NEWARK – It may not be pretty, but offenses can also win championships.
St. Augustine defeated Don Bosco 10-6 on Monday afternoon at the Prudential Center with hat tricks from Cameron DeLeo, Robert Romanino and Ty Simonette to win the non-public state championship. At ice hockey. In case you were confused by the score.
“This sport is wild,” Hermits coach Roman Amyrat said. He is currently leading his team to back-to-back state titles. “wild.”
This was the third meeting between the two Gordon Conference rivals. Don Bosco won the first two games 7-2 and 3-1, but although the first five minutes were quiet, the goal horn never stopped sounding. It became the highest scoring game in New Jersey hockey finals history.
DeLeo scored the first goal at 10:14 off a turnover deep in the Ironmans' zone. Two minutes later, Don Bosco led 2-1. Two minutes later, the score was tied. Simonet scored off a rebound with 10.4 seconds left in the first period to make it 4-3 for the Hermits.
St. Augustine added two more goals in the second period, but just when it seemed like both teams had settled down, Don Bosco scored twice with 1:22 left in the second period to make it 6-5. He pulled away.
However, the Hermits had the upper hand in the third period. DeLeo completed his hat trick to make it 7-5 four minutes into the third period, and Romarino followed up with 4:50 left to seal the game. The Hermits added two empty-net goals to extend their final lead.
“It's surprising, it really is,” Amyrat said. “I don't think it's processed [what we did] To be honest, last year. They stuck to the game plan and I just… It's amazing what kids can do when they really engage and buy into what we're teaching them. ”
“We know we may be less skilled than most teams, but we're going to try to outdo them, and that's what we did,” Romarino said. .
The Hermits were a Cinderella story in 2023, coming back to defeat Delbarton in overtime in the state final. This year, they defeated the Green Wave in the semifinals, setting the stage for Monday's offensive explosion. They finished the season with 15 wins, 5 losses, and 1 draw. Don Bosco won the Gordon Cup and finished with a record of 24-3-1.
“I think the experience in games like this will be of great help,” Amyrat said. “I know we don't have 30, 40, 50 point scorers, but we have to play as a team. It's not easy playing in this big arena and 2,000 fans… I'm sure our experience has helped because I'm not kidding.”
The Ironmen fall to 1-6 overall in the state championship match. Ironman coach Greg Toskos called the match “the strangest” he had ever coached in his life. He praised Hermits' good pressure and good game plan, but said there were bounces as well.
“The puck was bouncing around like a racquetball,” Toskos said. “Three of their first four goals were kind of weird goals, but then we bounced back and scored. It was just a weird game, and we've never been in a game like that. ”
