Coming off the an 8-3 quarterfinal win over Pingry, the Ironmen looked to keep their offensive momentum rolling into Mennen Arena for an NJSIAA Semi-finals showdown against six seeded Seton Hall Prep. The Pirates, fresh off their 3-2 win over three seed Bergen Catholic, were all that stood in Bosco’s way for a return trip to the Prudential Center and a chance to defend their 2019 State Title crown.
Merrimack College commit Michael Rubin with 3 assists vs SHP in Semi-Final action
After a scoreless opening few minutes, that saw each team trade scoring chances, Seton Hall Prep got on the board first to take a 1-0 lead. Five minutes later, leading scorer, Junior Connor Sedlak (20g, 22a) found a loose puck behind the SHP goal tender off a Lukas Klemm (6g, 11a) shot to even the score.
Coming out of the break, Bosco struck first, six minutes in as Freshman Sal Guzzo (10g, 15a) cashed in on the power play off a nice feed from Lukas Klemm and Junior Michael Rubin (7g, 18a) to put the Ironmen up 2-1. Shortly thereafter, Senior Arthur Tsimerman (4g, 4a) scored his second goal in as many games, taking a pass from Rubin to give Bosco a 3-2 lead. However, Seton Hall continued to play tough all night and answered right back two minutes later to pull within one going into the final period.
Jr. Connor Sedlak, 2 goals vs SHP, leads the rush
In the third, with the season on the line, the Ironmen rallied for two goals as Sedlak found the back of the net on the power play, for his second of the game. But the Pirates would continue to hang around, getting their third of the game a minute and a half later, to pull within one again. A minute later however, Bosco would strike again, as Freshman Ryan Fine (10g, 13) took a Drew Fortescue (1g, 9a) pass and went five hole, to secure a 5-3 win and the Ironmen were off to the Rock for the fourth straight year to defend their 2019 title.
Don Bosco looks to defend their title and repeat as NJSIAA Non-Public Champions against number one seed CBA, Monday March 9th, 6:30 pm at the Prudential Center. Please come out and support the Ironmen!
Check out the game highlights courtesy of Jersey Sports Zone