CBA Gains Share of Non-Public Championship
By Mike Ready
MIDDLETOWN – Christian Brothers Academy hockey was not only the cream of the crop in the Shore Conference again this season; they were also one of the top teams in the state.
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After battling Morristown Beard to a 4-4 overtime tie in the NJSIAA Non-Public Tournament, they were named NJSIAA Non-Public co-champions; the first co-champions since 1989.
In that game, played at the Prudential Center in Newark, the No.3 seeded Colts (20-4-4) dug themselves into a 4-1 hole against No.4 seeded Morristown Beard (20-5-3) after one period. Staring at a three-goal deficit, the Colts rallied for three unanswered second period goals to tie the game.
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Anthony Cusanelli, Bobby Hampton and Derek Contessa all lit the light in a span of 1:55 of the second period to tie the game. However, the two teams remained deadlocked after regulation and a 15-minute overtime period for the bittersweet tie and a share of the title.
The co-championship was CBA’s fifth ice hockey state title and first since 2005. In the 2014 Dowd Cup, the Colts lost a 2-0 quarterfinal decision to eventual champion Don Bosco.
The Colts won the Class A North division title with a 11-1 record and were ranked No.1 in the Asbury Park Press final top ten Poll.
Sophomore forward Bobby Hampton was named the Asbury Park Press Player of the Year. Amongst Shore Conference skaters, Hampton finished tied for second in points (73) and assists (40), and was knotted at fourth with 33 goals. His 33 goals was tied for 12th best in the state.
Ryan Bogan, a sophomore defenseman, was selected to the Asbury Press first team with 10 goals and 41 assists for 51 points. His 41 assists placed him second in the state in that category. Senior forward Brenden Riemsdyk was voted to the second team after netting 19 goals with 22 assists for 41 points. Junior forward Connor Tierney added 15 goals and 30 assists for 45 points.
Red Bank Catholic (19-2-3) finished ranked No.2 in the final Asbury Park Press Poll after taking the Class B North division title with a 9-0-1 record and winning the inaugural Shore Conference Hockey Tournament, 6-2, over Howell.
However, an early second round exit in the NJSIAA Non-Public Tournament put a damper on an otherwise stellar season.
In the Shore Conference Tournament final, the Caseys raced out to a 3-0 first period lead and added two more scores in the second period before tacking on a third period goal.
Junior forward Max Weber, junior center Griffin Hurley and sophomore forward Evan Hoey all scored goals in the first period while sophomore forward Alec Mintz and senior defenseman Kevin Stickle each tallied once in the second period. Sophomore forward Christian Bierker closed out the Casey scoring with a third period goal.
Before the start of the state playoffs, the Caseys were one of the hottest teams in the state going 16-0-2 the final 18 regular season games. However, after a first-round bye, 10th seeded RBC, ranked No.18 in the state, fell hard to ninth ranked and No.7 seeded St. Augustine, 9-2.
Casey senior goalie Mike Cosentino was named first team All-Shore after allowing only 56 goals in 24 games while turning back 597 shots on goal for a .914 save percentage.
Hoey and Stickle were both second team selections by the Asbury Park Press. Hoey netted 33 goals, tied for fourth in the shore and 12th in the state. He added 20 assists for 53 points to lead the Caseys.
Stickle was stalwart on defense but also was a threat on offense, scoring six goals and assisting on 10 others. Hurley led the Caseys with 22 assists and added six goals while Mintz was second on the team in scoring with 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points. Junior Todd Goehring added 15 goals and 15 assists for 30 points.
Howell High School (18-7-2) finished ranked third in the final Asbury Park Press Top Ten Poll and 10th in the New Jersey High School Hockey Rankings for public schools after completing their most successful campaign since their first season, 2008-09. One of the highlights of their season was their 2-1 win over CBA, which was their first ever win against Colts, ranked No.2 in the state at the time.
The Rebels, seeded No.6 in the inaugural Shore Conference Tournament, skated into the finals before running out of gas and falling to No.1 seeded Red Bank Catholic, 6-2.
