nick Trento stopped 36 of 39 shots in a valiant effort for Morris Knolls-Hills.
Chatham (10-10) advanced to face top-seeded Randolph on Wednesday in the semifinals. That game is slated for 5:45 p.m. at Mennen Arena.
Morris Knolls-Hills fell to 8-13.
KJS United rolls to semifinal berth
Thanks to a big 29-save effort from Brian Sisti, third-seeded KJS United earned a 6-1 win over sixth-seeded Morristown at Mennen Arena.
KJS jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the first period thanks to a goal from Braydon Sisco and two from Jake Prunty. Prunty added another in the second period to complete the hat trick and extend the lead to four.
Morristown, however, gave a strong push offensively throughout the game- specifically in the second and third periods- to the tune of a 30-17 shot advantage for the game. But thanks to Sisti and the KJS defense, it only found the back of the net once on Jake Buonocore’s goal with 10:52 to go.
But Cormac Gibbons answered a few minutes later, and Sisco finalized the result with an empty-net goal.
KJS United improved to 10-6-1 on the year and booked its spot in Wednesday’s semifinals. It will face second-seeded Morristown-Beard at 4 p.m. at Mennen Arena. The teams played to a 3-3 tie on Dec. 23, before Morristown-Beard earned a 2-1 win recently on Jan. 24.
Morristown fell to 5-12-2 on the season.
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Morris-Sussex Hockey Report 