Wolfpack Hockey Ties Park Regional, Grabs Haas Cup Co-Championship

For the second consecutive year, West Morris Central made it to Mennan Sports Arena to compete for the Haas Cup. While the Wolfpack came away victorious in 2010, they would have to settle for sharing this year's title with Park Regional, as the game ended in a 4-4 tie on Wednesday, Feb. 23.

West Morris jumped to an early lead, but could not hold off Park Regional, and despite being up two-to-one on shot attempts, the Wolfoack could not pick up a score in sudden death to  come away with the win.

The Wolfpack had no problems setting the pace from the start of the game on both offense and defense as they played aggressive and with speed. West Morris had a 4-2 lead in the third period, but could not hold off a late Park Regional rally that would tie the game.

Park Regional's Jimmy White (two goals) scored the game tying shot in the third period, squeezing it past Wolfpack goalie Jack Harper on a breakaway. Harper, who made some crucial saves throughout the game continued to get bested on one-on-one situations.

Park Regional’s Michael Megglolaro was also able to get past Harper with two of his own goals, one coming from a penalty shot in the third period and the other coming on a fast break opportunity in the first period.

The West Morris’ offense flourished early, as it scored three goals in the first period, the first by Devon Hall and the second by Andy Caracciolo. The third score came from Eddie Hall with 2.3 seconds left in the first period.

Hall was able to score despite the team being short-handed due to a penalty. Their offense became stagnant in the second period, as they hung on to their lead and relied on the play of the defense.

Captain Chris Williams was able to pick up the Wolfpack's fourth goal of the night with an assist from Eddie Hall, extending their lead, but Park Regional was able to answer Williams's goal with two of its own, forcing the game into a sudden death overtime.

West Morris played an intense overtime period, out-shooting Park regional 14-3 in, but unfortunately none of them landed as Park Regional swarmed the goal to make sure nothing snuck its way through.

Wolfpack Head Coach Erik Jacoben was still pleased with his team, who were visibly disappointed at sharing the Haas Cup and despite settling for Co-Champion, Jacobsen is focused on the future and hoping to make an impact in States.

“We played well today and we had our opportunities, and we did a good job scoring off of them. We might be a little disappointed but we’re going to focus on the future and start looking forward," Jacobsen said.

Jacoben also commended Park Regional for its ability to battle back.

“We out-shot them but they capitalized when they needed to off of our mistakes and it ended up paying off for them," Jacobsen said. "We were able to play a great first period but they were able to battle and come back in the second and third. They were able to answer our goals with theirs and they never gave up the game–even though they were down two goals. They didn’t give up, and it’s a testament to them and their coaching.”