John Jay goalie Matt Lanza (1) blocks a shot from Peham’s Nick Ronan (14) during a boys hockey Section 1 Division 2 playoff game at the Brewster Ice Arena Feb. 22, 2013. ( Frank Becerra Jr / The Journal News ) To view a gallery of photos from the game, click here.
By Mike Dougherty
BREWSTER — Matt Lanza was completely surrounded in the final minutes. Pucks were coming in from every angle. John Jay was killing penalty after penalty, relying on its unsinkable goaltender to deflect each desperate attempt.
There was no chance to breathe once the buzzer sounded, either.
Lanza was immediately mobbed by grateful teammates after saving a 5-3 win over Pelham on Friday in a Section 1 Division 2 semifinal at Brewster Ice Arena. The Indians will play Rye here on Sunday at 1 p.m. for the championship.
They have not played in a title game since 2007.
“It felt like an eternity,” Lanza said of a closing stretch that included two John Jay penalties in the last five minutes. “I was thinking, ‘This is not what we need right now.’ They are one hell of a team with a great power play, we didn’t need to be giving them scoring chances.”
The junior stood tall in net, though, and walked away with 42 saves.
“Killing those last penalties was huge,” Indians defenseman Anthony Scapperotti said. “Matt stood on his head. We got the puck out just enough to get some line changes, but that was all Matt and some big saves.”
John Jay came in with the No. 1 seed and came out looking to make an impression against the defending champs, using a size and strength advantage whenever an opportunity to play the body presented itself.
The previous two seasons ended with playoff losses to the Pelicans, which served as motivation.
Lucas Prestamo capitalized on a turnover right in front two minutes into the game and beat Matt DeYoung top corner to give the Indians a 1-0 lead. A little hustle in the neutral zone helped Mark Leprine come in clean and give John Jay a 2-0 edge a short time later.
The answer finally came from Andrew Schauer, who powered in off the faceoff to get Pelham on the board. Frazier Bostwick made it 3-1 when he collected another bad pass along the boards and slipped in front.
“I wasn’t expecting that puck to come to me,” Bostwick said. “I think he was looking to sauce the puck into the neutral zone and it hit off my arm.”
The crowd was jumping up and down again with 2:09 to go in the first period when Anthony Manno threw in one more to make it a 4-1 cushion.
“We made a couple of bad turnovers looking to force the play,” Pelicans coach Ed Witz said. “All the credit to John Jay. Once they got the lead, they held the lead. We were all over them in the second and third periods, but they didn’t break.”
The Pelicans survived a 5-on-3 scenario in the opening minutes of the second, and seemed to be on the verge of building some momentum. A scramble in front left the puck floating in the crease near the goal line. The red light went on and off. A nervous defenseman cleared the puck before it crossed over.
Play continued on and Jack Grimm scored at the other end some 30 seconds after the near goal to give the Indians a 5-1 advantage.
Pelham was keeping the pressure on for long stretches and getting shot after shot on net. Lanza was busy. He didn’t let anything in until Will Cullen picked up a loose puck at the blue line and came in with time and space, making it 5-2. Schauer narrowed the deficit with five minutes to go.
31 Comments
In that 2007 DII final, Jay lost 6-1 to Rye. I think the rematch on Sunday will be closer than that.
Did the Pel blogger run home barefoot from BIA?
fanotgame
That’s a good catch, we need video of that one.
for all you pelham fans that would like to critique John Jays schedule you can add a physical demolition of pelham to it.
My daughter was playing in the game immediately after the JJ vs. Pelham and I had my video camera with me so I shot the last five minutes of the game, Lanza made some key saves in the last five minutes – you can view it on youtube at
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfxOJ71Xq10
2 joke penalties in the last 5 minutes trying to give Pelham a chance to win out of respect for Witz. What a joke. it was a good try by the refs but we shut them down. JJ rules. and we’ll blow out Rye too.
Pacfan, that video is awesome, thanks for sharing!
OK, I am on the John Jay bandwagon. However, I am on the first period John Jay bandwagon. The team that came out like gangbusters knocking everyone on their butts, and dominating and converting all their shots. Not such a fan of the…”it’s the second period we have a 4-1 lead lets sit on it” JJ team. Great first period by them, and then they just sit back and let pelham come at them in waves without any counterpunches… or very few. The physical part of the game was gone after the first period. Did they get tired? It looked to me like they got wayyy too cautious and almost blew the game if it were not for the strong play of Lanza.
