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The Kinnelon hockey team faced Morristown-Beard in a Mennen Division clash that placed the winner on the driver seat to clinch the regular season title. The Crimson badly outshot the Colts, and despite 43 saves from goalie Jeff Molner, Kinnelon absorbed a tough loss that knocks them out of first place.
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The Colts (12-3-3) could hardly ask for a better start, going up 1-0 thanks to the Crampton connection. On a poor decision by a Crimson defender, senior Mike Crampton stole the puck and dished off to his brother Peter who scored on a backhander.
That was the best opportunity for the Colts in the opening period as the Crimson totally took over the game thereafter. After several chances on a power play and a shot off the post, junior Andrew Koslov netted an unassisted goal on a wrist shot to tie the game. The pressure was relentless and with less than a minute in the period, junior Dom Cuomo gave the Crimson the lead at 2-1 when he scored on a rebound.
The Crimson never let up and continued their agonizing pressure on the Colts. Molner came up with save after save as the first 7 minutes of the second period were mainly played in the Colts defensive zone. The Crimson were finally rewarded as Koslov scored his second of the game after Kinnelon failed to clear a rebound. But moments later, Peter Crampton answered with a wicked wrister for his second goal. Molner kept it 3-2 at the intermission with an astounding save to deny Koslov a hat trick.
The third period saw the Crimson commanding much of the play but unable to score, including on a 5-on-3 power play chance. Kinnelon had a great opportunity to steal a tie with a breakaway in the final minutes, but Crimson goalie Alex Durso made a clutch save to protect the victory.
The Colts now find themselves second in the standing of the Mennen Division. The loss forces them to win out and hope that the Crimson will falter and let them grab the regular season title. Coach Jeff Myhren believes that his team will bounce back and be ready for the Mennen Cup and the state tournament which are on the horizon. -- Emir Liguori
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