High school hockey is officially back! JSZ has plenty of action as the puck drops on a new season in the Garden State!
Middletown South 5 Middletown North 2
Thomas Villano scored back-to-back goals in the second period to give the Eagles the lead and Branden Cavendish and Brandon Gronau scored in the final minute to give Middletown South an opening night win over their crosstown rival. Aiden Thene scored two straight to give Middletown North a 2-1 lead after one period but Villano scored a pair of beauties setting the stage for an intense third period.
JSZ’s Rich Chrampanis has highlights from a sold-out Middletown Sports Arena:
Jersey Sports Zone’s coverage of Middletown North and Middletown South is brought to you by Monmouth Medical Center
Ridge 4 Pingry 1
The reigning Public A state champions opened the year with a revenge win. Pingry defeated Ridge in last year’s Skyland Cup Final, but the Red Devils avenged that loss to begin their 2022-2023 campaign. Denis Kuzmenkov, Colin Ward, Ryan Eccles, and Jamie Zimmerman all scored for Ridge while Henry Craig stopped 27 of 28 shots in the win.
JSZ’s Jay Cook has the highlights from Bridgewater Sports Arena:
Jersey Sports Zone’s coverage of Ridge and Pingry is brought to you by Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in Somerset.
St. Augustine 5 Pope John 2
The Hermits got off to a hot start in Gordon Conference action, as they tamed the Lions to open the season. Luke King, Ryan Vaites and Grayson Esposito all scored goals for St. Augustine, while Andrew Hall and Kai Ackerman added empty-netters in the victory. Jack Kelmer and Magnus Barrs both scored goals for Pope John in the loss.
JSZ’s Mike Frankel has the highlights from Hollydell Ice Arena in Washington Township:
Westfield 9 Hillsborough 2
Westfield picked up its first win of the 2022-2023 season with a dominating 9-2 victory over Hillsborough. The Blue Devils jumped out to an early 3-1 lead after the first period, they would increase the deficit to 5-2 entering the third. Michael Wilson finished with two goals for Westfield.
JSZ’s Nery Rodriguez has the highlights from Warinanco Park in Linden:
Thank you to the office of Senator Jon Bramnick for sponsoring our Westfield coverage.
Thank you to Princeton Orthopaedic Associates for sponsoring our Hillsborough coverage.
