Hightstown frustrates Knights in MCT hockey final

WW-PN drops 6-5 overtime decision two nights before state opener

By: Justin Feil
The Mercer County Tournament final against Hightstown wasn’t the tune-up that the West Windsor-Plainsboro High North ice hockey team hoped it would be. The Knights found themselves caught up in the rough stuff and in the end frustrated by a 6-5 loss to the Rams in overtime Monday at Mercer County Park.
   "They deserved to win," said WW-PN head coach Tim Grable, after his team fell to 18-5-2. "We didn’t play our game. We certainly can’t win from the penalty box, especially when we have our captains in the penalty box."
   The Knights were whistled for five penalties, including a five-minute minor to captain John Boyle, while Hightstown had just two penalties. Hightstown capitalized with two power-play goals, including the game-tying goal with just 1:17 left in the game from Brett Ruina.
   "They outworked us, in every angle of the game," Grable said. "We couldn’t complete a pass, we couldn’t clear the zone. We were lucky to be where we were."
   Hightstown outshot the Knights, 47-24, but it was WW-PN that somehow stayed on top score-wise until the end.
   The Knights took an early lead when Nick Cream sent a slap shot in from near the blue line to make it 1-0 with 5:42 left in the first period. Hightstown’s Adam Tousant answered with a slap shot of his own to tie it, then added another goal to make it 2-1 going into the second period.
   WW-PN answered with a goal from Dave Haas 2:18 into the second period and Shawn Collins gave the Knights the lead when he poked in a rebound of a Cream shot a minute and a half later.
   Ruina tied the game, 3-3, with a power-play goal at the 7:58 mark of the second period, but Cream knocked in a rebound of Ryan McLoone’s shot to give the Knights the lead again, 4-3. Tousant’s third goal of the game with 4:33 to play in the second period knotted the score again.
   In the third period, Alan Moomaw skated in with Cream as a screener and fired a shot low past Hightstown goaltender Dale Sokol’s glove side for the Knights’ final lead of the game, 5-4, with 10:02 left in regulation.
   But after Tousant ran into Knight goaltender Jimmy Merrow and no whistle resulted, Boyle played his own judge and jury and cross-checked Tousant after the next face-off, giving Hightstown a one-man advantage for two minutes.
   "I told the refs they would take a run at Jimmy," Grable said. "It was smart on their part. It was a bad call by the referees.
   "But we talked about (Sunday) night. We talked about it at the break. We knew they were going to run our goalie. I’m sure Jimmy will take that."
   Ruina knocked in the tying goal and in overtime, to add salt to the wound, it was Tousant who netted his fourth goal of the game 4:17 into the extra frame to end it.
   "We have one night to get it straight," said Grable, whose team faces Mendham, a 3-1 winner over Jefferson Monday, 8:30 p.m. Wednesday at MCP. "We’ve done it before. We came off a 10-1 loss (to Hopewell Valley and beat the Bulldogs on Friday). If we played these guys like we played Hopewell, we’d be all right. We’d be in a better position at least."
   The Knights, seeded ninth in the state tournament, can erase their frustration with a win Wednesday, which would pit them against the winner of eighth-seeded Morris Knolls and No. 25 South Brunswick.