TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 4, 2025
Montville wins in OT, West Morris rolls to semifinals in Halvorsen Cup
Cole Riley scored the game-winning goal with 11:39 left in overtime to send fifth-seeded Montville to a 2-1 win over fourth-seeded Mount Olive-Hopatcong-Hackettstown in the first round of the Halvorsen Cup at Mennen Arena.
The win sent Montville (7-10-1) to the semifinals, where it will take on top-seeded Mendham on Friday at 5:45 p.m.
Montville jumped ahead in the first period on Justin Martinez’s power play goal. In an evenly-matched game, that 1-0 lead held for much of the rest of the way, and it appeared Montville would find a way to win in regulation. But Dominic Landolfi tied the game with a clutch goal with 1:39 left for Mount Olive-Hopatcong-Hackettstown to force the overtime period.
Both goaltenders played well, with Dylan Hunter making 20 saves in the win for Montville, while Talon Muscolino also stopped 20 for Mo-Ho-Ha.
In the other first round game which began shortly after 10 p.m. due to overtime in the first period, it was third-seeded West Morris which took down sixth-seeded Madison.
After a scoreless first period, Layton Cummings broke through early in the second to put West Morris (12-8-1) on the board, before Ben Barnhill added another late in the period to give West Morris a 2-0 lead.
It never looked back from there en route to a four-goal victory. Cummings finished with a hat trick, Barnhill had a goal and three assists, and Rhone Armijo had three assists. Tyler Hill and Shiva Kuttikat each recorded a goal and an assist in the win.
Jason Trezza made 17 saves for West Morris, while Nick Worthington stopped 43 shots for Madison (4-16-1).
West Morris will take on second-seeded Park Regional in the semifinals on Thursday night at 8:15 p.m.
Delbarton dominates in Gordon Cup first round
Jack Gerne scored twice with an assist to lead top-seeded Delbarton to a 6-1 win over eighth-seeded Seton Hall Prep in the first round of the Gordon Cup at SportsCare Arena.
Ayden Puppe, Dante Rodriguez, and Egor Andreev each recorded a goal and an assist for Delbarton (14-1-1). Matteo Conte and Jack Ross each had two assists, and Thomas Keough also scored for the Green Wave. George Cote made 18 saves.
Delbarton will take on fifth-seeded St. Augustine in the semifinals on Thursday at 4 p.m. at SportsCare Arena.
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Morris-Sussex Hockey Report 