The Summit High School Boys Varsity Ice Hockey Team fired 60 shots on goal, scoring seven times, and overwhelming Hopewell Valley in their NJSIAA Public B State Tournament opener at Warinanco Skating Center.
The eighth-seeded Hilltoppers’ 7-0 shutout win over the 25th-seeded Bulldogs was The Maroon & White’s fifth in the past six games. Summit, now 15-7-2 and winners of the Union County and McInnis Cups already this season, advances to the second round and will take on ninth-seeded Madison, which eeked out a 4-3 over Cranford.
Jake Puskar had two goals, while senior captain Corey McManus and freshman Tom Pryymak both had a goal and two assists to pace Summit offensively, while Wilson Lees had a library-like quiet evening in goal, having to deal with just nine Bulldog shots to garner the shutout.
The Hilltoppers opened the scoring at the 4:45 mark of the first period when David Sharpe whisked a sweet feed to sophomore Charlie Collins who beat Hopewell Valley goalie Brian McKenna to make it 1-0.
The advantage was doubled when McManus scored on a 2-on-1 rush, feigning a pass and then ripping a shot rooftop right, at 14:48 of the second period.
Pryymak made it 3-0 just under four minutes later, with assists to McManus and Xander Hiltabrand, and Summit closed the second period-scoring when Puskar — set up by senior captain Owen McLaughlin and Pryymak — dented the twine on a power play at 4:48.
Summit kept their foot pressed firmly on the right-hand pedal in the third period, with sophomore Remi Vidal’s nifty neutral zone pass sending Chris Giangiulio in on goal. The senior snipedthe upper right hand corner at the 10:15 mark to make it 5-0.
A 5-on-3 power play goal from Puskar followed three and a-half minutes later, and the Hilltoppers finally turned off the goal faucet after McManus assisted on Jack Riggin’s tally with just 1:15 remaining.
Summit will face-off against Madison February 24 at the Union Sports Arena, located at 2441-A US-22. Face-off is set for 4:10 p.m.
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