Middletown North Returns to State Hockey Semifinals for Second Straight Year

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Lions head coach Don Wood saw his team score back-to-back wins against their crosstown rivals, starting with the Mayor’s Cup and then in the state quarterfinals. Rich Chrampanis
Lions head coach Don Wood saw his team score back-to-back wins against their crosstown rivals, starting with the Mayor’s Cup and then in the state quarterfinals. Rich Chrampanis

By Rich Chrampanis

MIDDLETOWN – State playoffs usually mean scouting an unknown opponent from a different county and possibly loading up the bus for a long trip. Not so for two teams in the Public “B” quarterfinals this year.

Crosstown rivals Middletown North and Middletown South, separated by a mere 5 miles, met on the ice for the third time this season Feb. 27 to decide which team would be moving on to the state semifinals.

After the Eagles clinched the Opening Day match-up and the Lions answered Feb. 2 with a 4-2 win to reclaim the Mayor’s Cup, round three of the rivalry had much more at stake: a spot in the final four and one step closer to playing for a state championship.

An overflow crowd at Middletown Sports Complex is the norm when these two teams meet and the third chapter of this year’s rivalry was no exception: Every seat in the arena was filled 30 minutes before faceoff with spillover at every pane of glass for an ice-level view and the aisles filled with fans from both schools.

Middletown North’s Jimmy Mullarney had six goals in the Lions’ last two games. Rich Chrampanis
Middletown North’s Jimmy Mullarney had six goals in the Lions’ last two games. Rich Chrampanis

Middletown North accomplished a long list of impressive feats throughout the 2022-23 season. At the top of the list has to be its dominating 5-1 win over Middletown South that saw the Lions keep the energy on their side in a building that was clearly divided.

“Everyone knows how much emotion is packed into this game,” Lions senior forward Jimmy Mullarney said. “You see how many people are here. You just got to feed off of that. You don’t want play into it too much because if you play into it you’re going to get off your game. You just got to play hard, play your position and do everything right and it came through (for us).”

That’s exactly what Middletown North did with Mullarney and Ryan Cook leading the way. Cook got the scoring started and Mullarney followed midway through the first period with both goals featuring the duo attacking the net and scoring from close range.

The Eagles cut the deficit to 2-1 with 4:36 to go in the first after Brandon Gronau took advantage of a fallen defenseman to create a two-on-none; Gronau passed back and forth with Thomas Villano who gave Middletown South hope they could pull off an upset.

Ryan Cook scored a pair of goals in Middletown North’s 5-1 win over Middletown South in the Public “B” quarterfinals. Rich Chrampanis
Ryan Cook scored a pair of goals in Middletown North’s 5-1 win over Middletown South in the Public “B” quarterfinals. Rich Chrampanis

But North controlled the final two periods. Once again, it was Cook scoring, followed by Mullarney. Cook chased down the rebound of a Justin Turner shot and scored from the left wing for his second of the night while Mullarney’s second came on a textbook wraparound. Thomas Baron delivered the exclamation point in the third with a one-timer to close out the scoring.

Middletown North reached the state semifinals for a second straight year and coach Andrew Rosenbloom’s Eagles continue to be a model of consistency. Middletown South reached the state quarterfinals for a remarkable seventh straight time and finished the year with a 12-10-4 record. In previous years, South was playing in the Public “A” bracket before coming down to “B” which set up this rare crosstown playoff game.

Editor’s Note: Middletown North faced Ramapo in the Public “B” state semifinals at Codey Arena in West Orange March 1 after press time. The New Jersey high school hockey state championships will take place March 6 at the Prudential Center in Newark.

The article originally appeared in the March 2 – 8, 2023 print edition of The Two River Times.