Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’
Suffern lives to play another day, posts a shootout win over West Genesee in NYSPHSAA semi • 03.10.12
In case you didn’t hear …
By Mike Dougherty
mdougher@lohud.com
UTICA – Tyler Stark made every save he needed to make, helping Suffern to a shoot-out win over unbeaten West Genesee after four overtimes today at The Aud. The Mounties will play Saratoga Springs or Pittsford at 12:30 p.m. tomorrow for the NYSPHSAA Division I championship. Suffern won the only state title in Section 1 history 20 years ago.
The Wildcats scored with 28 seconds to go in regulation to make it a 2-2 game, and had a 42-18 shots-on-goal advantage. In a semifinal here two years ago, West Genny scored twice in the final 31 seconds of regulation then pulled out a 4-3 win in overtime.
Willie Sanchez netted the first shoot-out attempt for the Mounties, then Stark held firm and stopped Robbie Michel. Jacob Pelton returned the favor at the other end when John Redgate was denied. Shawn Lynch thought he put a shot in top left to get West Genesee even, but the officials ruled it hit the crossbar. Ian Adler put the finishing touch on the upset with a goal for Suffern.
“I can’t even find the adjective,” Sanchez said. “Emotionally, I’m drained. Physically, I’m drained. With all the bad history this team has in this building, it’s just an overwhelming win.”
Redgate scored a first-period goal to make it 1-1. Sanchez made it 2-1 during a 5-on-3 power play in the opening minute of the third.
LoHud Hockey game plan for NYSPHSAA semis • 03.09.12
Huddle up.
I’m rounding up the wool socks here shortly, and will be hitting the road this afternoon. There might be some Twitter activity during the ride up, perhaps a photo documentary of those scenic views along the NYS Thruway. I will be up early tomorrow, and plan to be at the Utica Memorial Auditorium to secure a spot way up in that fancy press box so we can run Cover-It-Live during the games like we did at West Point.
All you have to do is fire up the blog, I’ll have a separate post for Suffern and Pelham set up there for you.
Here’s the schedule for tomorrow:
Division 1
Suffern (20-2-2) vs. West Genesee (24-0), 10 a.m.
Saratoga (16-4) vs. Pittsford (22-2), 12:30 p.m.
Division 2
Pelham (16-5-2) vs. Kenmore East (17-2-1), 3:15 p.m.
Saranac Lake (15-7-1) vs. Oswego (15-4-1), 5:45 p.m.
Peter Carr is coming up with me again, so we’ll have some pretty extensive photo galleries on the blog after the games are done and the stories are filed. I won’t be doing goal-by-goal updates on Twitter, but I will be throwing up some thoughts and scores from time to time, and I will be tweeting photos from the rink, so keep an eye on the feed. It’s on the right side of the blog page if you’re new at this.
Division 2 semifinal: Kenmore East vs. Pelham • 03.08.12
It seems like the classic offense vs. defense matchup.
Kenmore East scored three times in 18 seconds to break open a close game against Notre Dame of Batavia to get to Utica, and is diversified up front. The Bulldogs have six players with at least 20 points in their 14 league games. If there’s an issue, they seem to give up some goals. Kenmore East has used three different goalies for at least 150 minutes this season, which indicates nobody’s taken ownership of that position.
Pelham is always defense first. And while the Pelicans have given up 50 goals this season, they’ve only surrendered 14 goals since Graham Lambdin switched back to defenseman. If there’s one advantage for Pelham its all of the close games this team has played in two years. Nobody seems to mind winning by one.
Again, I don’t make predictions in state tournaments because I have no basis of comparison, but go ahead, leave a score if you feel inclined. If you missed the story I did on the Pelham defense in today’s paper, click here.
