Delbarton wins 4th straight NJ title

Delbarton Prep senior Peter McMullen had to be grinning ear-to-ear when he woke up Monday morning.

That because the 6-foot-2, 200-pound center scored two goals, including the decisive tally 4:41 into overtime to bring the Morristown, N.J., school a dramatic 3-2 victory over St. Augustine in the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association's Non-Public championship less than 24 hours earlier.

McMullen, who was rated No. 144 on NHL's Central Scouting mid-term rankings, is the grandson of the late John McMullen -- the man responsible for bringing professional hockey to the Garden State in 1982. He finished the season as the leading scorer for the state's No. 1-ranked team, with career-highs in goals (25) and points (45).

A crowd of 7,310 witnessed the thrilling finish.

Delbarton All-state defenseman Matt Killian

The victory gave Delbarton (24-3-2) an unprecedented fourth straight Non-Public championship. In the OT, McMullen charged the cage and swept home a pass from John Baiocco past St. Augustine goalie Joe Pantalone (37 saves). McMullen will attend Boston College in the fall.

"To be honest I just let it go," McMullen told Paul Bruno of The Star-Ledger. "I didn't have time to think, so I really just turned and shot and I put it up near his left shoulder. It was really a great play by my teammates."

Delbarton pulled into a 2-2 tie when All-State defenseman Matt Killian, the top-rated (No. 77, CSS) draft-eligible player in New Jersey, converted a three-on-two breakout with just 2:10 remaining in regulation. Killian (6-1, 191), who finished the season with 8 goals and 27 points, will attend Yale in September. The game was the first Non-Public final to go to OT since 2005, when Christian Brothers earned a 2-1 victory over Delbarton on a goal by current Philadelphia Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk.

In the Public A Final on Sunday, Randolph scored a 1-0 victory over Montgomery on Matt Kral's 25th goal of the season with 3:41 left in the third period. The title was Randolph's fourth in the last six seasons and fifth overall.

In the Public B Final, junior forward Danny Casey (38 goals) registered a natural hat trick during a four-goal second period to lead Chatham to a 7-3 victory over Middletown South. The championship was the first for Chatham since 1976.

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