Early scoring holds up as Morristown tops Ridge
MORRIS TWP. - A quick start and finish to the opening period was all the Morristown hockey team needed on Wednesday to book its ticket to the Prudential Center.
Teddy Dolan scored just 40 seconds into play and the top-seeded Colonials added a pair of late first-period goals just 31 seconds apart before hanging on to defeat fourth-seed Ridge 3-2 in the Public A semifinals at Mennen Arena.
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Morristown did all its scoring in the first period and managed just three shots on goal during the final 30 minutes, but it was enough as sophomore goaltender Evan Szary made 21 saves to lead his team to victory.
The Colonials advance to the Public A final at 8:30 p.m. Monday at the Prudential Center in Newark.
“This is great. After losing to them in the quarterfinals last year, we really wanted to end their season,” Szary said. “It was an insane game. We had only one shot in the second period, and I thought we came out strong and did what we needed to do in the third, bearing down and blocking shots. It’s my first time going to the Prudential Center, and I’ve heard a lot about it from our seniors, so I’m really looking forward to it.”
The top-seeded Colonials wasted little time setting the tone and grabbing the lead when senior Dolan picked up his 22nd goal of the season on his team’s first shot on goal just 40 seconds into the opening period. Kyle Beyer and Bradley Greik assisted.
Ridge picked up its game and answered at 7:07 to pull even when Marc Delgaizo fired a shot from just inside the faceoff circle past Morristown netminder Evan Szary for his 28th goal of the season, an unassisted tally.
With the Red Devils pressing, the Colonials regained the momentum, striking quickly for a pair of goals just 31 seconds apart to stun the visitors and open up a 3-1 lead.
First it was defenseman Nick Swiontkowski firing a low shot from the point through a screen and past Ridge goaltender Mike Mastrangelo off a faceoff win. Before things settled down, the home team struck again as senior center Jakob DeFares found himself alone in the high slot and whipped a high wrist shot into the back of the net for his team-leading 23rd goal of the year.
Ridge outshot Morristown 9-7 in the opening 15 minutes but suddenly found itself trailing by a pair of goals at the first intermission.
“We felt pretty good after the first period, but we knew they were going to come at us hard over the next two and they did,” Dolan said. “Evan was great down the stretch, and we got it done. We made history a couple of years ago in my sophomore year when we won the Public B title, and we’re looking to make it again.”
After the teams traded power-play chances midway through the second period, the Red Devils pulled to within a goal at 9:33 when Gary Prince tallied an unassisted goal, skating through the faceoff circle before pulling the puck back and roofing a shot over the catching glove of Szary to cut the deficit to 3-2. The Colonials had another power-play opportunity late in the period but failed to convert as they were held to just one shot on goal in the period. Ridge had only three shots.
Ridge kept coming in the third period, pressing for the tying goal, and hit the post twice in the first six minutes. Morristown again could not muster any offensive push, as they were held without a single shot until the 10:55 mark as the Colonials desperately tried to hang on.
The Red Devils got power-play chance with 1:46 remaining and pulled Mastrangelo to make it a 6-on-4 skating advantage with just more than 1:00 left but couldn’t get the puck past Szary, who stood tall, finishing with 21 saves.