NJ HS Hockey Championships Preview
Non Public Championship
#1 Don Bosco Prep vs #3 St Augustine
1:00 PM Monday - Prudential Center
The Gordon Cup champs and #1 seed Don Bosco barely reached the semifinals, defeating #8 Pope John 3-2 on Frantisek Netusil’s overtime winner before taking on #4 CBA in a tight 2-1 win. St Augustine, the 2023 Non Public Champions, would also need overtime in the quarterfinals, defeating #6 Princeton Day 3-2 with Ty Simonet scoring the golden goal. The Hermits would continue to gather momentum as they defeated #2 Delbarton 4-2 in the semifinals to reach the Prudential Center.
Watch for the 2 senior goaltenders to steal the show, James Tarabocchia for Don Bosco and Bobby Kennedy for St Augustine. Both have been stellar throughout the NJ High School season + at the AAA level. Don Bosco has taken both games over St Augustine this season, 7-2 in January and 3-1 in late December, while revenge may still be fresh in the minds of Don Bosco, who fell to St Augustine in last year’s state semifinal.
Public Championship
#2 Northern Highlands vs #3 Manalapan
7:45 PM Monday - Prudential Center
#2 Northern Highlands rolled past #1 Randolph 8-3 in the Public North bracket behind captain Vincenzo Capano’s 4G 2A to reach the Public finals after taking care of business against #3 Chatham in the semifinals 5-1. #6 Manalapan will be making its first ever appearance in the Public finals after a 35 save shutout by Christian Esposito in the South finals 1-0 win over #1 Westfield. Manalapan has been no stranger to tight games, defeating #6 Hunterdon Central 3-2 in OT and 2-1 over #2 Monroe.
Michael Schmelzer has had the clutch scoring touch for Manalapan and will be a player to watch in the big moments, scoring the OT winner vs Hunterdon Central and the game winning goal late vs Monroe. For Northern Highlands, Vincenzo Capano is so tough in open ice, strong and finishing ability, watch for some highlight reel plays out of Capano.
Public Co Op
#1 Gov. Livingston-New Providence vs #6 Morris Knolls-Hills
3:15 PM Monday - Prudential Center
Governor Livingston will look to make it 3 state championships in a row after a tight 2-1 win over #2 Manasquan in the South finals. Gov. Livingston won the Public C tournament the past 2 seasons, taking the 2022 championship 2-0 over Morris Knolls, their opponent in this year’s final.
Morris Knolls entered the Public Co-Op North tournament under .500 but has gotten hot at the right time, defeating the #3 Pascack Valley 9-4, #2 Kinnelon 5-3 before taking down #1 seed Tenafly 6-2. Senior forward Luke Dickerson is the driver for Morris Knolls and will be a focus in the final, scoring 13G 2A in this year’s state tournament.
