WEST ORANGE, NJ — The sixth-seeded Seton Hall Prep ice hockey team defeated No. 11 seed St. John Vianney, 10-0, in the first round of the NJSIAA Non-Public Schools tournament on Monday, Feb. 24, at Richard J. Codey Arena in West Orange to raise its record to 10-12-2 on the season. The Pirates’ quarterfinal-round opponent will be No. 14 seed Notre Dame, No. 19 Gill St. Bernard’s or No. 3 Bergen Catholic at a date to be determined.
Sophomore goalie Jake Schunke made 14 saves to record his first shutout of the season. Ryan Rodrigues opened the scoring with a power-play goal with 9:31 left in the first period on a wrist shot from the right circle on assists from Brendan Waivada and Harrison Rocheville. Timothy O’Connell made it 2-0 with 1:20 left on a shot from the right circle after he stole a pass. Aidan D’Urso made it 3-0 with :43 left with an assist from Sal Betro. At the end of the first period and beginning of the second period, the Pirates had to kill off a five-minute major penalty.
Seton Hall held St. John Vianney to just two shots, then scored three goals in :56 to take a 6-0 lead after two periods. O’Connell scored from Thomas Klochov and Will Robinson, Robinson scored from Rocheville, and Patrick Zincone closed the period with an unassisted goal. In the third period, the Pirates scored four goals to close out the game. Waivada scored from Rodrigues and D’Urso, Dale Campbell scored from Will Underwood and Jack Underwood, and Zincone scored unassisted. Jack Schneider ended the game with 1:33 left on assists by Robinson and Klochkov.
Following the game, SHP head coach Mike Atkinson said, “It was a great performance by everyone, including Jake Schunke. I was very happy he got his first shutout of the season. We are now looking forward to our next opponent in the quarterfinal round.”
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