The Verona/Glen Ridge high school hockey team won the Kelly Cup title on Wednesday, Feb. 16, at Richard J. Codey Arena.
VERONA/GLEN RIDGE — The top-seeded Verona/Glen Ridge high school ice hockey team defeated second-seeded Cranford, 5-2, to win the Kelly Cup title on Wednesday, Feb. 16, at Richard J. Codey Arena.
GR junior Rowan Brennan scored three goals and added one assist; GR junior Will Benson and GR sophomore Pyotr Sysak each had one goal; GR junior Evan Twitchell and GR senior Zach Gold each had one assist; and GR junior Eli Gottlieb made 20 saves.
Verona/Glen Ridge extended its winning streak to eight games and unbeaten streak to 13 games to improve to 19-3-3. Their last loss came on Dec. 26 against Mendham in the Essex Holiday tournament.
Verona defeated fourth-seeded Frisch, 8-1, in the quarterfinal round of the Kelly Cup playoffs on Monday, Feb. 14, at Richard J. Codey Arena. Brennan had 3 goals and five assists, Gold had two goals, Twitchell had 1 goal and two assists, GR senior Nolan Campbell and Verona senior Dominic Pandiscia each had 1 goal, Sysak had three assists, Benson had two assists and Gottlieb made 16 saves.
In earlier action, Verona/Glen Ridge defeated Mahwah, 5-2, at Codey Arena on Feb. 7 in a nonconference game.
Verona/Glen Ridge is the No. 4 seed in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association’s Public C tournament. They will play in the first round on Friday, Feb. 25, against the play-in round winner between No. 13 seed Tenafly/Cresskill and No. 20 Whippany Park/Hanover Park. The top seed is Morris Knolls. Governor Livingston is the No. 2 seed and West Essex is the No. 3 seed. The quarterfinals will take place Monday, Feb. 28. The semifinals will be held Thursday, March 3, at Codey Arena. The final will be held Monday, March 7, at the Prudential Center in Newark.
Photo Courtesy of Ken Lilien/Verona/Glen Ridge head coach
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