By Mike Gurnis
4-Newton-Lenape Valley 7, 5-High Point-Wallkill Valley-Kittatinny 2
Arsenni Pastukh had a hat trick along with an assist to lead Newton-Lenape Valley to the Haas Cup semifinals for the first time since 2018.
Newton-Lenape Valley, which is chasing its second Cup title in three years after winning the Charette Cup in 2024, got out to a quick start in the game as Kaelin Faessinger and Sean Lockwood scored first period goals to build a 2-0 lead. It pulled away in the second, as Pastukh scored a power play goal before Faessinger scored just 1:38 later to make it a 4-1 game.
Faessinger finished with two goals, while Sean Lockwood had a goal and an assist. Brody Dellicker also scored, while Adam Yacuk stopped 34 of 36 shots to secure the win. High Point-Wallkill Valley-Kittatinny out-shot NLV, 36-29 in the game.
It was NLV’s third win over its Sussex County rival this season, with previous wins of 6-3 and 5-4 to its name. It was also its third-straight postseason win over the High Point tri-op, with the last win for High Point coming in the 2022 Charette Cup semifinals.
Noah Custode and Bradyn Husarenko each scored for High Point, which saw its season come to an end with 4-14-1 record.
WHAT’S NEXT
Newton-Lenape Valley is off to the semifinals of the Haas Cup, where it will face top-seeded Parsippany Regional on Thursday at 4:15 p.m. Parsippany won both meetings between the squads this year, by scores of 9-1 and 5-4.
While NLV won the Charette Cup in 2024 and made the final of that tournament in 2021, it is seeking its first Haas Cup final appearance since winning its only Haas Cup back in 2017.
Parsippany Regional, on the other hand, has not made a Cup final since it won the Haas Cup as Parsippany Hills in 2002.
E-mail Mike Gurnis at michaelgurnis@gmail.com
Morris-Sussex Hockey Report 