Beyer fuels Morristown’s quarterfinal win vs. Morris Knolls

MORRIS TWP. - Facing rival Morris Knolls for the third time this season in Monday’s NJSIAA Public A quarterfinals, the Morristown ice hockey team simply put on its collective hard hat and went to work.

The top-seeded Colonials got a pair of goals and an assist from senior defenseman Kyle Beyer and 16 saves from sophomore goaltender Evan Szary in posting a workmanlike 4-1 victory. It was Morristown’s third win of the season over its Mennen Division rival.

“We knew we were going to have to work even harder in this game than the first two we played against them,” Beyer said. “It’s hard to beat a team three times, and we just had to go to work.”

With the victory, Morristown advances to Wednesday’s Public A semifinals against No. 4 Ridge in the opening game of a doubleheader at 6:30 p.m. The nightcap will feature second seed and defending champion Randolph facing off against No. 3 Montclair.

There was plenty of action and intensity early, as Morristown had a couple of quality scoring chances in the first five minutes, but Knolls netminder Jon Szynalski was equal to the task. The scoreless first period was a physical battle between the two Mennen Division rivals, with neither willing to give an inch on the ice. The Golden Eagles managed just three shots in the period but played the type of smart, disciplined game necessary to stay with the Colonials, especially in the neutral zone.

Morristown came out flying to start the second period, however, and grabbed the lead at 1:21 when senior center Jakob DeFares redirected a point shot by defenseman Nick Swiontkowski past Szynalski, who seconds earlier had denied DeFares on a partial breakaway.

“Playoffs are all about momentum, and getting that first goal is huge,” DeFares said. “It got us going, and we just kept working hard in the third period. We just have to stay with our game plan now and play defense first against Ridge.”

The Colonials continued to control play for much of the second, cycling the puck in the offensive zone while peppering Szynalski and again limiting the shots on goal against. The Golden Eagles had a chance to pull even with 3:32 remaining, when they were awarded the game’s first power play. Instead, it was Morristown that extended its lead just seconds after killing off the power play, which saw Knolls’ Alex Welch ring a shot off the crossbar.

The scoring play started with a key defensive play by Beyer, who carried the puck out of his own zone and suddenly found himself at the red line with a two-on-one break with teammate Bradley Greik. Beyer moved the puck to Greik, who then slid it back to the big defenseman, who lifted it over Szynalski and into the net to up the advantage to 2-0.

Szynalski continued to give his team a chance to battle back early in the third, when the senior goaltender came up with a pair of big saves on Greik to keep it a two-goal game. But Morristown kept pressing and added an insurance goal at 8:31 off the stick of Teddy Dolan, who took a feed from Beyer and fired a quick shot past Szynalski.

The Golden Eagles refused to go quietly, however, and cut the deficit to 3-1 with under five minutes remaining on a goal by Danny Cangelosi. But late penalties to the Golden Eagles halted the comeback, as the Colonials got a five-on-three power play goal from Beyer with 2:33 left to seal the victory.

Now it’s on to the semifinals and a date with a talented Ridge squad.

“We lost to Ridge in the quarterfinals last year, so we are really looking forward to playing them again,” Szary said.