CBA 2, Delbarton 1 (2005)
Christian Brothers 2,
Delbarton 1 (Overtime) The decisive goal with 6:17 left in overtime contained all the elements required in crunch time. A pin-point pass, a controlled puck, a strong move to the net and the perfect shot! The game showcased two great goalies. There was eventual All-State keeper Ryan DeCeuster (29 saves) of CBA and Mike D'Urso (48 saves) of Delbarton. It featured sensational blue line play, containment, continual movement to open space, solid officiating done by Ryan Honig and Anthony Crowdell, and, of course, more than a lions share of spectacular plays.
CBA entered the game No. 2 in
The Ledger Top 20 and Delbarton was the No. 1-ranked
squad. A crowd of 6,412 for the finals brought the two-day
total to 14,735, a record for the eight years the Devils had
hosted the tournament at CAA. The victory was the first state
title for CBA since the last of three straight in 1996. ``When I found out I was working the game, I could barely sit still,'' Honig said. ``At the levels I referee (college and Juniors), I have developed a routine that I start before every game. It starts the morning of the game. Just like many players, it consists of partial physical conditioning, but more so mental conditioning. I almost have to have a hockey game take place inside my head. I don’t think about how to contain this power forward or the shots I would take on this goalie, but the standard I will officiate my game. Now one would think that “it’s a High School Championship, it should referee itself”, but if officials thought that way, we would not be prepared for the challenging situations that seem to always arise at awkward moments.'' Preparation for the officials is just as tense as it is for players. ``As we are in the locker room getting dressed, we talk about work (outside of hockey) and other topics first to calm us down and not think about the game ahead of us,'' Honig said. ``Then we work into the discussion, ``How do we want to do this?” Our standard was “It is the kids game, let them decide it, but call the penalties because that’s our job”. The kids work very hard to get here and you don’t want to call too many or too few penalties.'' Sophomore James van Riemsdyk became the hero after controlling a 70-foot pass from Eric Castellazzo at the Delbarton blueline, skated down the slot and ripped a forehand over the outstretched glove of D'Urso to snap a 1-1 tie. ``Overtime was just as intense as regulation, but much more dramatic,'' Honig recalled. ``Every shot had a possibility of ending the game. I remember Delbarton having the first quality scoring opportunity in overtime, but the play does not recollect in my head, as vividly as the play leading into the CBA goal. I remember a CBA defenseman just gained possession of the puck, took one look up the ice and rifled a pass to van Riemsdyk just on the far blue line. I could tell he caught my partner off guard, because I watched him skate rapidly to make the on-side call. The puck went through the legs of D’Urso, and that was it…game over.'' ``I conferred with my assistant coach (Ryan Bogan) and we agreed it was the best game we've ever been associated with at CBA,'' said CBA coach Mike Reynolds. Mike Del Mauro gave Delbarton a 1-0 lead with 4:16 left in the first when he controlled a nifty kick pass from Charles Nerbak in the slot before one-timing a shot through the five-hole. Senior captain Mark Schofield of CBA scored a remarkable unassisted goal with 4:04 left in regulation to pull the Lincroft school into a 1-1 tie. It came just 2:07 after an apparent CBA goal was disallowed by Honig, who determined the net came off its moorings before the puck crossed the line.
``Time was running down and CBA was peppering D’Urso with
shots,'' Honig recalled. ``With about six minutes to go in the
third period, my mental preparation for those awkward moments
came in handy! A pass comes from the side of the net to a CBA
player on the far side of the net. D’Urso stacked his pad and
slid across the crease to try to stop the shot. He read the
play all the way but he slid so hard he knocked the net not
sideways, but in the air. The puck goes in the
net. Now that, my friends, is great stuff! Delbarton coach Bruce Shatel opted to shadow van Riemsdyk throughout the game. The plan worked for much of the night. ``We did something we were unaccustomed to doing,'' Shatel said. ``We never shadow a player, but because of what we think of van Riemsdyk, we thought we had to change it up. We were successful through two periods so we stuck with it in the third.'' van Riemsdyk learned some valuable information after watching an earlier Delbarton game. ``At first I was just trying to get the shot off since the defenders were on me,'' van Riemsdyk said. ``When we watched D'Urso on Sunday, I saw him go down and use the poke check.'' On a personal note, I remember having to go down to speak with players between the first and second period (DelMauro and DeCeuster) in order to have quotes ready for my early-edition story. There was no way I would have time to retrieve quotes at the end of a 9 pm game since the 3-star deadline (first edition) that night was 10:30 pm. But, it all worked out thanks to the assistance of the coaches and players!
van Riemsdyk, by the way, was
recently named to the 2006 World Hockey Challenge All-Star
Team. He is playing with the U.S. National Team (U17) based in
Ann Arbor, Mich. His U.S. team won the Four Nations Cup in
Slovakia and van Riemsdyk actually scored a goal in a close
victory over Russia. During the recruiting process, van
Riemsdyk was introduced to several legends of the NCAA Div. 1
coaching ranks, including Red Berenson (Michigan), Jack Parker
(BU), Jerry York (BC) and Dick Umilie (UNH). van Riemsdyk will
attend UNH in the Fall of 2007. |
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