By Mike Gurnis
One of the craziest games in recent memory in the Mennen Division unfolded on Monday night, when Morristown knocked off Randolph, 6-5 in overtime.
This game was an absolute roller-coaster of emotions for both sides. Early on, Morristown looked to be in control, as it held the dynamic Rams to just two shots on goal in the first period, and took a 3-1 lead late into the second period.
But anyone who has watched Randolph in recent years knows that the Rams can flip a switch and score a few goals in short order at any given moment, and that’s exactly what happened. Peter Psaras scored just before the end of the second, before Keegan Melly scored twice and Vincent Crisafulli buried one in the span of just under nine minutes to give Randolph a 5-3 lead.
It felt like the Rams were going to coast to victory at that point. But a couple of penalties at inopportune times gave Morristown a 5-on-3 in the final two minutes, and the Colonials capitalized with Conrad Caroe’s goal with 1:24 left. Then, 31 seconds later, improbably, Charlie Dvorscak tied the game to force overtime.
In the OT period, it was Luke Williams who played the hero, scoring the game-winner for Morristown for one of its biggest divisional wins in recent memory.
— Speaking of the Mennen Division: I know its early in the season, but this may be the most competitive version of this division in at least the last four or five years. There are five teams in this division that in my opinion are Top 20 teams in the state, or Top 20-caliber teams in Morristown-Beard, KJS United, Randolph, Chatham, and Morristown.
Don’t sleep on Morris Knolls-Hills or Mendham, either! Both of those teams, despite being winless in the division, have been competitive in its respective games this season. It truly feels like anyone can beat anyone on any given night. The Mennen Division at its best.
— Back to Morristown- it had six different players find the back of the net in the Randolph win. This is a really balanced and experienced team, which is why I was so high on them preseason and have had them as the “Next 7” in my Big State Sports Top 20 ballot.
It’s good to see Morristown having success again. This program has struggled for quite some time, even dropping down to the Halvorsen Division for a year in 2021-22 (which it went 15-6-3, won the Halvorsen Division, and promptly moved back up to the Mennen).
Yes, it is early, but to put this in perspective: Morristown has won a total of three Mennen Division games in the last three seasons, all of which came last year. It already has two divisional wins. It has not finished with a winning record in the Mennen since 2015-16, when it went 9-1 in the Mennen Division, and won the Public B state championship.
— Another program that has struggled in recent years but seems poised for a turnaround this year: How about Madison? I was in the building Friday night when the Dodgers picked up an impressive, come-from-behind 4-2 win over Mount Olive-Hopatcong-Hackettstown.
Owen Chandler scored twice, while Lucas Gero had a goal and two assists as the Dodgers erased a 2-0 second period deficit. Gero has been terrific this season, with eight goals and nine assists in just four games. Talented sophomores Ryan McSherry and Owen Chandler have also had good starts to the year, while Nick Worthington has posted an eye-popping .930 save percentage in goal this year.
Since Madison won the Halvorsen Cup in the COVID-shortened 2021 season with a 12-2 overall record and 10-0 divisional record, this program has struggled mightily. Overall, it went 22-57-3 in the four years since.
It had some competitive games down the stretch last season and even qualified for the Halvorsen Cup. It has built on that so far, and was dangerously close to even being 4-0 at this time, as it took a 5-3 lead into the third period on opening night against West Morris, only to fall, 6-5.
This looks like a team that very much can be in the thick of things in a very competitive Halvorsen Division.
— Tentative plans for coverage this week: Friday I’m planning to check out KJS United vs. Morris Knolls-Hills at Skylands Ice World at 4:40 p.m. Saturday, I’m looking to be in the building for Morristown-Beard vs. Randolph at 4:15 p.m., which is a rematch of a 1-1 tie between the teams just last week.
Morristown-Beard, by the way, is coming off an impressive, 10-2 win over Princeton Day, No. 8 in the NJ.com Top 20 on Monday. Evan Redman continued his incredible start to the year with a five goal, three assist performance.
E-mail Mike Gurnis at michaelgurnis@gmail.com
Morris-Sussex Hockey Report 