NYSPHSAA Division 2 semifinal
Saturday, 3:15 p.m. at Utica Memorial Auditorium
Pelham
Coach: Ed Witz
Record: 16-5-2
Goals for: 103
Goals against: 50
First line: Colin Reilly, Andrew Schauer, Danny Shea
Second line: Will Macinnis, Will Donovan, Eric Alpert
Third line: David Morgan, Tristain Weeks, Andrew Dzenis
Fourth line: Joe Curto, Mark Hernandez, Hunter Lambdin
Defensemen: Will Cullen, Matt Landis, Garrett Martin, Graham Lambdin
Goalie: Josh Borofsky (.921 save percentage)
Leading scorers: Reilly 20 goals, 22 assists; Schauer 18 goals, 19 assists
Kenmore East
Coach: Kyle Pray
Record: 20-2-1
Goals for: 146
Goals against: 55
First line: Dan Battista, Rob Burket, Nick Pagliacci
Second line: Austin Ford, Dan Giliforte, Andy Sturtz
Third line: Andy Robinson, Taylor Davis, Anthony Amoia
Defensemen: Brad Deland, David Hopfer, David Hazelet, Colin Ferrell, Brenon Sarratori
Goalie: Mike Davern (2.41 goals against)
Leading scorers: Battista 17 goals, 19 assists; Pagliacci 13 goals, 20 assists (only stats available are from 14 league games).
Division 1 semifinal: West Genesee vs. Suffern • 03.07.12
Here’s a look at the first game of the weekend. I would imagine the coaches will be up all night Friday worrying about how the kids will react to the early start. Some teams hate mornings. I can’t imagine it will be a shoot-out. West Genesee has posted 15 shutouts and has only given up 15 goals. Suffern has 12 shutouts and has only given up 21 goals.
There are still a number of players on the Mounties roster who remember the meltdown in the final moments two years ago in Utica against the Wildcats, so it will be interesting to see whether that’s a factor.
I’m only going to predict a good game. There’s no way I’m comfortable picking a score because I have no idea how West Genny compares. Of course, that needn’t stop anyone from venturing a guess. Fire away.
NYSPHSAA Division 1 semifinal
Saturday, 10 a.m. at Utica Memorial Auditorium
West Genesee Wildcats
wghockey.com
Coach: Frank Colabufo
Record: 24-0
Goals for: 120
Goals against: 15
First line: Jon Lauer, Shawn Lynch, Erik Kurz
Second line: Tommy Hanley, David Procopio, Jimmy Sauda
Third line: Corey Raaflaub, Nate Colabufo, Jason Keyes
Fourth line: Jake O’Donnell, Robbie Sherrill, Jimmy Pelton
Defensemen: Robbie Michel, R.J. Tinklepaugh, Matt Schattner, Nick Mellen
Goalie: Jake Pelton (.944 save percentage)
Leading scorers: Lynch 30 goals, 27 assists; Lauer 15 goals, 19 assists.
Suffern
ballcharts.com/suffernhockey/
Coach: Rob Schelling
Record: 20-2-2
Goals for: 139
Goals against: 21
First line: John Redgate, Willie Sanchez, Steve Scholer
Second line: Ian Adler, Kevin Haggerty, Greg Dgheim
Third line: John Costa, Nick Jaeger, Robert Clark, Kevin Hill
Defensemen: Scholer, Connor Delaney, Adam Brenner, Tom Mahoney, Anthony Carudo
Goalie: Tyler Stark (.950 save percentage)
Leading scorers: Sanchez 28 goals, 26 assists; Redgate 20 goals, 28 assists.
Getting with the modern times • 03.06.12
Let’s face it, high school athletics is becoming a valuable commodity. The audience is growing. Heck, this blog set records for page views last month and isn’t alone on that front. Not even five years ago, there might be two or three newspaper reporters covering a big game, now you have a cable network devoted to prep sports along with numerous internet outlets vying for attention.
It’s getting more competitive on a daily basis.
And there is a way for Section 1 to cash in and help grow the audience. It’s time for quality live streaming of big games and championship tournaments. There are details that Section 1 officials need to sort out – financial and legal – before this becomes a reality. I know it’s something the powers that be continue to discuss, but it’s officially time for the bidding to open.
