Minutemen March to State Hockey Semifinals With Playoff Win

The Mendham Minutemen hockey team is a good squad, that’s no secret.

But the team is making history with each game, and is just three periods away from a shot at the New Jersey Public B championship.

Mendham headed to Hackensack Monday afternoon to faceoff against the higher-seed Glen Rock in the tournament’s quarterfinal matchup. With four different scorers netting goals, and freshman goalie Dylan Euvino standing tall, Mendham came out on top 5-3 to move on in the tournament. It was Glen Rock’s third loss of the season.

State scoring leader Grant Jozefek scored twice, including an empty-netter in the third period to seal the deal when Mendham was up 4-2 with just 17 seconds left, according to the nj.com box score.

Paul Michura, Matt Farina, and Nik Hedergren also grabbed goals in the win.

Euvino stopped 31 of 34 shots on goal. Euvino was also named the Halvorsen division rookie of the year, and Jozefek named its Most Valuable Player. Farina was awarded the division’s sportsmanship honor.

Coach John Kovacs is also making some of his own history, having won his 200th career game with Mendham the night the team took home its second consecutive Halvorsen Cup. During the season, Kovacs notched his 300th win as a head coach.

For the first time in school history, the Minutemen will skate in the Public B semifinals on Thursday night at Mennen Arena against No. 2 seed Ramsey. Game time is 6:30 p.m.