Boys' Hockey Dominates Mount Olive

The Chatham Cougars hockey team didn't let its loss to Morristown-Beard in the semifinals of the Mennen Cup tournament on Saturday slow it down as it rolled over Mount Olive, 10-2, in the first round of the state tournament at Mennen Arena in Morristown.

Sophomore Alex Rauter, who finished with four goals and an assist, led No. 17 Chatham.

"A little bit of luck," a modest Rauter said after the game. "The first period we just tried to carry the puck more and once we figured out that didn't work we just started passing. All of my teammates gave me great passes and we just kind of connected."

Although the final score indicated that Chatham had totally dominated the game, the team looked very sluggish at times, especially for the first ten minutes of the second period.

"We weren't really sure what we wanted to do," Rauter explained. "A lot of the guys just wanted to hold the puck and go coast-to-coast and not really pass. But as soon as we started passing, it really got better."

Head Coach Harvey Cohen also noticed the lull in his team's play.

"It was probably because of the 15-minute layover [between periods]. You know, Mount Olive picked it up too. I think that's a tribute to their coaches, goaltender and to their team. They did a good job," he said.

But with about five minutes remaining in the period, the lull ended and Chatham began to bring it on heavily.

With a 2-0 lead, Rauter scored his first goal on a one-timer in front of the net on a pass from fellow sophomore Danny Casey.

Two minutes later, senior captain Steven Valeri made the score 3-0 as he came across the crease to score with a backhand shot. Immediately following the goal the senior took what some people—other than the official—thought was a late cross check from a Mt. Olive defender.

Thirty second later, Casey made the score 5-0 as he took a pass from senior Nick Ivers and scored on a breakaway.

But the Cougars weren't finished as Rauter scored his second goal of the game with 1:08 remaining in the period. Chatham went into the locker room leading 6-1.

Chatham wasted no time in the third period as Rauter scored his third goal of the contest less than a minute in.

Alex Guider chipped in to make the score 8-1 just thirty seconds later and the Mount Olive frustrations on the ice began to mount as the team began to accumulate penalties and big open ice hits.

"It did [get a little physical]. I think they were a little frustrated, but our guys handled it well," Cohen said.

And Chatham added insult to injury. With one second remaining in the game, Rauter got his fourth goal, and Chatham skated away with the win.

"Mount Olive played as hard as they could tonight. They did everything they possibly could do and they played well," Cohen added.

Forward Sean Yardley scored both of Mount Olive's goals.