It’s hard to root for a team when you see things like this on twitter…
Peter Thomas ?@COACHPTHOMAS
On the 33rd anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice” there was no miracle at the Hommocks tonight. Rye punches our ticket to the Finals 4-1!
Not sure why… but if I were JJ this would rub me the wrong way. I think it would be pretty cool for a JJ team to win it… just to show that it IS possible to win the section and not go upstate 3 times per season to find good teams to play. I’m sure JJ knows that they played a weak schedule… but you know what? somehow it seems like they kept the level of play high… which is hard to do when you have very few tough games all season. So John Jay and Mamaroneck I’m hoping for the states.
John Jay won. They were up 4-1 at the end of the first period because Pelham made huge mistakes and John Jay buried it every time. John Jay was clearly kicking Pelhams tail in that first period. The second and third period was the Matt Lanza show with Jay icing the puck 10+ times and Pelham all over Jay. Pelham bumbled with penalties and Jay held Pelham off for the win. To say they “demolished” them is funny, its a three period game, and Jay won, but they had no control of that game from the second period on. I looked at the program and Pelham had only 3 seniors so they will be fine. This is Jays chance as they have more seniors and lose a lot off a very good team. It was good for Jay and their program to finally beat Pelham after all those difficult losses. In regards to the remark about Jays schedule it was soft this year however Jay has a very solid team and a seasoned group that has been together for quite some time. The team is good enough and maybe the weak schedule is not a factor here, or tomorrow against Rye, it will be a factor if they make it to Utica and see some of those Western NY clubs.
I agree with you rocket. Jay played a great first period and Pelham gave away two juicy turnovers that Jay capitalized on. After that it was all Pelham. Doesnt matter though Jay did enough to advance. It looked like Jay who normally plays three lines was cautiously playing two lines. I saw Pelham playing three and four lines and it maybe gave them better legs late. The refs were ok, but I d hardly say Pelham got late breaks. Jay got away with a bunch of interference calls and Pelham got called for the same stuff. The goal that Pelham had waved off where the light went on was not a goal, it bounced on the goal line but was not in. I also think that over the top tweet by the Rye coach is definite bulletin board material. I predict Jay 3 Rye 1
You know who was not surprised about the win by Jay?
Dougherty!
Good call! !
Mike had been accused of being a shill for Pelham, but he had the sac to call it based on what he has seen. Kudos.
Also , I would like to compliment Mike and the Journal News team for some seriously great hockey coverage all season and especially the past few weeks.
Okay…i would LIKE to…but I won’t. Rimshot.
It’s obvious that he doesnt even like hockey…he does all this to fill the time until lacrosse starts and he doesnt want lohud management to sick him on the gymnastics beat.
But apparently he has been learning a thing or two…great stuff.
And I liked the video homage to zam man! !
And to N-W,
Thanks for your comments all season.
You have done more to make section one feel appreciated state-wide than all of the big four upstate trips combined
Mike. Someone said the championships will be streamed. What’s the websites for that? Thanks.
Suffern finds a way 6-4 and Rye figures out Lanza and play Psyical enough 4-2 Rye!
Mike was spot on with the upset of Pelham. When you consider Pelham has been slumping at the wrong time and looks slow and tired it’s not all that big an upset, especially since JJ IS A DAMN GOOD TEAM!
That said i believe they have to suffer a bit of a letdown and do not match-up well with Rye. They will not get the cheap turnovers they did against a very frustrated Pelham team. Rye has the Psyicallity and speed to match JJ and Lanza can’t and wont be as good as he was last night. If he is then God bless him I’m betting he wont be.
Has to rely on Lanza tomorrow. He stood on his head last night. Jay was struggling and icing the puck from the second period on. It was a shooting gallery out there and Lanza was the man. Not only making big saves but he controlled his rebounds and Pelham not only took 35 plus shots in the two periods but they were in his line of sight on every shot screening him
Good analysis Jj not just the saves but control of the rebounds key to win.
