Puck drops in opening round of MCT tonight
As the Mercer County Tournament is set to begin, there are teams looking to continue playing well and a few that are looking for a fresh start.
There is a good mixture of both as the MCT gets underway on Tuesday at the Mercer County Skating Center at 4:30 p.m.
The first game has No. 8 Pennington (3-6-2) meeting No. 9 Steinert (6-9-4).
The Red Raiders at times seem to be able to pull off some amazing things as they continue to fight and battle despite numbers issues. The Spartans will be a good test.
“The team is playing with a lot of determination and grit,” said Pennington assistant Tom Horsley. “Our players are accustomed to adversity and find ways to meet the challenge before them.”
Steinert is one of those teams that most likely will not get a state tournament bid and so the county tourney takes on a new meaning.
“We have a large senior class, and they make up a big part of our top line and depth lines,” said firstyear coach James Nobilio. “Knowing that any of our next games can possibly be the last of their high school career will drive them to work harder and want to win more.”
Both teams possess some talented players as Pennington is led by Logan Harris with eight goals and six assists and Alex Boczniewicz has seven goals. Bill Bernal has been minding the goal for the Red Raiders.
Dano Malik and Mike Miller are two of the most potent players in the Colonial Valley Conference. Malik has 20 goals and 25 assists and Miller adds 21 and 19.
The winner returns on Tuesday to face top-seeded and four-time defending champion Hun.
The second game has No. 6 West Windsor-Plainsboro (10-8-4), the only team with a winning record in the first round, taking on No. 11 Nottingham (1-13-1) at 6:30 p.m.
WW-P is 7-3-2 over its last 12 games and could be playing the best hockey of the season. The Northstars are coming off their first win in 29 games when they defeated Edison on Saturday.
Ironically, the ’Stars’ last win prior to Saturday was back on Feb. 12, 2016 against West WindsorPlainsboro South, before last year’s merger.
“We have been playing more cohesive in all three zones during this stretch,” said WW-P coach Andrew Ferencevych. “This improved team play has resulted in balanced scoring from all lines as well as our defensemen.”
West Windsor-Plainsboro has earned a state tourney bid and with that still 14 days away they’d like to get in as much work as possible. Ronan Keenan, a freshman, has been phenomenal for the Pirates with 18 goals and 17 assists. David Corell brings 15 goals and 17 assists.
Nottingham has gotten solid play in the goal all season from David Thompson and Michael Fitzpatrick. Connor Luckie has nine goals.
The winner faces No. 3 Notre Dame on Tuesday.
The nightcap has No. 7 Robbinsville (6-8-5) facing off with No. 10 Lawrence (2-11-2). The two played last week and the Ravens came away with a 6-0 win.
Robbinsville is led by Joe Pontrelli with nine goals and eight assists, Ryan Van Duren brings 12 assists and Jeremy Van Duren has seven goals and six assists.
The Cardinals have strong goaltending in Danny Cobb and talent up from with Drazen Medich, with six goals, and Connor Zrinko and Chris Eden.
The winner meets No. 2 Princeton on Tuesday.
Tough Road Ahead: On the heels of Princeton’s overtime loss to Brown, one that snapped its 19-game home Ivy winning streak, Mitch Henderson’s squad now faces a stretch of four straight roads following Tuesday’s clash with Penn. The Tigers are two games off the Quakers’ pace and just a 1⁄2 game in front of fifth place. The top four qualify for the Ivy League Tournament at the Palestra. Penn won the first meeting, 76-70, so this is a huge game for Princeton. Scorching the Net: Princeton and Brown combined for the highest scoring game in program history with 202 total points. That number surpassed the 200 from the 1965 third-place game against Wichita State, which Princeton won, 11882, behind 58 points from Bill Bradley. The Tigers have picked up the offensive in general, breaking the 70-point barrier in each of the last seven games. They did that just five times in the first 13. Princeton is 5-2 in its last seven. Scouting Penn: Steve Donahue’s Quakers are on a roll, winning six of their last seven with the only setback coming away from Ivy League play against Temple. That started with a victory over Princeton, which snapped the Tigers’ eight-game winning streak in the series. Ryan Betley (14.8 ppg) finished with 21 points, although he did most of his damage with 19 first-half points. Betley is the Quakers’ top outside threat, as well, shooting the 3 at 38.1 percent. Max Rothschild was a difference maker in the first meeting with his defense against Myles Stephens. Look for that matchup to be a key once again.