THE BITTER END - NJSIAA Ice Hockey: Seton Hall Prep 6, Msgr. Donovan 4

    WEST ORANGE -- Monsignor Donovan's ice hockey team lost 13 seniors to graduation after last season, but was still able to follow up its most successful season with another solid campaign in 2007-08. The Griffins also boast two of the Shore Conference's best players in Mike Seyglinski and Ken Yasenchock, who are tied for the league lead in scoring.
    In addition, the Griffins have plenty of young talent that should keep the program on an upward swing for years to come. All of those things are nice, but they don't make Monday's loss to Seton Hall Prep in the first round of the NJSIAA Non-Public Tournament any easier to swallow.
    Tied at four after two periods and with some momentum after Seyglinski's tying goal off a deflection at the 9:00 mark of the second, the Griffins were whistled for three straight penalties to give Seton Hall Prep two consecutive 5-on-3s. The Pirates cashed in both times on goals by Bill Kawam 1:54 apart and then sunk their teeth into the Griffins with their 1-4 neutral-zone trap. That kept Seyglinski and Yasenchock at bay in the third period, as the Griffins managed only five shots and fell to the Pirates, 6-4, at Richard J. Codey Arena.
    "We had the confidence (heading into the third period) but once we went into the 5-on-3 and they scored on that slap shot we went down a little. A two-goal (deficit) is tough to come back from against that team."
    "It's frustrating," Yasenchock said. "We thought we had them. We were dominating at times but in the third we took penalties."
    Monsignor Donovan finishes up at 17-6-1 and has been eliminated by Seton Hall Prep in each of the last two postseasons. This time, however, the Griffins had a different feeling about heading up the Garden State Parkway to square off against they Pirates. They were overmatched last season in a 5-0 defeat, but started off Monday evening's game by showing they could play with one of New Jersey's most successful programs ever.
    Picking up a loose puck at the red line, Seyglinski skated into the zone before losing control of the puck. However, it got past Pirates defenseman David Rose and Seyglinski was able to move around him and outrace two other Seton Hall Prep players to the puck at the bottom of the left face-off circle. His shot beat Matt Meisenbacher between the pads for a 1-0 lead at 5:01.
    "That's what we wanted to do, we wanted to make sure we came out strong," said Yasenchock, who assisted on the game's first goal.
    The goal was also Seyglinski's 100th career point, as he joined Yasenchock (107) and Jerry Malanga ('06, 133) as Monsignor Donovan's only 100-point scorers.
    "Coming in with 99 points I was a little shaky," Seyglinski said. "But I came out on the second or third shift and got it, and after that I was comfortable. But really, all I wanted was to win the game."
    The Pirates responded 28 seconds later on a goal by Jeff Emmerling to tie the game at one. Yasenchock got the lead back for the Griffins at 8:30 of the first period. Seyglinski had a shot blocked but Yasenchock was able to hold the puck in at the blue line. He then skated down the left boards before toe-dragging and beating Meisenbacher with a shot to the short side. The back-and-forth game continued when Chris Preziosi, who along with Meisenbacher are Seton Hall Prep's only seniors, tied the score at two with 1:03 left in the opening period. Preziosi took the puck from his own end and skated through all five of Monsignor Donovan's players before beating Nick Fuirita with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle.
    The second period began the way the first period ended, as Preziosi lit the lamp for the second time to give the Pirates their first lead of the game, 3-2, at 2:58. This time he took control of the puck along the boards at center ice before skating freely into the slot, drifting to the right face-off circle and ripping a wrist shot past Fuirita.
    "We did what we wanted to do but Seton Hall Prep is a good team and Preziosi is a great player," said Griffins head coach Frank Segreto. "You can't let him skate around and pick his corners."
    Yasenchock's second goal of the game at 4:33 would tie things up at three. He took the puck in his own end and skated down the right side before moving around a defenseman and creating a clear path to the net. He out-waited Meisenbacher and when the goalie made his move, Yasenchock cut across the crease and slid the puck through is legs.
    The surprisingly high-scoring contest continued at its torrid pace when Steven Aloia scored for the Pirates at 7:03 for the fourth lead change of the game. The defenseman's slap shot from between the blue line and the top of the face-off circles hit Fuirita's glove, but the goaltender could not handle it and prevent it from trickling into the net. Seyglinski scored his second goal of the game at 9:00 when he deflected a point shot by Justin Canney past Meisenbacher to tie the score at four.
    The fourth period started with Monsignor Donovan already killing a penalty and a second penalty was called less than 20 seconds in. Kawam capitalized to give the Pirates the lead for good with a slap shot from the right wing. A penalty was called coinciding with the goal to give Seton Hall Prep another 5-on-3. The Griffins killed of the first penalty but Kawam scored on the 5-on-4 by putting a loose puck into an open net at 2:51. The Griffins could not regain the same offensive flow they had in the first two periods thanks to the Pirates well-known trap they finally were able to employ after taking the game's first two-goal lead.
    "We picked up on the 1-4 but we never really got the opportunity to break it," Seyglinski said. "We had a plan but it never got going. They dumped the puck in and they trapped us."
    "That was tough," Segreto said. "They got the power-play goal and we still had two more minutes to kill off. "The hill got a lot harder to climb right there.
    As expectations go, the Griffins appear to have exceeded what they thought possible entering the season. The 13 seniors that graduated after last season included four of their top six forwards, their top two defenseman and their starting goaltender. But the fact that the Griffins were able to win 15-plus games for the third time in four seasons shows the quality and depth the program has built.
    It also certainly helps to have a few star players along the way. The latest of which were Seyglinski and Yasenchock, who formed the best tandem in the Shore Conference and one of the best in the state while carrying the Griffins offense all season.
    "The both finished with 62 points and that's a fitting end for them," Segreto said. "They were the heart and soul of this team and they always skated tough. They wanted to win so bad and that's what makes this hard, to have to see the seniors play their last game."


Box Score

(6) Seton Hall Prep 6, (11) Monsignor Donovan 4

Monsignor Donovan (17-6-1) 2 2 0 - 4
Seton Hall Prep (7-9-5)          2 2 2 - 6

Scoring - First period: (M) Mike Seyglinski (Dean Malanga, Ken Yasenchock) 5:01; (S) Jeff Emmerling (David Rose) 5:29; (M) Ken Yasenchock (Mike Seyglinski) 8:30; (S) Chris Preziosi (Nick Malysa, David Mosier) 13:57; Second period: (S) Chris Preziosi (Steven Aloia) 2:58; (M) Ken Yasenchock (Nick Ulrich) 4:33; (S) Steven Aloia (David Rose) 7:03; (M) Mike Seyglinski (Justin Canney, Ken Yasenchock) 9:00; Third period: (S) Bill Kawam (David Rose, Chris Preziosi) 0:57 (PP); (S) Bill Kawam (David Rose, Steven Aloia) 2:51.
Saves: (M) Nick Fuirita 27; (S) Matt Meisenbacher 20.
Shots: Seton Hall Prep 33-24.


E-mail: badders@digitalsports.com