Middletown North Wins NJSIAA Public B Hockey Title

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NEWARK – When Middletown High School North’s hockey team lost to rival Middletown South in the Mayor’s Cup a few weeks ago, there may have been some questions about the rest of the season.
Any such worries, however, were put to rest in the best way possible as the fourth-seeded Lions wrapped up a memorable season with a stunning 5-4 win over Ramsey to win the NJSIAA Public B championship at the Prudential Center Monday.
“We became more and more comfortable as the season went along,” said North coach Matt Clemente. “We were calm and relaxed. We knew during the summer that we would have a good team.”
North was also boosted with the arrival of two transfers, and both played key roles in Monday’s victory.
Bobby Hampton, who became eligible on Jan. 6 after transferring from Christian Brothers Academy, scored two goals and assisted on two others while goalie Anthony Manfredi, who had 30 saves, transferred in from Staten Island.
“I’m proud of the team,” said Clemente. “This was a great accomplishment for the school, our township and ourselves.”
What proved to be the game-winning goal came with just seconds left in the second period when Hampton took a feed from senior Tommy Terranova and slapped it in to give the Lions a 5-3 advantage. That offset a third period goal from Ramsey’s Brandon O’Callahan.
“Tommy gave me a good pass,” said Hampton. “I faked a defender and put it in. This is an unbelievable experience. The entire school and community was behind us. We had a great season.”
After O’Callahan’s score made it a one-goal game, Ramsey pulled their goalie in the final minute and that put more pressure on Manfredi, but he passed the test impressively as he stopped 15 of 16 shots overall in the final period.
“I just had to stay focused,” said Manfredi. “I was so excited when the game ended. I was speechless and didn’t know what to say.
“As a senior this was extraordinary,” said Terranova. “All three years, we made a decent run in the tournament, but nothing like this. To finally go all the way was great.”
North’s Timmy Felice gave the Lions a 1-0 lead early in the first period, but second-seeded Ramsey went ahead, 2-1, on a pair of goals from Alex Whelen in the second period.
Hampton and Vincent Tomassetti scored back-to-back goals to give the lead back to North, 3-2 but Garrett Mast tied the game for Ramsey with a goal. Khristian Acosta, though, put North in front for good with a goal and that set up the thrilling finish.
Following the game, the team was escorted back to the school by fire trucks from the Middletown Township fire department.
A special assembly was held in the school auditorium Tuesday where the students and players watched taped highlights of the game on a big screen on the stage.
— By Jim Hintelmann