After all the back and forth scoring, the Verona-Glen Ridge Hockey team’s game against Mountain Lakes this afternoon ended in a heartbreaking tie.
The final score was 8-8, with Alekos Polis of Glen Ridge scoring four of VGR’s eight goals. Seven of Mountain Lakes’ eight goals were scored by Jeff Celniker.
Early in the first period, freshman Dylan DeCandia of Verona scored to put VGR ahead. A few more goals hit the back of the net, and VGR entered the second with a 4-2 lead.
After the scoring piled up in the second and third, Matt Lander of Glen Ridge, who had two goals and two assists for the night, sniped another one past the Mountain Lakes goaltender to make it an 8-7 lead. However, Celniker, with 48 seconds left, scored for the seventh time to even out the game.
The VGR goaltender, Matt Brehne of Verona, stopped 31 of Mountain Lakes’ 39 shots on goal. VGR had 30 shots altogether.
DeCandia had some of the assists on the goals, as did Joe Fitzmaurice, one of the senior co-captains from the Verona side of the team, and Max Linnett of Glen Ridge, who also had a goal. VGR’s record is now 6-0-2. The team is back on the ice on Sunday at 4 p.m. in a holiday tournament at Codey Arena against West Morris Central.
