The 1998-99 season was another exciting year around Mennen Arena in the MCSSIHL.  Delbarton's dominance was thought to be under fire from a young and talented Randolph squad but the Green Wave used a new system to defeat the Rams in both meetings during the season, 3-1 and 2-1.  Delbarton cruised to its twelfth consecutive division title with an 11-0 mark.  The Green Wave were led by senior captain Owen Callahan, who was voted the league's MVP by the coaches as the leader of the team's stellar defensive unit.  Ross Cherry provided the Green Wave with excellent backstopping.  Randolph snagged the second spot with wins of 6-3 and 5-2 over Morristown-Beard.  The Rams received stellar goaltending from freshman Brett Reilly while forward Eric Nigro led the league in points per game and, along with fellow sophomores Alex Beatrice and Rob Brougham, formed one of the state's most explosive lines.  Morristown-Beard finished third, thanks largely to a 3-0 win over Chatham near the season's close and a superior performance against the Halvorsen Division.  Chatham's season was a rebuilding one but they showed promise with a 4-4 late-season tie against Randolph and solid efforts against some tough squads.
In the Halvorsen Division, Pingry was definitely the best team and finished in front by three full games, but their excellent play was overshadowed by their expulsion from the league.  The Big Blue appealed the decision after the year and it was overturned, so Pingry will remain in the league.  Junior goalie Andy Houston led the way for the Big Blue along with the top forward line of Tom Gianos, Austin Saypol, and Steve Newhouse.  Morristown, Mendham, and Roxbury battled it out for the final playoff spot.  None came up with a big win down the stretch and Morris Knolls was able to play the role of spoiler, foiling Roxbury's bid to come from behind to make the playoffs with a 4-1 win over the Gaels on the season's final day.  Morristown backed into the playoffs with a 7-6-3 record while Mendham finished third at 7-7-2 and Roxbury ended the year in fourth at 7-8-1.  Morris Knolls showed some promise with a 5-10-1 mark, while boasting the league's highest scorer in junior Billy Hussa.  The Golden Eagles said goodbye to Dan Zaleski this year as he completed his career at Knolls.  The three-year started played on three struggling teams but still distinguished himself as a top-caliber goalie and recorded his 1000th league save in late January.
The Haas Division produced a fight for the division title between Mt. Olive and Hanover Regional.  Hanover Regional triumphed in their first meeting in January by a score of 2-1.  The Marauders fought back and beat the Park 3-2 in February.  Regional, however, was the only division team to earn a point against the Halvorsen Division, and they were the division champions by virtue of that one point, gained in an exciting come-from-behind 4-4 tie with Morris Knolls.  Jason Sarno, Rick Skudera, David Harrington, and Shawn Hall keyed the Regional offense.  Mt. Olive showed promise and has a shot at the division title next year.  Madison and Morris Hills improved as the year went on and made several games more entertaining and close then they should have been.  Morris Hills won in their first matchup, 4-3, but Madison won the second meeting in the season's final game by a score of 7-1.

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