Madison High School Ice Hockey Grinds Out Fourth Straight Win

MORRISTOWN – If there's such a thing as good timing for sloppy play, the Madison High School ice hockey team might have it.

True, the Dodgers defeated Parsippany, 5-2, Thursday afternoon at Mennen Arena. But it wasn't exactly a performance that made head coach Dave Hansen happy. And with a crucial league game with unbeaten Roxbury next up Monday, the Dodgers won't be complacent: according to Hansen, they have plenty to work on over the weekend.

"I don't have much to say," Hansen said. "It was a very sloppy game. If we play like that against Roxbury, they're going to 10-goal us."

Freshman Erik Andersson scored a hat trick and added an assist for Madison (4-2-1, 4-1-1 Haas), which won its fourth straight league game.

Hansen had no complaints about the Dodgers' quick start. Andersson and Lou Cecala scored within 68 seconds of each other to give Madison a 2-0 lead six minutes into the first period. At that point, Madison had peppered Parsippany goalie David Donnelly with nine shots.

It was everything that came after that had Hansen fuming.

"We scored the first two goals, and then we stopped playing," he said. "We have to realize that we've gotta play a full 45-minute game."

The Red Hawks (4-6-0, 3-3-0 Charette) hung tough, earning scoring chances of their own. Parsippany finally cashed in in the final minute of the first period, when Madison goalie Grant Perry saved a shot by Mike DeZenzo. But Brandon Gambino was alone to receive the deflection and, with Grant out of position, Gambino wristed the puck into the net.

Parsippany nearly tied it just before the end of the period, but Dan Bellafiore's shot hit the far post with :05 remaining.

Madison was the better team through the first two periods, outshooting Parsippany 29-15, but the Red Hawks stayed within a goal for more than 11 minutes.

"We played down to (Parsippany's) level tonight," Hansen said. "They were a bunch of individuals out there. There was no teamwork on our part."

But Parsippany could never get over the hump–in large part because of Perry, who finished with 18 saves.

Andersson's second goal gave the Dodgers some breathing room late in the second period. Brett Anton's shot rebounded off of Donnelly directly to Andersson, who slapped it home. Anton scored minutes later to double the Dodgers' lead.

But there was more sloppiness to come in the third period.

A miss-hit shot by Bobby Yutcko turned into a 2-on-2 breakaway for Parsippany. Perry went low to stop Matt Ferguson's shot, but Ferguson went high to pull the Red Hawks within 4-2 with 13:39 to go.

Then, after avoiding penalties through the first two periods, the Dodgers were called for five in the game's final 9:09.

"Honestly, I thought we looked better ending the game four-on-five than we did during the first two periods," Hansen said.

In between, Madison's offensive bright spot, the freshman Andersson finished his hat trick with the Dodgers' fifth and final goal three minutes into the third period, a top-shelf shot off a beautiful backhanded pass from Brett Perry.

"The more goals Erik scores, the more confidence he'll get as the season goes on and we get near playoff time," Hansen said. "He's going to be an outstanding player for us. He's very mature already. You'd think he was a junior or senior out there."

UP NEXT

Madison will face unbeaten Roxbury (10-0-0, 6-0-0 Haas) for the second time this season Monday afternoon at 4:15 at Mennen Arena. In their first meeting–both teams' season opener on Dec. 2–Roxbury took advantage of several power plays to earn a 6-3 win. The Gaels are outscoring opponents 67-16 this season.

SCORING SUMMARY

Parsippany   1  0  1  -  2

Madison        2  2  1  -  5

FIRST PERIOD

M- Erik Andersson (from Brett Anton), 5:02

M- Lou Cecala (from Andersson and Brett Perry), 6:10

P- Brandon Gambino (from Mike DeZenzo and Kyle McDermott), 14:06

SECOND PERIOD

M- Andersson (from Anton and Perry), 10:42

M- Anton (from Andersson), 13:22

THIRD PERIOD

P- Matt Ferguson (unassisted), 1:21

M- Andersson (from Perry and Charlie Olendorp), 3:08

SHOTS ON GOAL

Parsippany      8     7     5   -  20

Madison         15   14   10  -  39