Rylan Gibbons steers away a Mendham shot for KJS United.

The regular season is coming to a close in New Jersey hockey and we already have the first scheduled semifinals for the cup tournaments in the Shore Conference, and the MCSIHL. We have our semi finals predictions for the first wave of Cup tournaments here on Garden State Sports.

Handchen Cup- QUARTERFINALS

8 Howell @ 1 Manalapan

How old has been battling for better position in the South Jersey conference in the last couple of weeks and they have definitely gained ground. However, this Manalapan team ranks in the top 20 of hockey schools in the state. They have passed every single test and they are seen by critics to be one of the best teams in the south and possibly be at the Prudential Center in March for the State Championship.

Peter’s Pick-Manalapan 6-1

5 Wall @ 4 St John Vianney 

St. John Vianney bolster is a lot of good goals scores like Dan, Greenhall, despite their record, they have been pushing ahead of middle of the pack and like where there projection is, I do like Wall Township, though, their goaltending seems to be as defined as any team in the conference, and I like them to pull the upset.

Peter’s Pick- Wall Township 4-3 OT

6 Middletown North @ 3 Manasquan

The Manasquan Warriors have built themselves up as a truly prolific team in South Jersey. This matchup is my favorite in the entire Cup. So far, Middletown North has really taken strides with their offense, and I think against any other team in the conference, I would absolutely favor the Tigers to go on a long run, including against Manalapan, but I do not believe that they match up well against Manasquan, I am picking the Warriors in a true battle of sheer will.

Peter’s Pick- Manasquan 3-2

7 Middletown North @ 2 Rumson-Fair Haven

Middletown North came out of the Christmas break as hot as a torch. They have seemed to somewhat cool off as the season has gone along into the final stretch, but look out for them as they are another team that can definitely rekindle their flame. The Bulldogs do personify themselves, however, as a pure physical team that will want to bully their way to a championship, and that north south hockey is what wins big games this time of year.

Peter’s Pick- Rumson-Fair Haven 7-2

Dowd Cup- QUARTERFINALS

8 St. Rose @ 1 Brick Township 

Brick is as deep a team in South Jersey and they are for sure the front runners for this championship. I think the consistency and skating has been better for Saint Rose, but Brick personifies depth and strength in a cup named after the great Jim Dowd, who exemplified all those skills.

Peter’s Pick- Brick 5-1

5 Lacey @ 4 Southern

Southern has for sure flown under the radar in hockey south of New Jersey’s capital. This is another one of those teams that can go on a run and although Lacey will make it a little difficult, expectations are high for the Rams.

Peter’s Pick- Southern 5-3

6 Marlboro @ 3 Ocean Township 

The trend of favoring the top seeds will continue, Ocean Township has a very potent top line of goal scorers. Marlboro definitely has a deep team and good goaltending, but I doubt their ability to match up against an offense like the one Ocean Township bolsters.

Peter’s Pick- Ocean Township 10-4

7 Freehold Township @ 2 Toms River East 

I actually like Freehold Township to make some noise in this hockey game, I think they are vicariously underrated, and have a good enough offense with goaltending to cause some issues for Toms River East. I still am going to go with Toms River East though as this is a hyper offensive team with a lot of talent, but I believe Freehold gives them a scare.

Peter’s Pick- Toms River East 5-4

Charette Cup- SEMIFINALS 

4 Parsippany Regional @ 1 Newton Lenape Valley

Parsippany has definitely according to most critics flown above their weight this season and look to get back into the state playoffs this season, a long awaited wait. Andrew Nicholas has held the fort well as a goaltender with a lot of promise, as well as a great offensive defenseman and Joe Gasparo. Despite that, this has been a watermark year for NLV. Newton Lenape Valley has brought the offense to a whole new level. Thanks to Braden Dabrowski, Tanner Gaboda, and the offense of Maksym Pastukh. I have to go with NLV.

Peter’s Pick- NLV 5-2

3 Vernon @ 2 Killcats

The Killcats were my preseason pick to win this division. They are very solid with good goaltending and an excellent blue line. Healy is a great anchor in goal for the Killcats and will prove difficult for Vernon. The Vikings are starting to win and get a lot of confidence at the best time of the year for them, Chris Gay has been nothing short of a beacon on their defensive line. Vernon is a hungry team at the right point of time for an upset, and that is what I believe they will accomplish.

Peter’s Pick- Vernon 3-2

Haas Cup- SEMIFINALS 

4 Park Regional @ 1 West Morris Central

The Wolfpack seem to have come out of nowhere, but as you can imagine, that is not the pure truth. Coach Togno has been preparing this program for a couple of years to what they have now been able to do with their explosion of offense through this season. His son, Tommy Has played well as well as the dynamite forward Ben Barnhill. Parsippany regional also hosts a solid offense of their own, but I just don’t see much being done against the top six of West Morris.

Peter’s Pick- West Morris Central 8-3

3 Montville @ 2 Gill St. Bernards

The Mustangs surged through the Charette Cup last year and now find themselves in the hot cup this season. Cole Riley has been their catalyst on offense, and they are going to need their speed in their goals scoring against a very solid Gill Saint Bernards blue line. This game is decided by the goaltenders, Luc Jansson for the Knights and Alexis Riley for Montville. I give Riley a slight edge, as well as Montville to move on.

Peter’s Pick- Montville 4-3

Halvorsen Cup- SEMIFINALS 

4 Madison @ 1 KJS United

KJS United has as good a goaltender in Rylan Gibbons as any in New Jersey. They have also had one of their best recent seasons, finishing in the top three of Northern co-ops so far. Anthony Prunty has also been a great goalscorer along with his younger brother learning the ropes too. This Dodgers team, however, is no slouch. Madison has really improved their PowerPlay the Gero cousins have become stars, with young Ethan scoring a hat-trick against West Milford – Pequannock, which is a similar team to KJS. KJS will win, but not without getting a good test from Madison.

Peter’s Pick- KJS United 4-1

3 Mendham @ 2 BSM

The Minutemen have a young team, but a young team that has gone through a lot of toughness and dealt with many experienced squads throughout the season. There is a feeling of higher expectation than what has been accomplished this season so a great hunger is abound. Ian Aikenhead has become a great player this season and that has increased the growth. Hathaway has continued a strong season for BSM but I have to favor Mendham given their experience in the Halvorsen.

Peter’s Pick- Mendham 4-2

Mennen Cup- SEMIFINALS 

4 Morris Knolls Morris Hills @ 1 Randolph 

MKMH has had as difficult a regular season as any team in the state having to battle injuries and numerous prolific competition in various tournaments. Yet the Golden Eagles find themselves in a situation to get some hardware before the playoffs. Luke Dickerson hit 100 points this year and he will be somebody MKMH needs for the upset. The Rams are coming off an unprecedented undefeated regular season, with the prowess of Vincent Crisafulli and Dylan Sharkey manning a team that is slated to be even better next year. No one has beaten Randolph yet, and it will stay like that for now.

Peter’s Pick- Randolph 8-5

3 Chatham @ 2 Morristown-Beard

These two hockey clubs have been duking it out all year with some pretty special matchups. The Crimson bring a talented defense to the fold led by Evan Jones and two freshmen stars in goalie Mason Hriczov and forward Hudson Salvador. Last year, though, Chatham’s magic was kindled in this tournament. They went on a run all the way to the State Championship. Matt Nacinovich and Thomas White have been nothing short of incredible this year and I believe the Cougars will catch lightning in a bottle again.

Peter’s Pick- Chatham 5-4 OT