After defeating the Mountaineers in their season opener, the Hills shouldn’t have been a problem for Oratory. And they weren’t.
Coming off two straight losses, the Rams were once again headed to Codey Arena to face the then 0-3 Watchung Hills Warriors in their second game of the Essex Holiday Tournament. The Warriors had lost 8-3 in their previous match against Bridgewater-Raritan and were hoping to pick up their first win of the season.
Oratory got off to a quick start in this one. With 13:59 left in the first, Henry Zahn snuck around the back of the Warriors’ net, punching it in for a score (assist: Sol Sebastian Wright). Unfortunately, a takeaway by Watchung at 4:49 set up a 2-on-1 goal, tying the game at one. But the Warriors’ lead wouldn’t last long, as Walden added a score for the Rams just 19 seconds later (assists: Will Mazzei, Jeff Child). Coming off his assist, Child was called for roughing (4:15), putting him in the box for 2 minutes. Despite the penalty, a strong defensive effort by the Rams and a couple of nice saves by goalie Tom LaFrance prevented the Warriors from scoring.
Watchung Hills scored its second goal just 1:40 into the second period, tying the game again. At 4:57, another roughing call went against Oratory—this time on Harrison Healey. Yet, the Rams’ defense held once more, and the second period ended tied at two.
It was anyone’s game entering the third, but the Rams wanted it more. With 14:17 left, Will Mazzei shot the puck from the right side of the Warriors’ net, and though it looked like a deflection or a save, it went in from an “impossible angle,” giving the lead back to Oratory (assist: Tom Walden). Moments later, at 13:45, Henry Zahn knocked the puck right through a defender’s legs, burying the shot for yet another Rams score (assist: Matt Moran). After picking up an assist on Zahn’s goal, Moran hammered in a wide-open shot, putting home his first of the game (assists: Henry Zahn, Ronan McGuire). With 5:24 to go, the Rams were up 5-2, and the game looked like it was over. Yet, OP didn’t slow down. Zahn would sneak in his third at 4:53 (no assists), going on to finish the game with a hat trick. An elbowing penalty on Watchung (4:12) gave the Rams a 5-on-4 power play. Even with the advantage, Oratory was unable to add another goal. Seconds later, a hold by Watchung led to a faceoff, allowing Moran to knock in his second at 1:46 (assist: George Morgan). With under two minutes to play, it looked like the game was finished, but Oratory still wasn’t done. At 1:13, Rams forward Nolan Gabel blasted one home, scoring his first of the season and giving OP six goals in the third period alone.
You could call this a historic win, because it’s been a long time since Oratory scored six times in a single period. The final score, 8-2, ties the Hoboken game for the Rams’ largest blowout of the season. Three of the Rams’ eight goals came from Henry Zahn, who also had four in Oratory’s 10-1 win against Johnson last season. New Jersey’s official high school sports website even named Tom LaFrance (.951 save percentage, 137 saves) as one of only two defensive players of the week in the NJIIHL, highlighting his performance in the Millburn game last Saturday. After OP beat Hoboken 6-0 on December 6, I said it would be interesting to see what they would do next, and the Rams sure did something great last Thursday.
