The Verona-Glen Ridge hockey team sent Mahwah High School packing in the first round of the NJSIAA Public B tournament last night, handing the Bergen County team a 5-1 defeat at the Codey Arena in West Orange.
Verona sophomore Dylan DeCandia put VGR on the board first, a goal that was promptly answered by Steve Loreti of Mahwah. But VGR’s offense kicked into high gear in the second period as co-captain Matt Lander, a Glen Ridge senior who had had the assist on the DeCandia goal, scored in his own right. Jake Paganelli, a freshman forward from the Verona side of the team, followed with an assist by Ryan Flood. The senior defense player also had a hand in the first VGR goal of the third period, by Michael Lloyd from the Glen Ridge side of the team. Paganelli took care of the game’s final score, with an assist by Lander. Senior goalie Matt Brehne from Verona had 21 saves in the game.
VGR’s record now stands at 15-8-3 on the season. The team’s next playoff game will be against the winner of the Summit vs. Madison match-up scheduled for this evening. Summit is the group leader with a 19-4-2 record and if that team wins, VGR will play them on Thursday at 4 p.m. at Warinanco Park in Cranford. VGR played Summit last year and upset them to reach the quarterfinals.
[nggallery id=196]
Photos by Amanda Maguire
