Thursday, March 11, 2010
Cinderella Dodgers fall just short of playing for state championship.
MORRISTOWN – As with any long playoff run, the Madison High School ice hockey team needed a few bounces to go its way to get this close to playing for a state championship. But Wednesday night at Mennen Arena, the Dodgers' magic finally ran out, and they were eliminated by No. 8 seed West Essex, 2-0, in the semifinals of the NJSIAA Public B tournament. It was a tense, hard-fought, defensive clinic that saw West Essex grab an early second-period lead and withstand Madison's offensive pressure. The Dodgers had opportunities to score on West Essex goalie Mike Cuozzo on a number of rebounds, but Cuozzo stood strong, stopping all 22 shots he faced. "It could have went either way," said Madison coach Dave Hansen. "If we had gotten the first …
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Madison ice hockey upsets Chatham behind Perry's 33 saves, advance in Public B.
MORRISTOWN – After 45 minutes of sublime goaltending, it was fitting that the Madison High School's ice hockey team celebrated the biggest win in program history by heading straight for Grant Perry after the buzzer. The freshman netminder stopped 33 shots as the Dodgers, the No. 21 seed, shocked No. 4 Chatham, 3-2, Sunday afternoon in the NJSIAA Public B quarterfinal round at Mennen Arena. "It still hasn't sunk in yet," Perry said. "Madison has never won a state playoff game before this year, and to win three in a row now, it feels great." Madison (17-5-2) advances to the state semifinals against eighth-seeded West Essex, Wednesday night at 8 p.m. at Mennen Arena. It was a victory that could not have been scripted any better: 48 hours …
Saturday, March 6, 2010
One Dodger disqualified, unavailable for Sunday's NJSIAA tournament game.
MORRISTOWN – The Madison ice hockey team's storybook season took an abrupt turn Friday night. The Dodgers were thoroughly beaten, 8-0, by West Morris in the Haas Cup final at Mennen Arena. Making matters worse, four Madison players were kicked off the ice in the third period–three following an ugly brawl in front of the Madison goal. At a team meeting Saturday morning, Madison coach Dave Hansen and assistant Joe Swanson decided to allow their team to play Sunday's 4 p.m. NJSIAA Public B quarterfinal against Chatham at Mennen Arena. "It's up in the air," Swanson said Friday night. "We had a disqualification, and we haven't decided whether or not to suspend the kids who were thrown out. If we do, having enough players for Sunday would be a …
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Dodgers upset 12th-seeded Thunderbirds behind early goals, Perry's 21 saves.
WAYNE – Madison ice hockey coach Dave Hansen was a little too quick for his players' celebratory Gatorade shower. "A couple of kids were really excited," said Madison goalie Grant Perry. "We tried to give coach a little surprise. It didn't work." But while the coach escaped the locker room dry, the Dodgers will have a few days to soak in the importance of Monday night's 4-1 victory over Mahwah in the first round of the NJSIAA Public B state tournament at the Ice Vault–Madison's first-ever state tournament win. Four different players scored for the 21st-seeded Dodgers (15-4-2), who advance to play 28th-seeded Bernards in the round of 16, on Wednesday at 3:30 p.m. at Mennen Arena. Madison jumped on top of the 12th-seeded Thunderbirds (17-5-2…
Sunday, February 28, 2010
Andersson's hat trick keys Dodgers' 5-0 win.
MORRISTOWN – The Madison High School ice hockey team is right back where it expected to be. A season ago, the Dodgers fell just short of capturing the Haas Cup. Coach Dave Hansen's primary goal this season was to lift the trophy for the first time. After Erik Andersson's three goals helped Madison dispatch Mount Olive, 5-0, Saturday afternoon at Mennen Arena, the Dodgers' 364-day wait is over–almost. "This has been our goal from the start of the season," said Brett Perry, who had a goal and an assist. "We have a lot of talent, and we have a good shot to win the whole thing." Standing between Madison (14-4-2) and Haas Cup glory is West Morris, which the Dodgers defeated twice this season (3-1 on Jan. 4 and 6-4 on Feb. 5). But the Dodgers …
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Madison beats Parsippany Hills, advances to play Mount Olive in semifinals Thursday.