Check out what the Indiana High School Athletic Association is doing on the internet.
Imagine being able to watch the state hockey tournament online this weekend. There’s no reason why the NYSPHSAA can’t be in the game. Recent court decisions have declared that state associations own the broadcast rights to such tournaments. It would be nice to see the Section 1 tournament going out live, too, especially from a place like Playland with students and parents filling the bleachers and balcony.
Of course, there is a risk to gate receipts.
It’s not hard to imagine some casual fans staying away knowing they can still catch the event on a smartphone or a laptop or a tablet device or even the over-sized flat screen in the family room. That’s why rights fees were invented. Officials would have to set a reasonable minimum bid to make up for lost revenue. Here’s the upside. Media outlets promote the heck out anything we have to pay to get in to, and that will likely put a few more fannies in the seats.
Major high school events are best experienced live. Parents and classmates will still get in the car and drive to see the big games. So will the fans who are looking for reasonably-priced entertainment.
Live streaming will not rob the atmosphere. It only adds to the magnitude of the event. You get alumni checking in from college campuses all over the country. You get people with roots in the community checking in from all over the globe.
During the Scarsdale-Rye game, we had people tweeting back from all kinds of vacation destinations.
My own list of concerns starts with availability since MSG Varsity, which is better equipped to produce top-shelf live coverage than anyone in the marketplace right now, has a subscription-based audience. A live stream of any major public high school event should be made available to anyone. With a captive, measurable audience, it wouldn’t be hard to generate advertising revenue. Also, state and sectional officials need to make certain the exclusive rights they open to bidding apply only to the live stream. We can’t block any valid media organization from covering a local high school event.
Get the lawyers busy. It’s time for this issue to get buttoned up so we can all tune in and turn on.
Updating the brackets • 03.04.12
Here’s the lineup for next weekend at Memorial Auditorium in Utica, and it sure looks as though Section 1 is on the most difficult side of the Division 1 and 2 brackets. Does anyone want to discuss the need to reseed after regional play? I really don’t think anyone knows all of the semifinalists well enough to pull that one off and the last thing we need is a committee ranking teams it hasn’t seen.
Suffern and Pelham are both going to get a practice in Friday before dinner and the mandatory bed check. I’ll be doing some kind of a feature on both teams before I pack my wool socks. And we’ll have some information on the blog as the week goes along. Stay tuned.
Division 1
Suffern (20-2-2) vs. West Genesee (24-0), 10 a.m.
Saratoga (16-4) vs. Pittsford (22-2), 12:30 p.m.
Division 2
Pelham (16-5-2) vs. Kenmore East (17-2-1), 3:15 p.m.
Saranac Lake (15-7-1) vs. Oswego (15-4-1), 5:45 p.m.
Yesterday
Division 1
Suffern 2, Monroe-Woodbury 1
West Genesee 4, Niagara Wheatfield 1
Saratoga 2, Massena 1
Pittsford 4, Ithaca 1
Division 2
Pelham bye
Kenmore East 8, Notre Dame Batavia 5
Saranac Lake 6, Queensbury 5 OT
Oswego 3, Salmon River 1
The long version of Monroe-Woodbury vs. Suffern • 03.04.12
My game story in this morning’s paper got squeezed, or perhaps I stretched it over the limit. Either way, there are no space restrictions online, so here’s the complete version. It’s worth reading just for the Connor Delaney quote about playing his last high school game at Sport-O-Rama, which last night only gave credence to my longstanding argument that Section 1 championship games need to be played in Section 1 rinks. That was the best atmosphere of the season. Not even close to another game.
MONSEY - The only moment of hesitation was a set up.
John Redgate slowed up as he crossed the blue line in the opening minutes of a tense third period. And when a scrambling defense eased up for a heartbeat, the speedy forward left everyone behind. He zigged and zagged before staring down the goalie, and calmly went five hole with the game-winner.
