West Milford Bears Win Ice Hockey Championship with a Decisive 7-1 Victory
Stockholm, N.J. - The West Milford Bears Squirt team defeated the Ringwood Hawks by a score of 7-1 to win the house league championship at Skylands Ice World.
The Bears had a very successful season, compiling a record of 13 wins with only 1 loss to finish first in their division.During the regular season the Bears defense led by Alex Crevina, Richie Murphy, Matt Filipek, Josh Baker & goalie Kailen Mahabir allowed only 12 goals in 14 league games.
The Bears offense led by Cole Garabed, Ryan Lieth, Chris Dressler, Garrett Gyro and Mark Everson were even better, scoring 81 goals, for an average of over 5 goals per game.
In the first playoff game the Bears defeated the Vernon Vikings by a score of 6-2 to advance to the Championship game and face the only team to defeat them, the Ringwood Hawks.However, history would not repeat itself as the Bears scored 97 seconds into the game and never looked back, skating to a 7-1 victory to take home the Championship Cup.The Bears are made up of players from West Milford as well as Warwick, Florida, Greenwood Lake and Monroe.
As an additional honor, six members of the West Milford Bears - Matt Filipek, Alex Crevina, Ryan Lieth, Cole Garabed, Rich Murphy and Kailen Mahabir were selected for Skylands Ice World’s All Star team, and represented the rink at the Atlantic District All Star Tournament.
The Skylands All Stars went undefeated throughout the tournament to bring the Atlantic District Championship Cup back to Skylands.
2008/2009 West Milford Bears Squirts
Back Row from left: Coach Mark Crevina, Lauren Fenwick, Garrett Gyuro, Brandon Little, Ryan Lieth, Coach Steve Garabed, Cole Garabed, Sean Walter, Chris Dressler, Matt Filipek, and Kyle Little.
Front Row from left: Josh Baker, Mark Everson, John Shaughnessy, Alex Crevina (goalie), Justin Chalupt, Kailen Mahabir, Scott Van Dine, Richie Murphy, Rocco Mazzoccoli, and Coach Maria Petrou.