Redemption

The title, Redemption, is what the RAMS have been calling the State Playoffs this year. It is easy to understand why:

This was the third straight year the RAMS have made it to finals at the Prudential Center and the previous two were losses:

• March 5, 2018 loss to Northern Highlands: 1-0
• March 4, 2019 loss to Ridge: 4-1

There are many titles that would also fit, for example:

• Last and far from least:
  • After watching all four finals yesterday and last year, the Mennen Division had the largest student groups with Morris Knolls and Randolph, and Randolph had the largest parents and friends crowd, and both teams had exciting overtime wins making the post game celebrations spontaneous and wild!
• Senior Night of Senior Knights:
  • The seniors came to play and win, and they made it happen. Captains JT Zangara’s hat trick and the intense fore checking of Michael Sofia and his teammates made the difference. Seniors Chris Civetta, Gavin Einfeldt, Justin Harper, Sam Jones, Eitan Leinand, Ray McNamara, Ben Redgate, Matt Rogers, Michael Sofia, Noah Solotist, Evan Xhumba, and JT Zangara will all be missed.
• What the heck happened?
  • Randolph dominated through most of the first and second quarters with their signature fore checking and the second period JT goal at 7:14 and what felt like an insurance goal by JT at 9:02 of the third. Then, something happened! It was around 6 minutes to the end when Ridge came alive. Freshman Reese Judson’s scored a goal at 2:37 left in the third and 35 seconds later their junior goal scorer Matt Balzarotti hit with the tying goal at 2:02 left in the game. In the overtime period, Ridge continued with their high press especially with #87, #9, and #13 on the ice. They had 5 shots on goal in OT.
• Another Miracle on Ice:
  • After all that Ridge pressure, JT’s third goal at 10:30 of the overtime was nothing short of a miracle and the only shot of the overtime. At least, the RAMS do not have to face Finland in the Olympic Final (okay, way before most of you were even thought of, sorry!).
• Anyway, the title: Redemption:
  • How about Randolph wins over Ridge 3-2 in overtime!

Some Final Thoughts:

Please do yourself a favor and read the articles at NJ.com by Advance Media Reporters Andrew Koob, Brian Bobel, and Mike Gurnis. Be sure that no words can capture what happened last night: you had to be there.

Congratulations to Ridge, definitely one of the best coached and most talented teams the RAMS have played all season. They had 32 shots on goal last night, the most of all the teams Randolph played and the only other teams to have more shots on goal than the RAMS 28 to 32 were Princeton Day (L 1-3) and Seton Hall (W 4-2). When their determination kicked in, things got tough. Marcus Fabiunke is one of the best goaltenders Randolph has faced this season. The Red Devils made cheering easy for their fans at The Rock: “Let’s Go …”

Gavin was two minutes and thirty seven seconds away from a four shutout State playoff. He had nine shutouts this season. In 2018, Randolph goaltender Scott Kimiecek had three shutouts in the state tournament before Randolph lost to Northern Highlands 1-0 in the final. The RAMS won 9-0 against Newton, 3-0 against Morristown and 5-0 against Livingston. Before the state’s started, Randolph defeated Morristown Beard 4-2 to win the 2018 Mennen Cup.

• RAMS Final Overall Records:
  • 2019-2020 (21-3-4)
  • 2018-2019 (21-5-2)
  • 2017-2018 (22-2-3)

Remarkable … Go RAMS … STAY FOCUSED!