Randolph Boys Ice Hockey narrowly defeated Chatham, 5-3, to win the Mennen Cup final on Thursday, Feb. 15. It was Randolph’s sixth Mennen Cup win in the history of the program, and improved the team’s undefeated season record to 19-0-1.
“It’s very huge and important to me to win a game like this,” said Ashton Feinberg, Randolph senior captain. “It’s been a while since this program has seen a Mennen Cup in our possession, and I’m happy to be the one leading the team.”
“It means everything celebrating with those kids that I’ve been with for the better part of a decade or more,” stated John Krynicki, Randolph goalie. “It’s such an awesome thing.”
Randolph started the game on the defensive end early. Chatham retained the puck for the first minutes, but was unable to make anything of it. Randolph then had an early power play in the 11th minute, but was unable to convert. Randolph started to gain offensive steam, then fired shot after shot on the Chatham goalie. The Rams were not able to convert until there were 2 minutes left in the first, and Jase Zangara received a pass from Brian Cislo and netted the first goal of the night. By the end of the first period, the Rams were up 1-0 with a 10-3 shots-on-goal advantage.
Despite being tied, Randolph was confident in the team’s ability to win. “We hit three posts in the first period,” Krynicki said. “That’s just how it is in some games. I really thought a lot of it was just luck for them. We were on them the whole game besides a couple hiccups.”
At the start of the second period, Randolph continued to push the offensive end. The Rams continued to test Chatham goalie Snowden Lange, but he remained strong, with 31 saves on the night. Randolph had an opportunity to extend the team’s lead with a power play in the eighth minute, but was again unable to capitalize on it. Chatham then made the first power play of the game. In less than 20 seconds after the power play, Chatham scored the team’s first goal of the game with 2:21 left in the second. The score remained tied for the rest of the period. Randolph and Chatham remained even at 1-1 despite Randolph having a 21-8 shots-on-goal advantage.
Randolph and Chatham both found themselves determined to win the game with only one period remaining. Chatham came out of the gates strong. Then with 12:21 left in the third, Chatham netted the team’s second goal of the game to put them up 2-1. The Rams found themselves in an unfamiliar situation, down in the third period. Despite being down, Randolph remained calm and collected. It did not take long for this undefeated team to respond.
With 11:57 left in the third, Andrew George, with an assist from Jase Zangara and Daniel Sharkey, tied the game. Randolph continued to be aggressive offensively and with 9:32 left in the third, Ashton Feinberg scored a goal with an assist from Vincent Crisafulli and Isaac Stock, leaving Randolph up 3-2.
It took less than 20 seconds for Randolph to score the next goal. Andrew George netted his second goal of the night with assists from Jase Zangara and Daniel Sharkey again. With a 4-2 score and nine minutes remaining, Chatham continued to fight back into the game. With less than four minutes remaining, Chatham capitalized on another power play and brought the score within one at 4-3. Randolph then quickly took the hope away from Chatham with a final goal by Vincent Crisafulli with two minutes remaining. Randolph was able to win the game 5-3. It was a strong showing by the team, having a 36-19 shot-on-goal advantage. Randolph was finally able to capitalize on all the team’s shots in the third and continues the team’s undefeated streak.
“We trusted our game plan and knew that we had to play our hardest and we didn’t let anything stop us from playing hard hockey,” Feinberg said.
“This team is special I’m so many ways; we have been playing together for the last 10 years,” Feinberg added. “We have chemistry that you can’t teach, and the game is a lot more fun with them.”
“We have a great group of guys who have all brought into this common team goal of conquering everything this season,” Krynicki noted.
Next up, the Rams face off against Millburn, today, in the first round of States.
