Chatham Hockey Dispatches Mountain Lakes

MORRISTOWN — Throughout Chatham hockey's game Wednesday against Mountain Lakes, it seemed as if sophomore forwards Danny Casey and Alex Rauter were playing pitch and catch with one another.

The two consistently tore down the ice, passing the puck back and forth in a fashion that confused Mountain Lakes' defenders. And throughout the game, the combination worked: Rauter recorded a hat trick and Casey scored twice during the Cougars' 7-3 victory at Mennen Arena.

The two, according to Rauter, have been playing together since they were five years old and feel comfortable with one another on the ice. Rauter credited Casey—and the rest of the team—with helping him achieve his second three-goal game of the season.

"All my teammates just gave me great passes," he said.

Chatham junior forward Billy Pellegrino opened the scoring in the first period with a shorthanded goal. The Cougars recorded two shots while shorthanded in the period's early going, and Mountain Lakes had none on its power play. The first period ended with Chatham up 1-0.

Rauter scored his first goal at 2:08 of the second period when a shot initially ruled a no-goal by the referees was eventually counted. Mountain Lakes quickly countered, though, as Jeff Celniker put the puck into the net above Chatham goaltender Charlie Boles' left shoulder 27 seconds later to cut the Cougars' 2-0 deficit in half.

But the Cougars made sure the Lakers would not get any closer. Boles made two difficult glove saves soon after Celniker's goal, and Rauter scored his second goal at 9:56 of the second period. Junior captain Connor Nelson followed with a shot from the blue line 15 seconds later that snuck past Mountain Lakes goaltender Geoff Avery, and the rout was on.

"I think we had a terrific second period," Chatham Head Coach Harvey Cohen said.

Casey's two goals in the third period—one was scored after he skated nearly the length of the ice with the puck, the other came on a backhand—extended Chatham's lead to 6-1. But Chatham gave up goals to Geoffrey Smith and Jake Lessick in the final minutes of the third.

Lessick scord after the Cougar defense was unable to clear the puck out of the crease in front of Boles.

"We got a little bit lax in the second half of the third period," Cohen said. "We were playing, playing, playing, and then we got a little bit lax from a defensive standpoint."

In the end, though, Chatham's lead proved insurmountable. Rauter scored his final goal into an empty net in the game's final minute, and Chatham improved to 7-6-1 overall.

The Cougars will face Pequannock Township Friday at 5:45 p.m. at Mennen Arena.