MORRISTOWN – The Madison High School ice hockey team earned a sloppy win Monday night, but if head coach Dave Hansen is right, they won't be so lucky next time. Five Madison players scored as the Dodgers upended scrappy Parsippany Hills, 5-2, in the Haas Cup quarterfinals at Mennen Arena, but it left Hansen less than pleased. "We didn't play well at all," he said. "If we play like that Thursday, you can count us out." The Dodgers (13-4-2) advanced to play Mount Olive in the cup semifinals Thursday at 4:15 p.m. at Mennen. Madison perhaps took the Vikings (5-14), the third seed from the Charette Division, a little bit too lightly. The Dodgers defeated Par Hills 9-2 last month, and appeared poised to repeat that result Monday with two early …
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Dodgers finish regular season with four-game unbeaten streak, look forward to Haas Cup.
MORRISTOWN – The pressure will start to ratchet up a bit once the Madison High School hockey team enters single-elimination tournament play next week. But if the Dodgers can stay on their current roll, pressure may not make a difference. Lou Cecala's hat trick and Grant Perry's 18 saves lifted Madison past Mount Olive, 5-0, in the Dodgers' regular-season finale Monday night at Mennen Arena. The Dodgers (12-4-2, 10-2-1 Haas) extended their unbeaten streak to four, and they finish the 2009-10 regular season with an identical league record to last season, which Madison head coach Dave Hansen didn't expect back in December. "I told (assistant coach) Joe (Swanson) that we were going to be nowhere near as good as we were last year," Hansen said…
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Down five after one period, Dodgers come all the way back.
UNION – The Madison High School hockey team has recently gotten into the habit of starting games slowly, but this was ridiculous. The Dodgers found themselves trailing Summit by four goals in six minutes Friday afternoon, and down five after the first period. Luckily for coach Dave Hansen's squad, Madison finishes much better than it starts. Lou Cecala and Charlie Olendorp notched two goals each as the Dodgers scored six unanswered over a span of 17:20 to take an improbable lead. But Summit fought back for a tying goal, and the game ended 6-6 at the Union Sports Arena. "We started off very slow once again," Hansen said. "I'm going to bring this game up and remind them about it for the rest of the season." Madison (11-4-2) scored three …
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Perry, Cecala record hat tricks; Andersson tallies five assists as Dodgers clinch top-two Haas Division finish with blowout win over rival.
MORRISTOWN – With the Haas Cup and the state playoffs looming over the next three weeks, now certainly is a good time for the Madison High School hockey team to start clicking on all cylinders. The Dodgers ended a two-game losing streak Friday night in a heated struggle with West Morris. Monday night, Madison used that momentum to dismantle rival Park Regional, 9-2, at Mennen Arena. With the win, Madison clinched no worse than a second seed in the Haas Cup, which begins next weekend. Lou Cecala put together his second straight multiple-goal game, scoring three and adding three assists, while senior Brett Perry notched a hat trick of his own to go along with two assists. Freshman Erik Andersson had five assists for the Dodgers (11-4-1, 10-2…
Saturday, February 6, 2010
Cecala's second period outburst turns tide in Haas Division showdown.
HACKETTSTOWN – After his team was outplayed by West Morris in the first period, Madison High School ice hockey forward Lou Cecala went over to beleaguered goalie Grant Perry with a message. "I told him, 'You're playing a great game,'" Cecala said. "I'm gonna make a play and we're going to win this." Cecala proved to be a man of his word on both counts. The forward scored twice and assisted on a third goal, all in the second period. And the Dodgers rebounded from an early deficit to pick up a pivotal Haas Division victory, 6-4, over the Wolfpack Friday night. Greg Maxwell scored the game-winner five minutes into the third period for the Dodgers (10-4-1, 8-2-1), who moved into a second-place tie with West Morris in the Haas Division, with …
