Verona-Glen Ridge hockey opened the Essex County Tournament yesterday with a 5-2 win over Old Tappan.
Jarrod Keating, who comes from the Verona side of VGR, got the team on the scoreboard first, at the 6:47 mark in the first period. (You can watch that goal on our Instagram site.) But Old Tappan’s Luke Geraci and Andrew Basin quickly answered back, putting that squad ahead 2-1 at the end of the first period.
When VGR returned to the ice, it was the Glen Ridge side’s turn to light up the scoreboard. Alec Vecchione, Anton Martino, Noah Martinez and Jake Kuhn piled on the pucks in the second and third periods for the VGR win. Colin Gilmore, who is also from the Glen Ridge side of the combo team, was in goal and was credited with 23 saves.
The next round of the tournament will pit VGR against Mendham Boro, on Wednesday night at 7:15 p.m., also at the Codey Arena in West Orange. The tournament’s final game will be VGR against Mountain Lakes on Friday at 12:15 p.m.
