Chat 7 - ML 1 (12-4-06)

Chatham wins season opener - 7-1 over Mountain Lakes

Chatham controlled play for most of the first period,but could not muster any quality scoring chances until late in the period. Although Chatham fired 14 shots during the first frame, most were shots that Matt Lowell could see or handle. Two quality shots by Chatham’s Jeff Thomason at 12:00 and Alex Wirt at 8:57 were gloved by Lowell (21 saves in 2 periods). With only 4:10 left till the first intermission, and the 13th shot on net in the opening period, Jeff Keating scored for the Cougars. Keating took a nice soft pass from Ughetta near center ice, crossed the blue line and made two nice moves to beat the defender and face Lowell one on one. Keating picked the top right corner of net finishing off the play that would make any highlight reel.

The aggressive Cougars started the 2^nd period just where they left off the prior frame. A power play goal just 33 seconds in started the second period attack. Just fifty-one seconds later, Keating buried a rebound while camped out in front of the net. Keating connected again with 9:23 left in the second. Keating sniffed out another rebound and buried it for the hat-trick.

Mountain Lakes had their best opportunity stopped by Chatham Goalie James Stolfi. Stolfi made the original save. The rebounded scooted free and floated slowly toward the goal line. Stolfi, sliding backwards on his back managed to keep the puck out, despite the stuffing efforts of a Lakers player.

Stolfi kept the Lakers off the scoreboard until late in the third period. Conlon Sheridan scored the Lakers only goal with just 2:31 left in the game. Freshman Goalie Geoff Avery received the assist.

Avery made his high school debut by stopping 7 of 9 shots in the third period. The freshman quickly won over the crowd and all in the rink repeatedly stoning the rapid fire attack of the Cougars. The freshman stopped a break away at the 6:31 mark of the third period, followed another save, a few seconds later, at point blank range. Chatham did manage to poke one in, as a pass from behind the net was mishandled and ended up in the net. But more like a seasoned veteran than freshman making his debut, Avery stopped two more quality shots, including a rocket off the face off.

Mt. Lakes fell to 0-2, both games in the Mennen Division and will face Pequannock on Thursday. The Panthers opened up with a 3-2 victory over Roxbury in Haas play. The Cougars play Vernon on Thursday at Skylands Arena.

Post-Game Quotes:

Coach Harvey Cohen, Chatham Head Coach on the quality shots Chatham began taking late in the 1^st and early in the 2^nd period: We just wanted to get the puck in deep and be aggressive

Coach Carchietta Reaction:

Like any team playing their opening game, Chatham looked more at ease once the game was underway. Late in the first the Cougars set up better shots and took great quality chances at Lowell. Lowell was sharp, and faced shots nearly impossible to save, more so with Chatham crashing the net and grabbing any loose rebounds.

Coach Harvey Cohen, Chatham Head Coach on his defense preventing Mountain Lakes scoring opportunities:

We concentrated on fore-checking and made a good adjustment to the new rules, avoiding penalties.

Coach Carchietta Reaction:

Chatham did just that. They were aggressive and used three lines against the smaller 17 man roster of the Lakers. Chatham also took a lot of shots and I am sure you can agree that a great defense is a strong offense that holds the puck. The Cougars had the puck in the Lakers zone for over 10 minutes in the first period.

Coach Carchietta on both teams staying out of the penalty box:

This was the kind of game any high school fan enjoys watching. It had a nice flow and the refs let the kids play. My pre-game keys for a Lakers win included staying out of the box and power play goals. The second goal (Power play goal) of the game was a heart breaker for the Lakers, especially the way Chatham controlled the puck in the first period. Chatham helped their cause by only taking 1 penalty. It was also evident that Chatham’s depth helped in the second period.

Coach Carchietta on Mountain Lakes starting 0-2: This is a tough schedule for the Lakers to open with. But hey – that’s the Mennen division. But the Lakers do not face another Mennen division team until Morris Knolls on Dec. 22. These two games were two to learn and now with these games under the belt, its time to move and focus on one period at a time. Most teams should cut down the high number of shots on their goalie, but Lowell is solid and constant. But the defense will need to cut back on allowing those quality-high percentage shots and not let players camp out over the crease. This is a team of seniors and they are ready to improve.