By Mike Gurnis
Trailing against Haas/Charette Division opponents has not been something Roxbury has dealt with much this season.
In fact, going into Saturday’s Haas Cup semifinals, the Gaels trailed just once in a divisional game all season. It fell behind, 1-0 to Vernon on Jan. 23- a deficit which lasted 4:18 as Roxbury eventually won, 12-2.
So when it fell behind by three goals to Parsippany Regional early in the third period on Saturday, it was, to put it mildly, unfamiliar territory for the Gaels.
But it responded in emphatic fashion, as it scored three times in a span of 4:25 to tie the game and force overtime. Thanks to a game-winning goal from Michael Nelson 2:19 into the extra session, top-seeded Roxbury escaped with a 5-4 win over fourth-seeded Parsippany Regional in the Haas Cup semifinals at Mennen Arena.
“We just said, look at the guy next to you, and play for them,” Nelson said of the team’s mentality when facing a three-goal deficit. “You came this far, and now is no time to lose. So we just put our heads down and kept going.”
Thanks to three power play goals, Parsippany found itself in control of the game with a 4-1 lead early in the third period. Kaden Bland, Joseph Gasparro (twice) and Robert Hemenway all scored, and when Hemenway scored with 13:34 left in the third, it appeared Parsippany was well on its way to its first Cup final appearance since 2002.
But the Roxbury onslaught began shortly after, as despite some big saves from Parsippany goalie Andrew Nicholas, the Gaels dominated puck possession for the remainder of the period. It was a chore just for Parsippany to clear the puck out of its own end, and Roxbury owned an 18-3 shot advantage in the final frame.
“We had to change our attitude,” said Ryan Van Zile. “I think a lot of people were on the sadder side on the bench. We were taking too many penalties, turning over the puck way too much. So I think definitely making our communication better was definitely a big aspect of the change.”
He added, “We were definitely shocked at first, because I think only time we were down was against Vernon, so you’re definitely shocked. But coach gathered us in the locker room and just told us that we need to be resilient. Resiliency makes winners. We just came together as a group and showed that after.”
The comeback started with 6:45 left when Van Zile, the team’s top scorer, got on the board to cut the deficit to two. Just 2:30 later, Jesse Ambrosi scored his first career goal to cut it to 4-3.
Parsippany called a timeout immediately after that goal to attempt to settle things down, but it did not stop Roxbury’s momentum. Brody Ozga put home the rebound of a Griffin Warsaw shot with 2:20 remaining, and the Gaels had tied the game- with three goals in a span of 4:25.
“I don’t think they ever doubted that they could work their way back into it,” Roxbury coach Jon Benbow said. “We kind of took a collective deep breath and just calmed down for a minute, and decided we were going to dictate the pace of the game, and really try to play down low. I don’t think they ever doubted that they could do it.”
Then, in overtime, Roxbury got a golden opportunity when Parsippany took a penalty, giving the Gaels a man-advantage. Shortly after the power play started, Griffin Warsaw’s shot was initially saved by Nicholas, but popped right out to Nelson in front of the net, who put home the rebound to spark a wild celebration, and left the Parsippany side of the arena in stunned silence.
“I just camped out in front of the net,” Nelson said. “If you want to score goals, you’ve got to go to the net. I got lucky, the puck popped right out. I was a little nervous, not gonna lie, but I capitalized on it.”
For the game, Roxbury out-shot Parsippany 49-25. In defeat, Parsippany goalie Andrew Nicholas was outstanding, stopping 44 shots.
“Andrew (Nicholas) did a great job,” Van Zile said. “I mean, you see how many shots we had, so it was definitely a monkey off our shoulders just to get the momentum back. Just great for our team to get more shots on net and eventually tie it up and win in overtime.”
Now, Roxbury is on to its first Cup final appearance since 2021, when it lost to Madison in the Halvorsen Cup final. It will go for its fourth Cup title in program history, as it has two Halvorsen Cup titles and one Haas Cup title, which came in 2008.
“They don’t quit. They never doubted themselves,” Benbow said. “We’ve always talked about how it’s not when you see the obstacles, it’s how you deal with them, when you see them. I think they handled these obstacles today. I mean, that’s a great Parsippany team. They played awesome today, and they really just kind of depended on each other and leaned on each other and fought through it.”
High Point-Wallkill Valley-Kittatinny earns second-straight Cup final appearance
For High Point-Wallkill Valley-Kittatinny’s seniors, the hope is that the third time is the charm.
The second-seeded High Point tri-op earned a resounding 9-3 victory over sixth-seeded Morris Catholic-St. Elizabeth-Newark Academy on Saturday to earn its second-straight Cup final appearance and third and four years.
Alex Sonvico scored four goals with an assist for High Point, which built a 6-0 lead in the game. Despite a surge from Morris Catholic in the early moments of the third period, it was able to put the game away with three goals in the final minutes.
Sonvico set the tone with a goal just 12 seconds into the game off the rush and High Point never looked back from there. Scoring early was of paramount importance against a Morris Catholic team which was riding a wave of momentum from its most dramatic win in program history just 48 hours earlier, a shootout win over Mountain Lakes-Boonton in the first round.
“It was very important (to score first),” Sonvico said. “We were talking in the locker room about how we have to get the first one. We have to make them chase us and not chase them.”
It was a balanced effort across the board, with Anthony Tokar, Noah Krahling, Noah Custode, Nathan Shindelman, and Brady Reid all finding the back of the net in addition to Sonvico.
Reyansh Kubani, Colin Shepard, and Ryan Keller all scored in a span of roughly seven minutes of game time to cut Morris Catholic’s deficit to 6-3. But High Point answered right back and squashed any hopes of a miraculous comeback, as Reid scored two minutes later, before Sonvico scored twice in a span of three minutes to put it firmly out of reach.
Landon Healy made 21 saves, while Morris Catholic goalie James Boyce stopped 45 shots.
“Just getting bodies in front of the net, passing the puck, and making the goalie move (was the strategy),’ Sonvico said.
Now, High Point will have the opportunity for its first MCSSIHL Cup title in program history once again. It fell short in the Charette Cup in 2022 and 2024, and will get its third chance at it on Monday at 4:30 p.m. against top-seeded Roxbury.
“It means a lot for us,” Sonvico said. “The other two, we fell short. We’ve always wanted to win it. It’s been my dream to win one of those. It would also mean a lot to our schools and how much they put into our program. Just a big thank you to that.”
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Morris-Sussex Hockey Report 