'Stick got hot': Hat trick in 81 seconds lifts St. John Vianney hockey to tournament win
In the first four minutes Friday night, it appeared that Wall might have the edge against reigning Shore Conference champion St. John Vianney.
The Crimson Knights took a 1-0 lead in the first period after a great snipe by Emmett Auch. But one minute later, SJV's Danny Greenhall took over. And in the following 81 seconds, the senior turned the game on its head.
"I don't know, I was just shooting," said Greenhall. "Stick got hot. Just kept shooting, gotta stay hot when you're hot."
His stick was hot enough to melt the ice at Jersey Shore Arena. In the blink of an eye, Greenhall netted a hat trick that was ultimately the difference in the Lancers' 4-3 victory on Thursday night. After a determined Wall team clawed back to tie things up in the third, junior Nick Kasich finished off the victory with another goal in the final period.
"Danny's stick was hot, so he was able to finish those shots and get three goals," said SJV coach Kyle Earley. "Just a combination of us playing well during that time of the goals and us doing things right."
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What it means
The win sets up an exciting rematch with top-seeded Manalapan in the semifinals of the Handchen Cup (the Handchen is the championship flight of the Shore Conference Tournament). The two teams battled to a 3-3 tie in the first matchup back in January, it was the only instance this season when 15-2-1 Manalapan didn't collect a win against a Shore Conference opponent.
"Since then, we've played a lot of good teams," said Earley, referencing the team's five games against Gordon Conference foes since playing the Braves. "We got better after playing all those games. We're a different team since playing that game, so we're looking forward to that game next week."
How St. John Vianney grinded through a physical battle
Aside from Greenhall's offensive outburst, the other 43 minutes of play were an evenly matched battle as Wall played with a physicality that seemed to give them a slight edge despite the deficit on the scoreboard.
The tenacious Crimson Knights killed two Lancer power plays in the second, and Auch delivered another score early in the period to cut the SJV lead to just 3-2. There were a few squandered offensive chances by the Lancers that seemed to tilt momentum in the Knights' favor, and Wall goalie Ethan Rotante responded from that early setback with an otherwise excellent game.
In the third period, it appeared that Wall would pull off the comeback victory. Junior James Byrnes delivered a great shot in the crease to tie things up at 3-3 just under 10 minutes remaining in the game. But when the Knights failed to convert a breakaway opportunity to take the lead, momentum swung back to the Lancers.
SJV leading scorer Kasich capitalized with a tremendous shot into the lower right corner of the net and the Lancers regained the lead. And despite a Wall power play in the final three minutes and a final face off near the SJV goal with 12 seconds remaining, the Lancers held on to advance to the semifinals of the Shore tournament.
"They were locked in," said Earley. "We just had to keep reminding them of what our ultimate goal is: to win the Shore Conference."
What's next for St. John Vianney and Wall
The Crimson Knights will wait to find out their seed in the NJSIAA tournament. Currently they sit at eighth in the South Public rankings, although that will likely change a bit once all the games have been played. They should still receive a relatively favorable seed in the section bracket.
In the big picture, this year has already been a tremendous accomplishment for the Knights. They finish the regular season with a record of 10-7-1 after going 8-11-1 last season and missing the NJSIAA postseason. And they will return their elite scoring trio of juniors Auch, Byrnes and Michael Hoarle.
Meanwhile, SJV improves to 9-6-2 on the season and the Lancers advance into the semifinals of the Handchen Cup tournament. The win over Wall sets up arguably the most exciting matchup of the Shore Conference season, as they'll face a Manalapan squad that got a 3-1 victory over Howell on Wednesday.
Although the Braves have been the superior team in terms of resume, SJV is the reigning conference champ. That matchup, currently scheduled for Tuesday, is a classic battle between the unstoppable force and the immovable object.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Shore NJ ice hockey: St. John Vianney, Danny Greenhall hat trick beat Wall