Howell, seeded No.9 in the NJSIAA Public A Tournament, made a nice run into the quarterfinals scoring 19 goals in the first two rounds before losing 2-0 to 12th ranked and No.1 seeded Randolph. Howell was without two of their stars in the game, junior forward Kyle Hallbauer and defenseman Jack Kosinski, but goalie Bobby Dovenero did his best to keep the Rebles in the game, turning away 34 shots on goal.
Hallbauer, a first team Asbury Park Press All-Shore pick, was fifth in the state in goals scored with 44 and tied for sixth in points with 73. Kosinski excelled at both ends of the ice, scoring five goals and assisting on 12 others for 17 points.
Hallbauer’s line-mate, Frankie Gerbasi, helped form one of the most feared lines in the Shore Conference as he came close to matching Hallbauer with 34 goals and 35 assists for 69 points. His 35 assists tied him for 10th in the state while his 69 points put him all alone at the 10 spot and his 34 goals put him in 11th place. Those numbers are definitely worthy of post-season honors.
Sophomore forward Lee McCarthy added 23 goals, 17 assists for 40 points while winger Anthony Gallichio was responsible for 13 goals and 15 assists for 28 points.
Pt. Boro (17-4-2), ranked No.4 in the Shore Conference won the Class B South division with a 8-0-2 record before losing a heartbreaker in overtime, 2-1, to eventual champion RBC in the Shore Conference Tournament semifinals. Senior goalie Nate Bissey had 41 saves in the game and junior Lance Nelson tied the game at one in the first period.
Seeded No.8 in the NJSIAA Public B Tournament, the Panthers beat Ramapo 6-3 before being nicked by No.9 seeded Kinnelon 2-1 in the second round. Senior forward Chris McDermott pulled the Panthers to within one with 2:23 to play after Kinnelon had scored two third period goals, but Panthers couldn’t break through in the closing minutes.
Pt Boro showcased three prolific scorers who accounted for 83 of the Panthers goals this season. First team All-Shore forward Steve Kovaleski had 28 goals and 35 assists to lead the Panthers with 63 points. McDermott tallied 30 goals and assisted on 28 others for 58 points while junior forward Owen Harrington accounted for 25 goals and 35 assists for 60 points.
St Rose (13-4-4) finished five points behind RBC in the Class B North division and ended ranked fifth in Asbury Park Press final poll.
They lost to Howell in an overtime shootout in the semifinals of the Shore Conference Tournament after defeating No.2 seeded Brick Township in an overtime shootout in the quarterfinals.
Seeded No.19 in the NJSIAA Non Public Tournament they defeated No.14 seeded Bishop Eustace in the opening round before losing to CBA, 7-1, in the second round.
Senior Goalie Andrew Terracciano was a third team Asbury Park Press All-Shore selections as well as senior defenseman J.P. Regan. Terracciano stopped 409 shots on goal while allowing 43 goals in 21 games with four shutouts. Regan was a blue-line force and added four goals and 13 assists.
Brick Township (17-6-3) took home the Class A South title with a 9-2-1 division record and was slotted at No.6 in final Shore Conference rankings.
As the No.2 seed, they lost a hard-fought overtime shootout to St Rose in the Shore Conference Tournament quarterfinals after beating No.15 seeded Manalapan in the opening round.
In the state playoffs, as a No.7 seed, the Dragons defeated West Morris in the first round before losing to No.10 seeded Roxbury 7-3.
Senior David Kearns did it all for the Dragons and was one of the best two-way defensemen in the state with his rock-solid blue line play, his power play and penalty kill play and his ability to put points on the board. He was a first team Asbury Park Press selection after recording the fourth most points in the Shore Conference with 71, tied for second with 40 assists and tied for seventh in goals with 31.
Forward Andrew Reiss was named third team All-Shore after netting 23 goals and assisting on 23 for 46 points, while line-mate Brian Lange was second on the team with 61 points (24 goals and 37 assists); senior Ryan Mooney added 20 goals and 21 assists.
Freehold Township (16-9-1, 8-4) tied for second in the tough Class A North division and finished ranked seventh in the final Asbury Park Press poll.
