Watchung Hills Hockey 2nd at Holiday Tournament

The Warriors Ice Hockey team finished second in the Black Division at the BSA Holiday Tournament in Bridgewater.

They opened with a 2-2 tie against undefeated Mt. Olive in their first game of the round robin on Wednesday. Troy Lewis scored to even it up at 1, assisted by Harrison Napell and Josh Lo Giudice. Freshman Chad Simons scored to give the Warriors the lead late in the third, but a goal by Mt. Olive knotted the game at 2 and that’s how it ended. Goaltender Brett Ralli saw 22 shots and made 20 saves. Both teams were awarded 2.5 points, since they were tied for each of the three periods and split the 2 points awarded for a winning team.

In the second game the Warriors were matched up against Montville. They were able to win the game and earn the full 5 points to give them 7.5 total, good enough for a 2nd seed in the final as a host of players scored. Carl Bentzlin opened the scoring assisted by Rohan Ganta and Ben Lugg. Mike Tedesco also scored and Warriors won the period 2-0. They also won the second period 2-0 as Harrison Napell scored helped by Robbie Tedesco, and Anthony Mascia scored assisted by Sam Shapiro and Mike Tedesco.

In the third period Ben Lugg scored assisted by Sam Shapiro and Anthony Mascia, while Anthony Mascia scored his second goal of the game on a feed from Sam Shapiro. Goaltender Brett Ralli backstopped the win by saving 27 of the 28 shots he faced. Anthony Mascia had two goals and an assist, while Sam Shapiro had three assists.

The finals saw the Warriors take on an undefeated experienced Roxbury team that had 12 Seniors on their roster. Playing probably their best game of the season they fell behind early as Roxbury came hard out of the gates.

After the Warriors got their footing a spirited back and forth battle ensued, with Dave Dassinger equalizing, assisted by Sam Shapiro and Anthony Mascia. Roxbury scored to take a one goal lead into the 3rd and despite many chances by the Warriors to tie it, they gave up a shorthanded goal during a late third period power play. After pulling the Brett Ralli for an extra skater, Roxbury scored an empty netter to close out the scoring.

The boys gave a great effort, and except for a slow start, played Roxbury even for most of the game. The support of the team by their fans was awesome, and I’m sure they fed off that energy to keep the game close.

The Warriors return to league play this Friday night against Skyland Conference rival Ridge at Rock Ice in Dunellen at 7:30 p.m.

Submitted by Al LoGiudice