BIG NORTH GOLD CUP PREVIEW
THE SCHEDULE (All games tonight at Ice Vault)
(1) Ridgewood has first-round bye
(2) Paramus Catholic vs. (7) Passaic Valley/Cedar Grove, 7:15
Season series: Paramus Catholic has defeated Passaic Valley in both meetings this year. The first on Dec. 6, 8-0; the second on Dec. 22, 11-1.
Leading scorers: Paramus Catholic — Senior Brian D’Erario (17 G, 22 A); Passaic Valley/Cedar Grove — Junior Steven Tillie (31 G, 10)
Expected goalies: Paramus Catholic Sophomore John Pitera (26 goals allowed on 308 shots, 91.6%); Passaic Valley/Cedar Grove — Junior Colin Byrne (114 goals allowed on 734 shots, 84.5%)
(3) River Dell/Westwood vs. (6) Clifton, 5:15
Season series: River Dell is 1-0-1 against Clifton this year, tying the Mustangs, 2-2, on Dec. 6 and beating them, 2-1, on Jan. 25.
Leading scorers: River Dell/Westwood — Senior Jason Conroy (10 G, 12 A) and junior Brett Connon (9 G, 13 A); Clifton — Junior Matt Kolodjieczyk (25 G, 12 A)
Expected goalies: River Dell/Westwood — Senior Chris DeTitta (38 goals allowed on 368 shots, 89.7%);  Clifton — Freshman Tyler Gibson (53 goals allowed on 438 shots, 87.9%)
(4) Fair Lawn vs. (5) Hackensack, 6:15
Season series: Fair Lawn has won both meetings against the Comets this year. The Cutters defeated them, 7-2, on Jan. 20 and 6-1 on Jan. 27.
Leading scorers: Fair Lawn — Junior Mark Williams (26 G, 18 A); Hackensack — Senior Robbie Marut (32 G, 16 A)
Expected goalies: Fair Lawn — Junior Garrett Baldacci (46 goals allowed on 353 shots, 87%); Hackensack — Senior Steven Geerlof (104 goals allowed on 617 shots, 83.1%)
THE FAVORITE
No. 1 Ridgewood (16-5)
Why the Maroons are the favorite… Like Ramsey in the Green, Ridgewood rolled through division play unbeaten at 14-0. For most of the year, the Gold has been believed to be a pretty down division, but with River Dell/Westwood’s emergence into a contender and Fair Lawn’s second-half turnaround, the top four teams (along with Paramus Catholic) made the Gold more competitive than most people think — so Ridgewood going unscathed all year is pretty impressive. I remember catching the final 20 minutes or so of ‘Wood’s 4-2 loss to Chatham on Dec. 30 and coach Mike Lucchesi said his team was getting close to playing the way it was capable of. They were right in that game with Chatham. Since that loss, Ridgewood is 11-1 — with that lone defeat coming against Tenafly in the first round of the BCT. Ridgewood features a very balanced offense, not reliant on a single player or single line to make things happen. Brendan Buckley, Alex Linton, J.P. Kelly, Andrew Seiter, Ryan Carius, Chris Cornwell, Harry Bahrenburg, Matt Cafarella, Cameron St. John and Cooper Telesco have all had their moments throughout the year, and, of course, Mickey Legg is net has been solid all season, allowing just 1.72 goals per game. Without a loss in the division all year, Ridgewood is the unquestioned team to beat in the Gold Cup.
THE CONTENDERS
No. 2 Paramus Catholic (13-5-2)
Why the Paladins are dangerous… Sophomore goalie John Pitera gives PC a shot against anyone. A hot goaltender can go a long way in the postseason, and Pitera is capable of leading the Paladins to a deep run in the Gold Cup. They’ve lost both meetings to top-seeded and Gold Cup favorite Ridgewood this year — the first, 1-0, on Jan. 8 and then 4-2 (with an empty-net goal) on Jan. 25, but there’s a saying it’s tough to beat a team three times in one season, especially an in-league rival. Since starting the year 8-1, the Paladins are just 5-4-2 in their last 11 games, but they’ve shown flashes of what they’re capable of, specifically a 4-3 win over Morris Knolls, a season sweep of a good St. Joseph team, and even played well in a 2-0 loss to Bergen Catholic in the BCT. There’s some pieces leftover from last year’s record-setting 27-win team, most notably Kevin Booth and Brian E’rario (22 assists), while Matt Lepinski (23 goals) and Marc Tietjen (18 assists) have provided good offensive production all year. They haven’t put together a three-game win streak together — which they’ll have to do win the Gold Cup — since opening the season with seven straight wins. Can they do it now? We’ll see.
