Bosco gets it done against Pope John

Sunday, March 2, 2003

By Jim McConville
NJS.com Staff Writer

SOUTH ORANGE - Four weeks ago, Don Bosco traveled to Shawnee, Pennsylvania and knocked off previously undefeated Pope John by a 1-0 score in a Northern Conference Red Division regular season game. While it didn't prevent the Lions from winning the regular season crown, it served as notice that the Ironmen could play with them.

On Saturday afternoon, the two teams met at South Mountain Arena in West Orange in the finals of the Hoerner Cup, and Bosco showed that it hadn't forgotten, taking a 4-1 win. The win sends Bosco into the state tournament at 15-8-1, and they face Hudson Catholic on March 7th at Pershing Rink. Pope John falls to 14-2-3.

After a very even first period, Bosco began to assert itself midway through the middle stanza. With 7:02 gone, Jeff Tynik got DB on the board, with the assists going to defensemen Jon Conte and Tom Fredeman.

The Lions then took the faceoff and scored nine seconds later. Kris Deckenback won the faceoff and got the puck to Steve Dellacalle, who quickly moved it to Jon Alexander. He put it past a surprised Charlie D'Angelo to tie the game.

The Ironmen were almost as quick to regain the lead, scoring 43 seconds after the Alexander tally. Bobby Kramer and Mark Hrubec picked up assists on the score by Adam Kaiser. Brendan Reich then made it 3-1 as he took feed from Bobby Kramer and beat Lion goalie Jay Jay Ortega at 12:26 of the second. That goal capped a period that saw Bosco own a 12-5 advantage in shots.

Conte closed the scoring at 9:47 of the third, with Ryan Matthews getting the lone assist. Pope john lost any chance of a comeback when they took two penalties in the final five minutes of the game.

Bosco had a 32-22 edge in shots, giving D'Angelo 21 saves and Ortega 28. Neither team scored on a combined five power play chances.

NorthJerseySports.com Information Box:

QUESTIONS OR PROBLEMS, PROBLEMS OR QUESTIONS?
We want to hear from you! Let us know what you thought of this story just click here to send an e-mail to the author.

CHECK OUT OUR COLLECTIBLE COVERAGE:
BUY PICTURES | BUY STORY PRINT | ORDER A VIDEO

Jim McConville