By Andy Loigu

The MOHOHA Marauders ice hockey team, with players from Mount Olive, Hopatcong and Hackettstown high schools, were riding high on Tuesday night but were shut down on Saturday, concluding their season at 10-11-1.

The local team won the Halverson Cup on Tuesday night (February 14)  with a 5-1 win over Kinnelon/Jefferson/Sparta. Hackettstown resident Frank DiLoreto enjoyed a three-goal hat trick and Liam Murphy, who also hails from Hackettstown, contributed an assist.

The win completed a successful move up in the Morris County Scholastic Ice Hockey League, as MOHOHA went from the Haas Division to the higher level and tougher Halverson Division this year. West Morris won this year’s Haas Cup with an overtime win last week.

The Marauders’ season ended on Saturday (February 18) losing in the state tournament by a 2-0 score to a rugged Toms River East/South team at Winding River Skating Center in Toms River.

“Toms River had some big guys, defenders who played a physical brand of hockey,” said MOHOHA coach Ryan Tatarka who played football and baseball at Hackettstown in his high school years. MOHOHA fired 14 shots at the Toms River goal cage, but they all were turned away by netminder Chase Witt.

Tatarka praised his upperclassman players for their team leadership which made this a banner season. “They are so much more than just good hockey players,” he said while the team members packed their bags for the final time this winter. “They gave of their time to help the community in many ways and set a great example for the new guys.”

Into the third and final period, the game was a 0-0 struggle. Toms River “broke the ice” with their 19th shot of the game, with 4:45 showing on the clock. The Raiders added an empty net goal in the final minute, after MOHOHA pulled the goaltender to get an extra skater on the ice in one last effort to try and even the score.

MOHOHA had eight players contribute goals and/or assists to the cause this season. In addition to DiLoreto and Murphy, the Marauders got scoring from Ethan Tillery, Adam and Ryan Twist, Christian Hertzig, Tyler Muscolino, and Tyler Dean. 

Tigers come up short in H/W/S

On Friday night at Centenary University, Sparta defeated defending champion Hackettstown 50-42 to win the boys basketball championship of the Hunterdon/Warren/Sussex association. It was the third straight year the Hackettstown Tigers have reached the championship final.

The Spartans broke the Tigers’ press in taking an early lead. Hackettstown’s only lead came at 24-22.

The Tigers’ scoring leader was Jacob Mendez with 12 points, eight in the first half. The fact that it was not Darien Santos or Ethan Almeida (held to 11 and 10 respectively) is the story of the game. Sparta’s defenses paid special attention to the Tigers’ top scorers to hold them under their averages. Almeida was the Most Valuable Player of last year’s tournament. For the Tigers, their 42 point total was their lowest scoring yield of the season.

Key action on tap, mark your calendar

The Tigers’ boys and girls teams now look forward to the state tournament, hoping for a long and exciting run.

The girls’ journey begins at Rutherford on Tuesday, February 21, with a 4:45 tip off time scheduled.

The boys start at home on Tuesday night at 6 p.m. against the visiting Bernards Mountaineers.

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