Seeded No.3 in the Shore Conference Tournament the Patriots had a disappointing first round exit after losing to No.14 seeded Monsignor Donovan, 6-5, in overtime. As the No.7 seed, they made a nice run in state tournament downing No.26 seeded Lawrence, 6-0, before skating to a 6-0 win over No.10 seeded Old Bridge in the second round. In the quarterfinal they fell, 7-1, to No.2 seeded Bridgewater-Raritan; a 3-0 loser in the finals to No.4 seeded Morris Knolls.
Sophomore defenseman Zack Berzolla controlled the blue line while scoring 10 goals and assisting on 25 others and was selected to the Asbury Park Press All-Shore second team.
The Patriots had three 50+ point scorers led by senior forward Adam Friedman’s 28 goals, 31 assists for 59 points. Senior Austin Treubert led the team in goals scored with 31 and added 19 assists for 50 points, while junior Gregg Russo made his mark with 24 goals and 26 assists for 50 points.
Ranked eighth in the Shore Conference, Ocean Township (18-7-3, 4-3-3)) placed third in the Class B North division behind RBC and St. Rose.
Seeded ninth in the Shore Conference Tournament, the Spartans beat No.8 seeded Jackson Memorial, 2-1, before losing to eventual champion RBC, 4-3.
In the NJSIAA Public A Tournament quarterfinals, seeded 12th, they lost to No.4 seeded Morris Knolls, who went on to win the title. In the second round they upset No.5 seeded Ridge, 3-1, as senior forward David Newcomb scored twice.
Newcomb ended the season with a team-leading 24 goals with 16 assist for 40 points. Seniors Matt and Andrew Schulz finished with 17 goals, 29 assists for 46 points and 18 goals, 25 assists for 43 points respectively.
Middletown North (14-10) had a big early season 4-2 win, in front of a standing room only crowd, over cross-town rival Middletown South to open the brand new township rink, Middletown Ice World. They went on to finish tied for second in the Class A North with a 8-4 division record.
Seeded No.5 in the Shore Conference Tournament, they defeated No.12 seeded Rumson Fair Haven, 5-3, before bowing to No.4 seeded Pt. Boro, 4-2, in the quarterfinals.
In the state playoffs as the No.14 seed in the Public B bracket they had a tidy 4-0 win over No.19 seeded West Milford before losing a heartbreaking second-round game to No.3 seeded Glen Rock, 4-3. The Lions held a 3-2 lead late in the third period before surrendering two goals, including the game winner with 44 seconds remaining in the game.
The Lions three big scorers were junior co-captain Tom Terranova (24 goals, 21 assists, 45 points), sophomore forward Khristian Acosta (21 goals, 19 assists, 40 points) and senior co-captain Scott Huber (10 goals, 24 assists, 34 points). Stud defenseman Jack Meyers, a third team Asbury Park Press pick, added 2 goals and 11 assists to compliment his shut-down defense.
Jackson Memorial (13-6-2, 7-3-2) rounded out the Asbury Park Press final top ten after taking second place in the Class A South.
The Jaguars dropped a tough 2-1 decision to Ocean Township as the No.8 seed in the Shore Conference Tournament.
In the NJSIAA Public A Tournament, the No.13 seeded Jaguars ripped No.20 seeded Toms River East, 8-2 before losing to eventual Public A champion Morris Knolls in the second round, 4-2.
Senior goalie T.J. Skodmin was outstanding in the nets for the Jaguars and continually kept games close with his stellar play between the pipes. His season long performance earned him a spot on the Asbury Park Press All-Shore second team.
Junior Kyle Sampson led the team with 17 goals with nine assists for 26 points, while senior John Troncone contributed eight goals and a team leading 14 assists for 22 points. The Jaguars had 12 players in double figures for points scored, and as team scored 82 goals in 21 games for a 3.90 goal/game average.
Toms River East’ senior forward Charlie Mule was as offensive machine this year for the Raiders and one of the top players in the state ranking third in the state in goals scored with 49 and fourth in points scored with 79.
