Madison Hockey Cruises Against Morris Hills

MORRISTOWN – The Madison ice hockey team is getting in all the goals it can before its lengthy holiday break.

Brett Perry scored three times, and five other Dodgers scored in Madison's 9-0 victory over Morris Hills at Mennen Arena Tuesday. The victory will be the last MCSSIHL game of 2009 for Madison; after a non-conference tilt with Sparta Thursday night at Mennen, Madison is off until Jan. 4.

"Our captains are going to have to take the initiative," said assistant coach Joe Swanson. "We don't have much ice time, they're going to have to take charge and work with the guys on their own time. It's their team, at the end of the day."

After a sluggish effort in Saturday's 6-1 win over winless Morris Catholic, the Dodgers certainly took the initiative against Morris Hills. Madison's offensive pressure smothered the Scarlet Knights and resulted in a number of tremendous early chances on goal.

The first, just 18 seconds into the game, was saved, but Spenser Waresk corralled the rebound and managed to nudge the puck over the goal line.

With the early lead in hand, Madison's two-man wrecking crew of Perry and Lou Cecala took control. Madison would take the first 24 shots of the game, with the Perry/Cecala tandem directly responsible for 14, and their passes leading to several other chances.

"They bring stability to us as coaches," Swanson said. "We don't have to worry about them, because we know they can dominate the puck and play how we want them to."

Perry scored the first of his three goals at the eight-minute mark of the first period. Cecala received a pass from Bobby Yutcko while skating in front of the Morris Hills goal. That drew a Scarlet Knight defender, but Cecala quickly flicked a pass to Perry, who easily scored top shelf to give Madison a 2-0 lead.

Perry scored again just over 30 seconds later, and he earned the hat trick with a goal on a one-on-one breakaway with two minutes left in the third period. Cecala notched five total points on the night, with assists on all four of Madison's first-period goals, and a goal of his own at the 2:24 mark of the second period.

"The way they see the ice and use the puck is excellent," said head coach Dave Hansen. "We know what they can do, and we know they can score in games going forward."

The Dodgers continued to pressure Morris Hills throughout the remainder of the first period, eventually leading to Waresk scoring his second goal after a prolonged series of chances on the Morris Hills goal. Morris Hills recorded its first shot with 1:03 remaining in the first period, resulting in the only save of the game for goalie Grant Perry, who was lifted at the end of the period.

The scoring calmed down in the second period, despite the Dodgers maintaining a decisive advantage in possession and scoring chances.

"Everyone wanted to score goals in the second period," Hansen said. "We got a little selfish."

Morris Hills has struggled this season, losing by 10 goals earlier this week to Madison's Haas Division rival, Montville. The Dodgers took full advantage in the third period, as the tiring Scarlet Knights allowed scoring opportunities in bunches in the third period. Madison scored its final five goals on 13 shots, and twice scored back-to-back goals within a minute of each other.

The trouble, in Hansen's view, is that the Dodgers' momentum could come to a screeching halt as a result of the 18-day layover – something complicated by the fact that Madison will only have limited ice time over the next two weeks. The objective will be to figure out how to keep the Dodgers conditioned and focused for their first game back – a crucial Haas Division matchup with West Morris.

"This break is a huge distraction," Hansen said. "It'll be like going back to day one again."

SCORING SUMMARY

Madison (2-1-1)         4 0 5 - 9

Morris Hills (1-3-1)  0 0 0 - 0

FIRST PERIOD

MAD- Spenser Waresk (from Bobby Yutcko and Lou Cecala), 0:18

MAD- Brett Perry (from Cecala and Waresk), 7:51

MAD- Perry (from Cecala), 8:25

MAD- Waresk (from Perry and Cecala), 13:16

SECOND PERIOD

None

THIRD PERIOD

MAD- Cecala (from Erik Andersson), 2:24

MAD- Nick Rogers (from Vince Bennett), 3:21

MAD- Will Remig (from Waresk), 9:37

MAD- Andersson (shorthanded, from Perry), 12:07

MAD- Perry (unassisted), 12:46

SHOTS ON GOAL

Madison         24 14 13 - 51

Morris Hills  02 01 01 - 04