Madison Hockey Knocks Off Mahwah For First State Tournament Win Ever

WAYNE – Madison ice hockey coach Dave Hansen was a little too quick for his players' celebratory Gatorade shower.

"A couple of kids were really excited," said Madison goalie Grant Perry. "We tried to give coach a little surprise. It didn't work."

But while the coach escaped the locker room dry, the Dodgers will have a few days to soak in the importance of Monday night's 4-1 victory over Mahwah in the first round of the NJSIAA Public B state tournament at the Ice Vault–Madison's first-ever state tournament win.

Four different players scored for the 21st-seeded Dodgers (15-4-2), who advance to play 28th-seeded Bernards in the round of 16, on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at Mennen Arena.

Madison jumped on top of the 12th-seeded Thunderbirds (17-5-2) early and never relented. Spencer Waresk opened the scoring after four minutes of play, beating Mahwah goalie Sean Scanell on a nice feed from Brett Anton.

Anton continuted Madison's dream start with a deflection of Brett Perry's slapshot, giving the Dodgers a 2-0 lead five minutes into the second.

"Scoring early showed that we could play with them," Hansen said. "Sometimes our kids need to see that they can set the tone, andthey did that tonight."

Mahwah had a pair of 5-on-3 advantages–one each at the end of the first period and the beginning of the second–but was unable to take advantage. Madison packed in their shorthanded defense tight around goalie Grant Perry (21 saves), who turned in yet another sparkling performance.

"My team helped me out," Perry said. "They were sacrificing their body out there. (Brett) Anton blocked a shot with his body to keep it out of an empty net, he's got a nice welt right now. They probably had about 40 shots, but around 20 of them were blocked before they got to me."

The Dodgers survived the two minute-long two-man advantages without giving up a goal, but Mahwah kept up intense pressure until they finally beat Perry with 5:00 to play in the second.

"We had a lapse for about three to four minutes in the second period," Hansen said. "We were just running around."

Mahwah had momentum on their side, but they had a tough time cracking Madison's defense, even after the Dodgers committed a penalty with 3:07 to go.

But crucially, Lou Cecala restored Madison's two-goal lead with 44 seconds to play in the second.

"That goal was huge," Hansen said. "To go into the third period up 3-1 instead of 2-1 was a big lift for us."

Madison played a flawless defensive third period, stifling any hope of a Mahwah comeback. The Thunderbirds recorded just six shots in the final frame, and began to desperately charge the net in the final minutes.

"We played our trap very well in the third period," Hansen said. "We didn't play selfishly, we showed a lot of discipline and stayed within the system."

Perry was up to the task, making a pair of brilliant saves at the 4:40 mark. In the meantime, Madison almost seemed more likely to add to its lead on the counterattack, but Scannell (33 saves) was superb against the Dodgers' offensive blitz.

Mahwah pulled Scannell with 1:21 to go, and Andersson scored an empty netter to clinch Madison's first state tournament victory ever 37 seconds later.

"When it comes to the clutch situations, we can run our system and shut the other team down," Perry said.

Despite their higher seed, Madison dominated play with their physical style, creating many more chances and outshooting the Thunderbirds, 37-22.

"If you can hit them first and make them afraid and intimidated, you're going to be in good shape," said assistant coach Joe Swanson. "We have some big kids who can hit people and use their bodies to their advantage."

The Dodgers advanced despite committing eight penalties, while Mahwah committed only three.

HAAS NOTES
The date of the Dodgers' Haas Cup final against West Morris has been changed once again. Originally scheduled for Sunday night, the game was pushed back to Monday, March 8 because Madison had games scheduled for last Saturday and Monday nights.

The cup final will now be decided this Friday at 5:45 p.m. at Mennen Arena.

NEXT UP
Madison's upset was not the only one in the top half of the Public B bracket Monday night. Fifth-seeded Glen Rock (16-10-1) was stunned by No. 28 Bernards (10-8-1), 2-1 in Hackensack.

As a result, Madison has earned a second-round home game against Bernards at Mennen Arena, to be held at 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday.

The winner of that game will advance to the Public B quarterfinals this weekend to face the survivor among No. 4 Chatham, No. 13 Lakeland, No. 20 Johnson and No. 29 Mount Olive.


SCORING SUMMARY
Madison   1  2  1  -  4
Mahwah   0  1  0  -  1

FIRST PERIOD
MAD- Spencer Waresk (from Brett Anton), 3:58

SECOND PERIOD
MAD- Anton (from Brett Perry), 4:43
MAH- Matt Gutierrez (from Brandon Block), 10:00
MAD- Lou Cecala (from Erik Andersson and Waresk), 14:16

THIRD PERIOD
MAD- Andersson (empty net, shorthanded from Cecala), 14:42


SHOTS ON GOAL
Madison   9  14  14  -  37
Mahwah   6  10    6  -  22