Kinnelon tops Jefferson for 2008 NJSIAA Public B championship




newjerseydevils.com (March 22) – Their biggest game of the season turned into a family affair for the Kinnelon Colts.

Mike and Pete Crampton each scored twice for the Colts, who topped the Jefferson Township Falcons, 5-1, to take the 2008 Devils/NJSIAA Public B High School Ice Hockey Championship on Saturday.

It's the first state title for Kinnelon, which outscored opponents 21-5 in the three games leading up to the Finals and kept rolling in the title match. The Colts built up a 2-0 lead in the first period and took a 3-0 edge after 40 minutes. Head coach Jeffrey Myhren's squad netted two more in the third to secure the trophy.

Derrick Fu had the Colts' other goal, while Kevin Kelly registered the lone score for the Falcons.

Colts goaltender George Huber stopped 31 of 32 shots and was named to the All-Tournament squad along with the Crampton brothers. Kelly and Dean Combos were all-tourney for Jefferson Township.

Pete Crampton opened the scoring for Kinnelon less than five minutes into the contest.

Trevor Horton's shot from the left point was redirected on goal by Tom Mongelli, and Crampton, a junior, buried the rebound by Jefferson netminder Christopher Coffey at 4:57.

Moments later, the younger Crampton connected for a 2-0 Colts lead. Mike, a sophomore, went forward with a draw at the left faceoff dot in Falcons territory before roofing one shortside over Coffey's blocker at 6:34.

Mike Crampton came right back in the second period, connecting on a power play to put the Colts ahead by three.

A defensive zone breakdown by the Falcons left Crampton alone in front to one-time Tim Driscoll's pass from the right corner past Coffey for a 3-0 score at 5:56.

Huber was excellent in the second period, including a tough sequence with five minutes remaining.

When Combos' sharp-angle shot from near the left post was blocked by Huber, the Jefferson senior tried a wraparound that Huber steered clear with the paddle of his goal stick.

Kelly brought the Jefferson fans to their feet early in the third, putting the Falcons on the scoresheet with a sensational effort. The senior defenseman dangled down the left wing and cut to the inside of defender Trevor Horton before burying one past Huber from the slot at 2:54.

Fu extended the lead to 4-1 with less than five minutes left in the third, sliding home a Driscoll feed under Coffey's stick at 10:20 to make it 4-1.

Pete Crampton then added a highlight-reel marker at 12:54 with a burst down the left side. The junior forward broke toward the middle and snapped home his second of the afternoon to round out the scoring at 5-1.