Verona/Glen Ridge ice hockey team falls in Public C quarterfinals to end fine 16-10 season

VERONA/GLEN RIDGE, NJ — The Verona/Glen Ridge high school ice hockey team enjoyed a great season.

Verona/Glen Ridge, seeded ninth, defeated eighth-seeded Northern Highlands in the second round before losing to top-seeded Summit in the quarterfinals of the Public C state tournament to finish with a stellar 16-10 record.

GR senior Chandler Otterbein scored on assists from GR sophomore Zach Gold and GR freshman Evan Twitchell at 9:58 of the second period, and GR senior Chris Kostas made it stand with a strong performance in goal as he made 32 saves, lifting Verona/Glen Ridge to a 1-0 win over Northern Highlands on Feb. 27 at Sport-O-Rama in Monsey, N.Y. Northern Highlands won the Big North Conference Silver Cup title this season.

Verona/Glen Ridge fell to Summit, 6-1, on March 2 at Warinanco Park in Roselle. GR senior Noah Martinez scored in the second period. Kostas made 36 saves. Summit improved to 20-3-2.

Verona/Glen Ridge won the Kelly Division regular season title. In the Kelly Cup playoffs, Verona/Glen Ridge dropped a tough 3-2 decision to Cranford in the final on Feb. 21 at Richard J. Codey Arena in West Orange.