It was a bona fide highlight.
Suffern is off to Utica for a third consecutive season after handing Section 9 champion Monroe-Woodbury a 2-1 loss at Sport-O-Rama. Another chance for redemption in the NYSPHSAA semifinals was in doubt until Redgate showed up in the middle of another big moment.
He’s got a habit of doing that.
“I saw their guys changing so I knew I was coming in by myself,” Redgate said. “I came in slow at first, then I turned on the jets and caught them by surprise crossing over. I came across the crease, saw the five-hole was open and slid it through.”
The Crusaders instantly lost a step.
After taking an early lead and playing so well for two periods, the Crusaders were worn out. They didn’t have anything left to create more drama after Suffern jumped in front.
“We’ve been here,” Mounties coach Rob Schelling said. “These seniors in three years have been in a lot of tight games. We stress staying patient, staying defensive. We’ll score at some point. The kids are amazing because in a big-time game like this, it’s not easy, but they remained disciplined and we were able to pull it out.”
Next up is Section 3 powerhouse West Genesee, which came back in the final minutes to eliminate Suffern two years ago on the way to a state title. They meet on Saturday at 10 a.m. at Utica Memorial Auditorium.
“It was our goal since the beginning of the season, and to finally get there is a huge accomplishment, but like we’ve been saying all along, we’re not done yet,” Redgate said. “We’ve got a huge chip on our shoulders after the heartbreakers the last two years.”
Monroe-Woodbury got in front with 5:49 to go in the first when Dylan Stephanik happened upon a loose puck in the slot and lifted it past Tyler Stark, who had to make three big saves before the first intermission to prevent an even larger deficit.
His counterpart, Zack Zielinski, came up big on a couple of doorstep scrums.
The Mounties (20-2-2) kept applying the pressure, but were forced to hustle back and break up a number of deep runs. And they left the ice after the first period down 1-0. The Crusaders took a pair of penalties late in the second, but killed both of them off.
A standing-room only crowd only added to the intensity.
Suffern was a little too precise with the puck for most of the second until Connor Delaney threw a puck on net from the blue line and it rattled into the net. It was a slow-motion goal. It might’ve hit the stick of Nick Jaeger, but Delaney got the credit.
Either way, it’s exactly what the Mounties needed.
“It was big,” Delaney said. “It got our confidence back up. I didn’t see it go in. It must’ve hit off a few sticks. It was put in the right place and that’s all you can ask for.”
The Crusaders were fatigued. It showed after they got back to even strength and the rest in between periods wasn’t a big help. Suffern kept putting more shots on goal, and eventually Redgate broke through with 13:42 left in the game.
Of course, there were some bittersweet reflections afterward since a talented senior class was saying goodbye to a rink that’s been a second home.
“It’s crazy,” Delaney said. “I remember my first day four years ago walking onto this ice as a freshman. It was life-changing. It’s really sad to be our last time playing here in a Suffern jersey. I’ll remember this game for a long time.”
Scoreboard – March 3 • 03.03.12
Be honest, how many Suffern parents have already booked a room up in Utica?
The Mounties didn’t have much trouble with Monroe-Woodbury back on Dec. 16, winning the game by a 6-0 margin. And they’ve had a week of practice to fine tune. What could possibly go wrong? The Crusaders aren’t pushovers so there’s always the outside chance a hot goalie or a strange bounce could derail another march to the NYSPHSAA semis.
You never know.
Truth be told, I went online a week ago to get my room for next weekend. I’m picking Suffern in this one, let’s say it will be a 6-1 final. My plan is to send out updates via Twitter for this game, it’s just easier at Sport-O-Rama, and then I’ll go back to the Cover-It-Live program for states. Please, if you’re at the game, chime in with your own comments and observations here on the blog.
Saturday, March 3
Suffern vs. Monroe-Woodbury, 6 p.m. at Sport-O-Rama
