Randolph 5, Bridgewater 4 (2007)

Randolph 5, Bridgewater-Raritan 4 (Overtime)
03/23/2007 - Public Final

If you're a Bridgewater-Raritan fan, it was the game that slipped away. If your allegiance is to the Navy and White of Randolph, it might be referred to as the finest comeback in the school's history.

Either way, it was a fantastic hockey game between two determined and dedicated clubs. The NJSIAA Public Schools championship was contested before 2,500 at Mennen Arena in Morris Township. Randolph, the 2006 Public School champion, dug itself a 4-2 hole 4:22 into the third period when Bridgewater's Kevin Wetmore scored for the Somerset County school. But, as writer Paul Bruno described, Randolph never panicked and Jeff Zamor, who had scored the OT goal in a 2-1 verdict over Morris Knolls in the group semifinal round, connected with just 3:47 remaining to pare the deficit to 4-3.

The Morris County school then pulled goalie Dan Swenson (22 saves) with 33 seconds left and Matt Incledon's high, hard wrist shot from the right point found the net with 17 seconds on the third-period clock to square the match, 4-4.

``The puck squirted out and it came to me at the point and I just let one go and tried to put it upstairs,'' Incledon said.

As exciting as it was to watch the reaction on the Randolph bench and in the stands, you couldn't help but feel as stunned as those faces on the Bridgewater side. Personally, and even though it was the game-tying goal, I believe the Bridgewater team was beaten at that point in the game. You could just see it. The reaction and body language told the eventual story!

Robert Kral triggered the winning goal for Randolph 5:54 into overtime (when Randolph held a 6-2 advantage in shots) as he won a faceoff back to Incledon at the left point. The senior defender put a superb pass right on the tape of Kyle Krannich's stick in the slot and Krannich, the finest two-way player in the state in 2006-07, deflected a shot just inside the right post past Bridgewater goalie Gary Biggs (40 saves).

``After we got the two-goal lead, Randolph really picked it up and played even faster,'' Bridgewater coach Patrick Alvin said. ``Even when they were down, 4-2, they kept on coming. Playing against a team with that much speed was difficult, but I thought we were in good shape with the 4-2 lead. They're such an experienced team and they never panicked. Our guys have worked so hard, so the loss is a bitter pill to swallow.''

Said Incledon, ``We've talked about repeating as champions. We've had to come back before, so we never panicked.''

Randolph ended its banner season having captured the regular-season Mennen Division title, the Mennen Cup and the state title. The state crown was the second straight for Randolph, which defeated Montgomery in overtime, 2-1, in the 2005-06 public final. It ended the season winning 14 of its last 15 games to finish the year, 22-5-1.

Said Krannich on the winning goal:

``Matt put it on my stick and it caromed right into the net. The rest was a blur from there. It's a great feeling and shows how much character this team had coming back from two goals down. There was a lot of excitement in the third period and we had to try and slow things down and play calm.''

Krannich was honored on First Team All-State by The Star-Ledger and Bridgewater defenseman, Don Pelligrino, was named to Third Team All-State.