The first round and quarterfinal matchups will follow.
Here are some of the biggest wins, upsets and takeaways from Wednesday and Thursday's hockey games.
girls hockey
Cesar records another shutout.
Lindsey Covert and Sienna DeAngelis lit the lamp just 22 seconds apart in the first three minutes of the match, with Katie Cissar handling the rest. A total of 41 shots were thrown at her, but she stopped them all in a 2-0 win against Chatham Millburn. The sophomore has six shutouts this season, three of which have come as starts in the last four games. She has given up two or fewer goals in seven straight games and 13 of 19 games overall.
private
Pope John overcomes quarterfinal drought
It was another great performance from Anthony Conetta in Pope John's first-round win over St. Joseph (Mont.). Matt Hughes and Aidan Perry opened the scoring in the first period, and Cameron Guerra scored on an empty netter in the third period. When the final horn sounded, Conetta had his seventh 45-save shutout of the season. With the win, Pope John advances to the state quarterfinals for the first time since 2018.
Catholics in Bergen live longer than St. Joseph (Metropolitan)
Bergen Catholic took about half the game to get going. Bergen Catholic trailed 3-0 when Alex Frassett scored with 7:26 left in the second period. After two periods, the Crusaders were still ahead of St. Joseph's (Mes. South Wales) after Jake Drum had four goals (all in the second period) and one assist, and Hunter Mabee added one goal and four assists of his own. They trailed by a score of 5-3. Then it was the Matt Maglio show. He scored twice in the third inning to send the game into overtime, then completed a well-deserved hat trick on the overtime winner, helping Bergen Catholic avoid the upset with a 6-5 win. Mario joined three other Crusaders, Jacob Carver and Will Schlechtvek, on the three-point night.
public, north
Gillies, Nacinovich Fuel Chatham
Isaac Suh was out due to illness, but Chatham still played a good all-around hockey game to advance to the sectional semifinals. Connor Gillies and Matt Nasinovich scored in the first period to give the Cougars the lead and an eventual 4-1 win over Montclair. Gillies added his second goal in the second period to make it 3-1, but Thomas White scored in the third period to turn things around. Nacinovic and Gillies combined for six points and Snowden Lange stopped 21 of 22 shots in the win. The Cougars advanced to the state quarterfinals (section semifinals) for the fifth time since 2018.
public, south
Westfield advances to the semifinals with 12 consecutive wins
Westfield is playing perhaps its best hockey of the season, having won 12 straight games since the top-seeded Blue Devils defeated eighth-seeded Bridgewater-Raritan 7-0 in the quarterfinal round. When you think about it, that's saying something. The win over the Panthers was perhaps the most dominant of that period for the Blue Devils, as the seven goals were their largest margin of victory so far this season. Andrew Lisnock led all players in scoring (2 goals) and Aidan Wilson led all players in scoring (6 goals), but six players scored at least one goal and nine players scored at least one goal. While he scored one goal, Andrew Laver made just 14 saves. The road will only get harder for Westfield, who will need to prove they can make the playoffs, but so far there's no reason to believe they can't do it with this year's version.
Rumson-Fair Haven and Manalapan advance with OT wins
Rumson-Fair Haven and Manalapan each advanced to the semifinal round of the Public South Bracket with dramatic overtime wins. For Rumson-Fair Haven, the Bulldogs fell behind early, but continued to chip away at Hillsboro's lead until Nick Dumas tied it with his third goal with 1:52 left in regulation time. . Just over a minute and a half into overtime, Andrew Clodick ended the game, giving the Bulldogs the lead.
Manalapan's victory came a little differently. The Braves held a 2-0 lead late in the third period and used a stifling defense to keep Hunterdon Central at bay, but the Red Devils scored on the power play and then shorthanded on the final three. did. The game was tied at 2-2 with a few minutes left in the third period. However, with 3:09 left in overtime, Michael Schmelzer scored his second goal of the game, giving Manalapan a 3-2 victory. With losses to Hillsboro and Hunterdon Central, Pingry was the only one remaining from the Skyland Conference. Skyland Conference teams have advanced to the state finals in every first season since 2016.
Northern public co-op
Morris Knolls Hills offense explodes against Pascack Valley Hills
Morris Knolls Hills' offense has been the main backbone of this team's success this season, with the sixth-seeded Golden Eagles coming off a 9-4 upset victory over third-seeded Pascack Valley Hills. He played one of his best games of the season. . The win was the Golden Eagles' third straight win of the season and their longest winning streak of the season. After Pascack scored twice late in the first period to tie the score at 2-2, Morris Knolls-Hills scored five goals and six unanswered goals in the second period to extend the lead to 8-2. . Jake MacLeod led the Golden Eagles with four goals and six points, and eight players had at least one point.
Gibbons shines as KJS United moves forward
Goals from Anthony Prunty and Braydon Sisco in the second period were all just what Rylan Gibbons needed. The talented senior stopped all 37 of West Essex Caldwell's shots in a 2-0 victory, his third clean sheet of the season. He's been hot at the right times, conceding two or fewer goals in five of his past six appearances. This is the first time since 2015 that the program has won two games in the state playoffs.
Public co-op south
Victory in final rematch between Governor Livingston and New Providence
No one will forget last year's epic state finals. The final is currently the third-longest game in state history. It was a long-awaited rematch. Jackson Benward broke the ice late in the first period, and Brady Silverman scored 2:33 later. That was all there was to score until Anthony Labisi scored a power-play goal with three minutes left in regulation to seal the victory. Scott Capan had a 32-save shutout in the 3-0 win. Woodbridge-Colonia-Iselin Kennedy star senior Ryan Lucco's career ended with 317 points, second only to Jim Dowd in state history*.
*According to NJ Advance Media's current database.
Donovan Hugel can be contacted at: dhugel@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @Donohugel.
Brian Bobal can be contacted at: bbobal@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @Brian Bobal.
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