FRIDAY, FEBRUAY 7, 2025
Mendham rallies past Montville to book spot in Halvorsen Cup final
After falling behind early, top-seeded Mendham scored four-straight goals late to take control in a 4-2 win over fifth-seeded Montville in the Halvorsen Cup semifinals at Mennen Arena.
Cole Riley scored early in the first period to put Montville (7-11-1) ahead. That lead, thanks to strong defensive play and outstanding goaltending from Dylan Hunter, held up for quite awhile, even as Montville killed off back-to-back penalties early in the second period.
But at long last, with 1:53 left in the second period, Brandon Eigner’s point shot found its way through traffic and tied the game up at one. Then, just 26 seconds into the third period, Jake Fox scored off a feed from Eddie Fox to put Mendham in the lead. Eddie Fox scored just under a minute later, before Kacper Lesiak made it a 4-1 game with 9:38 to go.
In a span of roughly seven minutes of game action, Mendham went from being on upset alert, to taking control en route to a Halvorsen Cup final appearance.
The Minutemen (13-5-1) will face second-seeded Park Regional in the title game on Monday at 6:30 p.m. It is Mendham’s first Halvorsen Cup final appearance since 2022, when it last won.
Jake Fox and Kacper Lesiak each had a goal and two assists for Mendham. Eddie Fox and Brandon Eigner each recorded a goal and an assist, while Brendon Eigner made 26 saves in the win.
Anthony Wegorowski also scored for Montville. Dylan Hunter made 40 saves.
Morristown-Beard girls fall in Librera Cup semifinals
Morristown-Beard saw its eight-game unbeaten streak come to an end as the second-seeded Crimson fell, 3-0 to third-seeded Princeton Day in the semifinals of the Librera Cup at Twin Oaks Ice Rink.
Della Gilligan put Princeton Day ahead in the first period, before Layla Sosner and Samantha Dandy each scored 1:30 apart late in the third to put the game away. Kelly Stevens made 23 saves to earn the shutout.
Princeton Day (9-2-1) will face fifth-seeded Oak Knoll in the final on Wednesday at 8 p.m. at Codey Arena.
Hannah Mortazavi made 32 saves for Morristown-Beard (7-4-2), which will now turn its attention to the state tournament.
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Morris-Sussex Hockey Report 