If you're a fan of New Jersey-based band The Gaslight Anthem and their song “Howl,” Monday afternoon's closed-door state finals at the Prudential Center are for you.
This song has been the goal song for the New Jersey Devils since the 2015-16 season, and is played after each goal at the NJSIAA state championship game held in the same building.
They played 16 times in Monday afternoon's non-public state final.
In the highest-scoring state championship game in history, No. 3 seed St. Augustine, No. 5 in the New Jersey.com Top 20, faced No. 1 No. 1 seed Don Bosco in a closed final on the 19th. It was held when they defeated 10-6. Prudential Center in Newark.
It's been 40 years since the record was set when St. Joseph of Montvale defeated Brick Township 7-6 in the 1984 state overall championship. In Monday's final, it became clear early on that that record could be in jeopardy, with both teams scoring a combined seven goals in the first period alone.
“First of all, we hope to play a little better defense next time, but we were able to put the puck in the net,” St. Augustine's Ty Simonet said. “We really shut them down when we really needed it at the end of the game.”
By the end of the first period, Simonet scored with 10.4 seconds to play to give his team the lead and St. Augustine held a 4-3 lead.Don Bosco's Eric Lin and St. Augustine's Two players were already on hat-trick watch. Augustin's Robert Romanino each scored two points early.
Both players ended up scoring hat tricks. Not only that, but St. Augustine's Cameron DeLeo and Ty Simonette each scored three goals, accounting for half of the game's hat tricks. Romarino had one better result and finished with four.
“Honestly, we didn't know if it was going to be a high-scoring game or a low-scoring game, but at the end of the first period we had seven points,” Romarino said. “We knew we had to keep putting the puck in the net while playing good defense.”
Each team scored twice in the second period, with St. Augustine building a 6-3 lead, then Don Bosco scored twice to close the gap by one. The latter beat the buzzer with Lin's goal completing his hat trick.
Romarino's third goal with 4:50 remaining tied the record as St. Augustine led 8-5. Simonet then scored at 1:23 to break the record and extend the lead to 9-5.
It was an unusual game considering the teams and their respective goalkeepers. Teams playing in the Gordon Conference are known for playing tight, defensive-minded games, and a 16-goal game between Gordon opponents is almost unheard of. Consider the fact that two goaltenders, Bobby Kennedy of St. Augustine's and James Tarabocchia of Don Bosco, entered this game with impressive save percentages.
Tarabochia batted .934 and Kennedy batted an impressive .890, but their save percentages were well above .900 in their final three games at state.
“To be honest, I really don't know,” St. Augustine coach Roman Amirato said. “It's especially stressful to see six goals go in and I can't imagine what Coach Toskos is thinking after scoring 10 goals.It was a bit of an uncharacteristic game for both teams, but… , we have to find a way.'' We won, we won. It's okay. “
The three goals shattered the original record of 13 goals in a state final.
“This was the strangest game I've coached in 18 years,” Don Bosco coach Greg Toscos said. “I don’t know what to say in the sense that I’ve never seen the puck bounce like this the entire game for both teams. We were able to take some momentum and make two really good shifts to start the third period. We almost tied it. Then we got one point, 7-5. So that kind of put us in a little bit. It was humbling. I give them credit. I said before the game that they are the defending champions until someone beats them. We gave it our all, but today it wasn't. I could not do it.”
The NJ High School Sports newsletter is currently in the mailbox five days a week. Sign up now!
Follow us on social: Facebook | Instagram | X (old Twitter)
