Wayne Valley got off to a fast start in the Northern White Division playoffs with a 4-3 victory over Bayonne at the Ice Vault. The Indians got goals from juniors Sal Marotta and Will DePeri and also from freshmen Nick Maffei and Alex Bacon. The first three also earned an assist each. Senior Mike Pagliuco stopped 31 of the 34 Bayonne shots, while Valley threw 34 shots at Bayonne goalie Nick Solari.

The win advanced the Indians to the semifinals where they dropped a 4-2 decision to Montclair at Clary Anderson Arena last Wednesday. The victors faced Paramus in the title game that was postponed by last week’s snowstorm to Monday night at Codey Arena in West Orange. The winner would take home the McMullen Cup.

Valley quickly regrouped for their first-round game in the Public A state playoffs. On Saturday night, the 18^th seeded Indians ventured north to Skylands Arena in Stockholm to face Vernon, seeded three spots higher. Valley returned home victorious, having trounced the Vikings, 7-3.

DePeri led the offensive explosion with a hat trick as Valley held a 6-1 lead in the second period. Senior Andrew Cavaliere began the scoring and Valley also got goals from junior defenseman Brian Seldeen, Marotta, and Bacon. Vernon outshot the Indians, 37-26, but Pagliuco was stellar in goal with 34 saves. The win earned Valley a trip earlier this week to Mennen Arena in Morristown to face perennially strong Ridge, the second seed.

Meanwhile, Passaic Valley faced off on Monday night, also at Codey Arena in the Nardello Cup final of the Northern Blue Division against River Dell. The Hornets (19-4-2) earned their spot in the finals with a 6-1 win over Dumont (13-8-1). As they have been all season, PV was powered offensively by three sophomores. Mark Sytsma lit the lamp twice, while Kenny Dahdah and Alex Sagnella added single markers. PV had a 27-10 edge in shots on goal and freshman goalie Joe Calandriello was credited with nine saves.

PV may have expected to see DePaul in the finals. However, River Dell upset the Spartans last Wednesday, 2-1 in a tense battle that was decided in overtime. DePaul held a whopping 54-17 advantage in shots on goal, including a 4-2 margin in the extra session. But they could manage only junior Scott Steinel’s goal early in the third period, which River Dell matched less than two minutes later.

Daniel Smith got the game-winner after 10:37 had been played in overtime. The goal came off a scrum in the crease to the left of DePaul netminder Matt Fantuzzi.

"You couldn’t ask more from a team," said DePaul head coach Frank Krause. "Their goalie (Adam Baer) was phenomenal. We had 54 shots so there was no chance that we took them lightly. The difference between this game and the other two (DePaul victories by 5-3 and 4-2) was that we capitalized on power plays. We had a five on three for 1:23 and we couldn’t score and didn’t even get good opportunities.

"We’ll start getting ready for the States on Monday," said Krause.

Seeded 21^st in the Non-Public State tournament, the Spartans will face 12^th seeded St. Joseph’s of Metuchen.

Passaic Valley, also seeded 21^st in the Public B tournament, travels south to take on Wall, the 12^th seed in a first-round game.

Wayne Hills ended its season with an 8-1 first-round loss in the NBIL playoffs to Fair Lawn. Matt Weinstein scored a third period goal and senior Brian Rossman recorded 32 saves for the Patriots who finished at (2-17-2). The Cutters (21-2-0) defeated Ramapo 5-2 later in the week to advance to Tuesday night’s league playoff final against Ramsey at the Ice Vault.

Second round games in all brackets will be played at the home rink of the higher-seeded team and must be completed by March 5^th. Quarterfinals will be played on March 8-10 and semifinals take place on March 15^th and 16^th, all at Mennen Arena. All finals will be played at the Prudential Center in Newark on March 22^nd.