MCT to feature top players in today’s two quarterfinals
The remaining two quarterfinal games in the Mercer County Ice Hockey Tournament will be held on Friday and these games feature four players who have been standouts throughout their career.
Robbinsville/Allentown’s Luke Gensinger recently eclipsed the 100-career point milestone and his teammate Charlie Luizza is fast approaching the hallmark with 96 career points, Hamilton TriOp’s Zach Meseroll went over 100 points last week and Princeton’s Brendan Beatty is fast approaching the 100 point milestone with 93 points.
Gensinger is enjoying a career year in goals and points.
“We call him ‘The Beast’ because of his size but he is really one of the nicest, most well-mannered kids you would ever meet,” said Robbinsville/Allentown coach Dan Bergan. “He gives us all confidence that anything is possible in any game when he is with us. A great teammate aside from his obvious skills.”
Meseroll is the type of player that can carry a team and certainly a big game performer.
“It’s a goal I set my freshman year but I couldn’t have done it without my parents and family always being there to help and support me,” said Meseroll. “I also couldn’t have reached this milestone without help from my coaches for travel and high school and my teammates for always pushing me to be better, whether it’s at practice on or off the ice, they always push me to be the best version of myself.”
Meseroll heads to the meeting with R/A with 109 career points.
“Zach is obviously a great scorer and will finish his high school career among the best Steinert has ever had,” said Hamilton Tri-op coach John Patterson. “But more importantly, he’s a good teammate and a good person. He’s taking the younger players under his wing and helping them improve. It’s been a pleasure seeing his progress as a leader on this team.”
Over the past three years Beatty has shown to be a top-notch player and a true leader for the Tigers. He is also a very accomplished lacrosse player.
“It’s really hard to not like Beatty,” said Princeton coach Rik Johnson, earlier this season. “A lot of the younger guys look up to him. When I named him Alternate Captain at the beginning of the season, he deferred it, because he’s a junior. That’s the leadership I want on my team. And it clearly exemplifies his character.”
(13-5) VS. NO. 7 HAMILTON TRI-OP (6-11-1)
It has been a couple years since the Robbinsville/Allentown team won the Colonial Valley Conference tournament and now the Co-op would love to claim its first MCT championship.
The Ravens come into the 5:30 p.m. meeting with Hamilton having won three straight and outscored the opposition 24-6 in the process.
“We have 10 seniors,” said Bergan. “It will be a couple years before we may be in this position again. They all sense it.”
They have been led by Gensinger with 25 goals and 24 assists, Zach Duggan has 24 and 26 and Charlie Luizza chimes in with 14 and 29.
“It would be great to get some extra scoring but our 2nd and 3rd lines are making gigantic contributions even when they don’t,” said Bergan “Our defensemen are the pillars of our team. Tending is critical. The machine needs all its parts to work.”
Hamilton has gone 3-2-1 over the last six and will be looking to carry that attitude to the MCT.
“We’ve finally been able to play at full strength,” said Patterson. “It’s just been a matter of getting the players on the same page and letting them develop their natural chemistry.”
The Tri-op had a huge win when Carter Detz’s game-winner gave them a victory over Princeton. The last time a Hamilton team even tied the Tigers was January 13, 2015, when Steinert did it at 2-2.
“Meseroll, (Ashton) Truelove and Detz have been playing very well together,” said Patterson. “We’ve worked hard to make sure they get the support they need from the checking lines so they can be more aggressive on their shifts.”
Bergan believes goaltending will be a key and both have solid goalies to make it an interesting game.
The faces No. 3 Hopewell Valley/Montgomery, which defeated Lawrenceville B 6-2, in the semifinals.
NO. 4 NOTRE DAME (6-11) VS. NO. 5 PRINCETON (5-10)
Notre Dame leads the CVC in county tournament championships with 11 outright and one shared. Princeton has four, including last year.
So, you have two traditional powers facing off and since they’ve split the season series it should a tight matchup.
Jake Moog is coming off his first hat trick of his career in ND’s win over West Windsor-Plainsboro United.
The Irish, who are very young, have struggled this season getting the puck in the net and will rely on Trey Guire with 12 goals and 11 assists, Gavin Firth has nine goals and a team high 17 assists and Mike Kuzma has added 10 goals.
Princeton has also struggled and will look to the tournament season as a second life to get untracked.
“All I ask is the boys work hard, minimize mistakes, have fun and play for each other and the “P” on their shirt,” said Johnson.
Princeton has been led by Beaty with 14 goals and 13 assists, TT Zhao has 10 goals and eight assists and Charlie Ross has nine and 10.
Graham Baird has been on fire with five goals and five assists in the last five games.
“The kids on both teams know each other and have played , in some cases, for years,” said Johnson. “Mike (Irish coach McVey) always has his squad playing a disciplined and responsible system. We’re going to try to loosen some of those nuts and bolts.”
These are two teams that have taken home a lot of hardware over the years, can one of them do it again?
The winner faces topseeded Paul VI, which defeated West WindsorPlainsboro United, 5-0, in the semifinals.