Rye and Jay are very similar teams. Built from the back. I know the Suffern fans will disagree, but I think the Garnets and Indians have the two best goalie/defense combos in the Section. Both possess just enuf firepower up front to get it done. Sunday’s final should be a good one. Rye won the first one 4-1 on neutral ice in Norwalk without Benny, but it was a lot closer than that. Game winner was a little fluky and then 2 empty netters. Only goal Rye allowed was a shorty breakaway after a Bostwick pick off of an ill advised x ice pass.
Thanks, Ned. I think.
Ned looks for any reason to mention Mike’s sac. :O
John Jay needs to play 3 periods to win. Somehow they were able to win by only playing one period hard and then hanging on for dear life. They can’t be scared to take chances with a lead. It’s like when your football team goes in to a prevent defense. The only thing it prevents, is winning the game. JJ got away with it yesterday. Pelham just could not get it in.
It’ll be weird not seeing Pelham vs. Rye in the finals. JOhn Jay can’t be satisfied just to be there, if they are…. they’ll get smacked.
With Benni playing I give the edge to Rye. The difference between Rye and Pelham in regards to opponents for Jay is this. Pelham is a team of pure grinders, Rye has more potential scorers up front. Pelham is more physical than Rye, Rye can score and has better goaltending. If you take away the first period in which Jay scored 4 goals on their first 5 or 6 shots none of which were screened or rebounds Pelham was dominant. Too bad its a three period game. If given the same chances tomorrow against Rye and Ryes keeper stops those shots its Rye all the way.
Suffern gave up 26 goals all year. Modica save percentage 93 percent. So yea suffern by numbers best defense/goalie
It’s silly to say anyone except Suffern has the best Defense/Goalie combo. The proof is in the wins, and in the stats. However, the D and Goalie also get lots of help from their forwards. So Suffern actually has the best overall defensive team.
Don’t underestimate what JJ did in that first period. Complete domination. Yes Pelham outchanced and outplayed JJ in the 2nd and 3rd. But don’t you think if the game was tied or JJ was losing, they would have pushed alot more offensively? JJ would not have sat back like they did in the final 2 periods. Most of the reason for Pelhams dominance in the last half was due to the score. John Jay is capable (unless they are not in good enough physical shape) of playing 3 periods like they did in the first against pelham. If they do, they will win…. no doubt in my mind.
I think JJCR Rye is a great matchup. I agree rocket JJCR sat back after they went up 4-1. I’m surprised Pelham didn’t bring more to the table looking at the schedule but hey that’s why we play the game. JJCR I saw them once play MW they went up sat back and barely beat a bad MW game. Smith is a heck of a player. I think rye wins based upon how physical they can play. I don’t think Benin will play tomorrow
I hear it’s 50/50 if Bebe plays..he felt discomfort and the coach told him to sit (good for him) we’ll see.
BTW JJ Rye is more psyical and has more size then Pelham
Agree Suff has the best team defense in the Section. I do think the Mountie D and goalie get more help from the Fwds than do the Garnet and Indian tenders and dman.
JJ did what they needed to do yo win, they will do the same against Rye.
I believe I was the first person to point out the merits and potential of JJ. Morons accused me of being a JJ fan/parent. I believe memory and a quick review of early blog posts will point that out as being true. Many said hurtful and ugly things about me, sending me to a tearful and depressed state.
I believe like Newton,defending his theory of Gravity, I had to justify my finding to the church of Suffern/Pelham, where I was burned at the stake.
It’s just funny as hell to see everyone final get that the world is flat and pretend they knew it all along.
I will be wearing my Suffern Blues with painted face shorts and tube socks tomorrow night and would love to fight Rocket Fuel on the ice btw the 2nd and 3rd period if he is man enough to face me.
nice try again. Everyone who follows high school hockey the last few years knew full well Jay would be a contender. They were very good last year, did not lose anyone, and were considered contenders with Pelham and Rye from day 1 ,
Nice try though, and your team Greeley is out.
Sorry I was on the JJ bandwagon weeks ,even months ago, after I saw them play Rye I was convinced, even though I was ans still am not impressed with their scheduling! I think this is the factor that will hault them when all the marbles are on the table.
@Smart Hockey prove what you say, go back and look at the pre season blogs and read them again
Pelham will win again..as soon as those “stars” realize this is a team sport…not an individual achievement