Summit Boys Ice Hockey Falls to Clifton

Summit's boys hockey team got a two goal lead in the first period, but subsequently fell behind and lost 6-4 to Clifton High School on Tuesday night at Warinanco Park.

The Hilltoppers (7-6-2) have now lost three of their last four games, as they continue their quest for 10 wins. Teams that get 10 wins clinch a spot in the state tournament, a goal head coach Keith Nixon hoped would be achieved by the end of January. Now Summit must wait until February to try and reach this plateau.

While Summit's offense struggled in its previous two losses (outscored 7-1), against Clifton it was the defense. The Hilltoppers got outscored 6-2 in the final 30 minutes of play.

"We weren't picking guys up," Nixon said. "Our wings were getting down deep in the defensive zone, so when (Clifton) got control of the puck they were taking shots from 25 to 30 feet out. They just had way too many good opportunities."

In the first period junior Michael Tsiang and senior Trevor Silverstein traded goals and assists to put Summit up 2-0. Tsiang scored first with 13:21 remaining as he received the puck in front of the net and knocked it past Mustang senior goaltender Dan Bartlett's right leg.

Then at 7:57 Silverstein scored a one timer to Bartlett's left off of a great pass from behind the net by Tsiang. Silverstein ended the game with one goal and two assists, while Tsiang had two goals and one assist.

"Hopefully this is a trigger to get them to start scoring a little bit," Nixon said.

Clifton's two goal deficit proved to be its largest of the night. In the second, the Mustangs stormed back to score four unanswered goals.

Junior Brian Yip got things going for Clifton as he nailed a slap shot past Summit's senior goalie Brandon Jackson with 10:10 left in the period. A little over two minutes later, junior Ryan Bergen made it a tie game with a power play goal by deflecting a shot into the net.

The Mustangs then overtook the Hilltoppers at 4:54 on a goal by senior Matt Whitford. Less than a minute later, Yip stole the puck in the offensive zone and scored his second goal of the game. Clifton took a 4-2 lead into the third.

After a strong first period, Nixon was disappointed in his team's performance in the second.

"In the second we didn't get it in deep at all," he said. "(Clifton) started skating and we just ran around out there. We didn't put a good effort in the second period at all."

A scary moment occurred for Clifton at the start of the third. Konefal got knocked into the boards nine seconds in, and stayed face down and motionless on the ice. However, after about 30 seconds he got up on his own and returned to the bench with minimal assistance.

Clifton and Summit went on to trade power play goals to make it a 5-3 game. Tsiang scored for the Hilltoppers and Silverstein again got the assist.

After the Mustangs' fifth goal, Nixon brought in junior goalie Jackson Stuckey.

Silverstein took a high sticking penalty with just 1:13 left to play, but initially it did not hinder the Hilltoppers. Senior captain Bobby Lawrence scored an unassisted, shorthanded goal to cut Summit's deficit to one with 59 seconds remaining.

Down 5-4, Nixon opted to pull Stuckey for the extra attacker. Since his team was still killing a penalty, it became 5-on-5 play rather than 6-on-5. The move did not work though, as Clifton scored on the empty net to assure victory.

"If you lose by one or two it doesn't matter," Nixon said. "We got the goal shorthanded and you just roll the dice. Unfortunately the puck got out, and they got a clean shot on net."

Summit's next game is on Feb. 1 against Cranford at Warinanco Park at 6 p.m. That's when sophomore Mike Nyitray will see his first action of the season.

Nyitray is a highly skilled player who transferred from St. Peter's Prep, and has competed in junior national tournaments.

"We need him to come in and give us a boost, and help us get three wins over the next six games," Nixon said.