No. 3 River Dell/Westwood (11-5-4)
Why the CardinalHawks are dangerous… River Dell/Westwood is entering the tournament with nothing to lose and everything to gain. They wanted to prove they’re one of the upper-echelon teams in the division after getting off to a fast 6-0-1 start, and for the most part, they’ve done that. They played well against everyone in the Gold this year, with the exception of Ridgewood, who outscored RD/WW, 10-1, in two meetings on Feb. 1 and Feb. 7. Brett Connon and Jason Conroy give the CardinalHawks a nice 1-2 scoring punch and Greg Rassam and Richard Myers have proven to be capable offensive threats as well, along with senior Jack Schaefer. I’ve seen goalie Chris DeTitta make some highlight-reel saves this year, especially in a 1-1 tie against Paramus Catholic on Jan. 5, and he’ll have to be on his game again if River Dell wants to make a deep run in the Gold Cup.
No. 4 Fair Lawn (10-8-1)
Why the Cutters are dangerous… Because they’re one of the hottest teams in North Jersey entering the tournament and are a different team than the one that started off 2-7. Until a Feb. 10 loss to Ridgewood, Fair Lawn had not lost in 2014 — a streak of nine games going unbeaten (8-0-1), including a 2-2 tie against Paramus Catholic on Jan. 10. Even in the recent loss to the Maroons, Fair Lawn took a 2-1 lead into the third and feel it has the talent to beat the top seed in the bracket. With Mark Williams (25 goals, 18 assists) and Justin Ritter (24 goals, 16 assists) supplying the majority of the offense and Brian Galvin, who returned midseason from a concussion suffered in preseason, solidifying the second line, Fair Lawn might be capable of pulling off an upset or two. Fair Lawn reminds me very much of West Milford, with two prolific scorers on the first line, drastic midseason turnarounds aided by getting healthy at the right time, and both having the potential to make runs in their respective tournaments. First-year coach Dean Portas said the Cutters kind of split the regular season regarding their win-loss totals, and the postseason tournaments will be a chance for Fair Lawn to prove itself.
THE REST
No. 5 Hackensack (5-10-4): The Comets’ first line is talented, but there’s not much depth in Hackensack. Robbie Marut (25 goals, 15 assists) and sophomore Thomas Foschini can give some opponents problems though.
No. 6 Clifton (5-12-4): Junior Matt Kolodjieczyk has 24 goals and 12 assists, but the Mustangs will be without Dennis Ruppe (club games) for the Gold Cup. Tim Finan and Brittany Meneghin are also among Clifton’s leading scorers.
No. 7 Passaic Valley/Cedar Grove (4-14-3): Junior Steven Tillie is North Jersey’s second leading goal scorer with 31, and has added 10 assists. PV/CG will have its hands full though with No. 2 Paramus Catholic in Round 1.
THE PICKS
First round
(1) Ridgewood has bye into the semifinals
(2) Paramus Catholic over (7) Passaic Valley/Cedar Grove — The Paladins have outscored PV/CG, 19-1, in two meetings this year. PC rolls again in Round 1, as long as it contains PV/CG’s Steven Tillie.
(3) River Dell/Westwood over (6) Clifton — Might be more a more competitive than expected, but River Dell gets by. These two teams did tie way back on Dec. 6, and played another close one on Jan. 25, with RD/WW prevailing, 2-1. I’m hearing Clifton will be without a few key players for this one.
(4) Fair Lawn over (5) Hackensack — Cutters have outscored Comets, 13-2, in two meetings this year and are playing too well to get upset in Round 1.
Semifinals
(2) Paramus Catholic over (3) River Dell/Westwood — Interesting matchup here because these two teams only met once in the regular season (a 1-1 tie on Jan. 5). It’s a toss-up game, but PC gets by. Maybe even goes to overtime. PC is a tough team to predict.
(1) Ridgewood over (4) Fair Lawn — You know, I originally had Fair Lawn upsetting Ridgewood here. But I don’t know… the Maroons have been too good in the division all year, but it is tough to beat a good team — which Fair Lawn has shown to be — three times in the same season. And there is bound to be at least one upset in a postseason tournament. Let’s just say it wouldn’t shock me if the Cutters pulled this one off, but on the record, I’ll go with Ridgewood.
Final
(1) Ridgewood over (2) Paramus Catholic – Going chalk here, no upsets throughout the entire tournament (very unlikely, there are always upsets). But the Maroons want to make up for their early-exit in the county tournament, they have the necessary talent to win this Gold Cup, and they’re playing as well as anyone in North Jersey right now (11-1 in last 12).