Montclair’s neighbors are Glen Ridge to its east and Verona to its west, but there was nothing particularly neighborly about the game between the Montclair High School and Verona-Glen Ridge hockey teams on Sunday night.
Brock Bowers got the Mounties on the board first, with an assist from Remy Parker. But VGR’s Dylan DeCandia, this week’s Senior Athlete of the Week, quickly fired back. The teams stayed at a tense tie throughout the second period.
The third period opened with a goal by VGR’s Nick DiStaso off a Cam Gilmore assist, and it seemed as if VGR–which has had back-to-back wins this season–was on track to reverse last year’s 2-1 loss to MHS. But with just 18 seconds to go, Parker, assisted by Ryan Vanderford and Michael Gerne, took Montclair to a 2-2 tie. VGR’s goalie, Verona High School sophomore Liam Blaney, had 15 saves,
VGR is going to be facing off against some less familiar opponents during the holiday break. On Thursday, the team plays River Dell at the Codey Arena (7:30 p.m. start) in Essex County’s Winter Holiday Hockey Tournament. VGR then takes on Steinert High School, a team from Hamilton, N.J., on Saturday, December 28 at 5:30 p.m. before going up against Saint Rose of Belmar on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. Both of those games will also be at Codey.
