Red Devils Shoot Past Tenafly in State Ice Hockey Tournament

After back-to-back appearances in the state tournament final, including a championship in 2008, the Ridge hockey team now must prove itself worthy of another shot at the title. Tuesday night, the Red Devils took their first step.

The 13th-seeded Red Devils advanced in the NJSIAA Public A Tournament, riding a ferocious second period to a 5-1 first-round victory over 20th seeded Tenafly at Bridgewater Sports Arena. Senior Eric Von der Linde scored twice to send Ridge to a matchup against No. 4 Brick Memorial.

Goalie Alec Wells turned in another stellar performance, stopping 22 of 23 shots, and Eric Menard tallied a goal and two assists.

Not a bad start for a team that just barely scraped into the tournament. Once a hockey powerhouse, Ridge needed an at-large bid after finishing the regular season with a sub-.500 record. It's an opportunity their determined to make the most of, as 10 seniors face the prospect of the next game being their last.

"We've had a pretty tough season, but we had a very strong schedule," Von der Linde said. "I think the tournament committee took that into account. We've had a real strong program the last few years, and now we're trying to prove that we deserve to be here."

The Tigers opened up the scoring in an anemic first period. On a power play, Danny Mankovsky pounced on a loose puck, firing a snap shot to Wells's right side with 7:52 to go in the period. The Red Devils failed to generate any quality scoring chances, seemingly outmatched by the Tigers' quick defensemen.

All that changed in the second, however, when the Devils fired off four straight goals to send the Tigers reeling. Jake Hotz tied the game with 10:33 to go in the second, redirecting a Von der Linde shot past Tenafly goalie Matt Ceballos.

The Devils took the lead two minutes later, when sophomore Keith Knapp forced a bad-angle shot past Ceballos's left side, assisted by Joe Madden and Zach Fischl. Von der Linde then scored the next two goals off rebounds from Menard to send Ridge into the second intermission with a 4-1 lead. Menard closed out the scoring six minutes into the third with a backhand shot.

"Tenafly had the momentum in the first period," Von der Linde said. "We didn't know too much about them, but we figured it would be a close game. We really stepped up in the second."

The Red Devils will gave their hands full tomorrow when they face Brick Memorial at the Ocean Ice Palace. The Mustangs have beaten Ridge twice this season, including a 3-2 nail biter January 30.

"We've played them twice, and the last time they won in the last second," Von der Linde said. "They're a tough team to play against."